She was the hostess with the mostess across all three nights of Albania’s Eurovision 2020 selection show. But amidst the fallout of Sunday’s Festivali i Këngës 58 final, Alketa Vejsiu has become a focus of much ire from disgruntled fans.
She, along with director Vera Grabocka, was responsible for much of the artistic decisions made in this year’s revitalised contest.
Coincidentally, both women also worked on X Factor Albania — the show on which FiK winner Arilena Ara first rose to fame. The trio were said to have remained close ever since.
Many are taking tidbits such as this, throwing them all together and coming up with a whole load of accusations.
In a flurry of social media posts, Alketa made a bid to put such chatter to bed. In fact, some are now interpreting her comments to be an endorsement of Elvana Gjata — the “Me tana” singer who came second.
Alketa Vejsiu — Statement on Festivali i Këngës 58 result
Taking to Instagram, Alketa posted a picture of Elvana in rehearsals. Below is the English translation of the accompanying caption.
“My congratulations for Arilena Ara the best of luck for Albania at Eurovision.
I can not go without giving thanks to Elvana Gjata, her who got more clicks than anyone else, more than 3.5 views in two weeks! I cannot deny the her song was the joy of this Festival, she was the news of this edition, voice and energy of youth that made public dance in that arena, which brought together Albania, Kosovo and the diaspora.
Competitions declare winner not losers because hits never die. After this Festival, where I gave my soul, I can say that I was never and will never be part of any jury for any reason. I believe in meritocracy and I am deeply sorry that in this platform I could not give voice to the public. I am sorry if I disappointed you, I understand and respect your sensibility please spare me of accusations. I was not the jury and I did not choose the jury.
Elvana thank you. You came to this Festival because you believed in my vision you didn’t need a competition to prove who you are because you just ARE. Furthermore, you should feel a winner today because the three jury members of Eurovision gave you 18 top points. Those two points of Albanian jurors, I am speechless”.
In a later post, the TV presenter asks for the spotlight not to be just on the top two singers, but also the jury and the voting system.
Allegedly, Arilena Ara unfollowed Aleketa in the hours after the post went live. We can’t verify whether she did or she didn’t. However, neither lady followed the other at the time of writing.
Guys… come on! both Arilena and Elvana were a great option for Eurovision, but… “all the albanians were supporting Elvana” lol please…, we heard all the public acclaiming Ariena’s name after her performance, even after Elvana’s performance too. After all the songs I really had the sensation that Arilena was the winner, the performance was just better, and of course I’m mad to the jury who put Elvana second to last, which have no sense and was dirty game, but it’s not Arilena’s fault. She’s so talented, she’s one of the best singers from Albania, Shaj is a great ballad… Read more »
I would love to see Arliena pull back, keep the award but allow Elvana to represent Albania at ESC as she was the people’s favorite. I mean she would be a goddess if she does that and everyone will respect her even more. She can represent her country next year.
You’ve said this already 5 times. Could you stop repeating please?
wait until my country romania will host national final in february..
I think Arilena should give up the representation at Eurovision this year. I have the outmost respect for her as an artist and I worry that if she doesnt qualify (which is possible) she will have to carry this throughout her career as a stain, only because the corrupt organizers decided to do as they please, instead of carrying out the will of the public as well as the expert opinion of real eurovision professionals.
OMG i just write the same comment and then saw yours.. well i am glad somelese thinks the same..
Please tell the lady to speak less next year. If she had been more concise, the show would have gotten straight to the point: the entries, and the show would have run shorter.
yeah 4,5 hours with only 10 songs is real crazy. In sweden that would NEVER had worked. In the final we have 12 songs and voting by 8 jurys and public in 2 hours haha. Thats impressive. Albania could never do that.
People dont understand that its not about being salty that the favorite didnt win but the albanian fanbase is much different than the eurovision fandom. Albanian fanbase supported for Elvana since the beginning. Elvana is like an idol for everyone here. We have grown up with her songs. Until two crazy corrupted juries spoiled everything.
Arilena isn’t bad and shouldn’t be hated, but she could step away and represent Albania next year. This year Elvana should sing in Rotterdam, it is sad not to.
It’s like we are trying to create drama… Why though?
I do believe that Albanians should have a say on who will win FiK and go to Eurovision, at least in the final
But come on, all juries had Arilena in their top 3, she was a fan favourite from the beginning as well, not just Elvana
Arilena deserves to enjoy her win and not just be “the singer who won instead of Elvana”
Please, let’s be nicer guys… She doesn’t deserve this hate
I think if Elvana pulls back and allow Ailena to sing in Rotterdam, she will be way more respected and Albania will benefit the most. Elvana can be internally picked for the next year, nothing to lose but gain max.
just switch the names i mess it up..
all this mess going on but it’s not like elvana’s song is THAT special… they better introduce a public voting next year
I really feel bad for Arilena. Instead of enjoying her win, the whole Internet is saying she isn’t deserving.
She can use the situation to her benefit if she simply keeps the award but pulls back and allow Elvana to represent Albania this year. The national broadcaster can offer Arilena next year’s representation. So no one loses and everyone is happy.
Why? She competed as the others and she WON CLEANLY. If a stupid woman gave only 2 points to Elvana it’s not Arilena’s fault. Stop being that stupid please
Arilena was my favourite from the Albanian selection so I don’t really get on board with the voices rising about her not deserving the win. It’s all very surprising really haha. She was the overall favourite of all jury and that’s it. 🙂
Read a comment that the producer of the show are Arilena’s manager. Is this true? If it is, how was this even allowed in the first place? It would be a scandal. If it is true so to speak…
Yes, Vera Grabocka is Arilena’s manager! She organized this whole scene, so this is why we need to change things up!
Hhhhhuuu ? Since when is Vera Arilena’s manager? Cut the crap pls..Arilena has a full well known label managing her.
That’s terrible! Smells of corruption. It’s not Arilena’s fault but it should not have been allowed! Someone needs to get fired. It needs to change.
And I’m so sad that the Albanian people can’t vote in their own contest…
In Sweden the presenters and jury are not given to say all these weird things like they do in Albania after the show. Sometimes we are not happy in Melfest but its not drama lika this. A song always win here in the publics top 3 anyway. Robin was 3rd in 2017. We were still happy. And our jurys usually dont give 2 points for a favourite either.
Elvana completely deserved it. Please do a televote cause 2 Albanian people who aren’t even musicians can’t vote in the right way. And these are definitely corrupted votings. SEND ELVANA TO EUROVISION.
This is dumb
Why so? (I’m just curious)
People can not comprehend, for the umpteenth time, that sometimes their favorite doesn’t win. It’s always gotta be something about a corrupted jury, because everything fans want is right and everything juries want is just to spite the fans. It is stupid, just like it’s always stupid when this happens. Eurovision fans online can sometimes make me feel very embarrassed. Get over it. You’ll never be satisfied with anything.
F. U. You seem like you are paid by Vera Grabocka too. 😀
Nah, I’m paid by Verka Serduchka!
Verka Serduchka’s deal is sold 12-TWELVE years ago! F. U. twice or for the 2nd time.
Nevermind, just F. U.! 😀
verka serduchka handed me a €5 bill to tell you: stop it anal !
OH, just for 5€ you let Verka Seduchka f * * k your anal?! Gooooood, that’s goooood! Shame! I thought you were worthier than that, like 4,99€ !
OK, here we end…
Hey, does Vera still hire? How much can I make out of comments on wiwibloggs?
She or He is paid by Verka! Unlike Verka, Vera doesn’t have a pen** to do you anal! Or… how about with the trophy she gave it to Arilena ??? That would be excited, right ? Would that be enough for you?! 😀
People are not upset that one particular juror did not give Elvana top points but to only give her 2 points and rank her 2nd last. That just reeks of corruption. Tastes don’t differ that much amongst people.
Tastes do differ. Don’t ask me how many points I would give to Duncan. Like 12, but below zero.
Maybe they differ… i didn’t like Elvana’s song at all. For me it should not have been participating at FiK. And this is the main problem because the concept of FiK its totally different from Eurovision and for some of us that have been growing up with songs coming out of this Great Albanian Slow Song Contest its a problem changing the concept for Eurovision sake. (Maybe songs going to Eurovision should be selected from.another Competition) . Elvana’s song was not compatible with FiK concept and regulation. The juror giving her 2 point was albanian musician that knows FiK concept… Read more »
You are stupid if you think one juror not liking Me Tana reeks of corruption. If they’d all put her last in spite of public support then yes, that would appear to be corruption. But this is clearly just down to someone having different tastes (which, surprise surprise, is expected in a jury) and if you can’t accept that people have different tastes then you need to do some growing up.
Again, that also happens in Eurovision. Look at some juries and you’ll see that it’s damn near a full sweep for one country except for one juror voting it down, meaning another country gets first place. (An unintentional example being Denmark in 2016: it would’ve been unanimously in favor of Australia, but one juror accidentally ranked her picks backwards, so she put Australia last and let Ukraine, who she otherwise would’ve put so low they couldn’t even score with that jury, in a place where they could get twelve points! And it was one of the nicest surprises of 2016… Read more »
Geez, thank you so much for having sense and for being mature!
We need more fans like you, Joe
It shouldn’t be that hard, but this happens over and over again and people still act shocked. Doesn’t even matter if their second-favorite wins. (And this applies to the adult contest too: I guarantee you the same fans who were complaining about Eleni or Mahmood not winning would’ve also cried foul if they’d beaten out Netta or Duncan).
Kristian, my winner of 2017, got the 2nd place behind Salvador
I don’t understand why some were angry at it instead of congratulating Salvador and Portugal like I did :\
That’s just a solid, diplomatic attitude right there. The two years I’ve actively followed Eurovision, I’ve been very satisfied by the winners, and I didn’t sense any foul play in letting them take the win. You know why? Because THAT’S THE WAY A COMPETITION WORKS. The first time I felt mildly disappointed by a country winning over my favorite was Poland beating Spain in JESC this year, and even then Spain placed respectably and Poland had a good song (plus, they’re kids! Don’t be a jerk to kids!).
Joe, this is not about who won but how it was won. The girl should have not been allowed to compete since her manager is the organizer of the festival…aka NEPOTISM. Either that or Vera should have never been allowed to organize the festival and let the girl compete. The public vote allowance is another debate. When the votes became public it was obvious what had happened. However people are upset about how the win was won, and not because she won. This is debate every single music festival because jury , our own jury , is simply paid to… Read more »
I honestly think you might be overthinking it just a tad.
The most important thing to be made is a statement by Dr. Minga. If she ain’t making one, that’s when it can be deemed fishy.
If there’s one good thing to result from this so-called “controversy”, it’s that maybe next year RTSH will finally let the public take part in deciding the winner, in order to prevent situations like this one from happening. Hope never dies.
U serving czech entry from 2015?
My heart mostly breaks for all albanian people who supported for the first time a fik entry so much, and they would all tune in in May to support Elvana, only to never experience that because 2 jurors voted insanely….Can you imagine what it means for a small country to show the rest of the world something that they are proud of?
Exactly what I was thinking. I was reading comments on Elvana’s performance on YouTube and it’s honestly heartbreaking to see so many Albanians disappointed… they were really proud to have the opportunity to be represented by Elvana.
This is a fantastic comment! As an albanian you are so right
Never too late to change the winner. Its crazy to send a blant song just cause 2 people had different taste than 3 million others. I mean they thought that Elvana was almost the worst among the line up….
Change the winner? lol
i mean disqualify. Elvana deserves to go.
Who would win if they were to invalidate Makeala’s points?
Elvana
how can u disqualify a winner? i cant understand why the people are so mean in this days…. its just a contest! maybe she just didnt like the song, im not a fan either. if she was pro Arilena, tell me, why she didnt give to her top marks!? im spechless too. cause this is not what eurovision means, this is not the right atitude of a true eurovision fan… if you can lose, just dont compete! kissesss
You must be totally idiot if you can’t realize that the jurors were added 2 days before the final only to bring Elvana down.
It’s not that Arilena won. We’ve all had a day to process the fact that she’s won and I think we can all say she was decent in her own right. How can anyone in their right mind look at all 12 songs and genuinely think that Elvana’s was the second worst? No shade to Olta Boka because I love her but that song was NOT it, the fact that this woman thinks it’s better is a bit delusional. I think this just speaks to the way things were to begin with – why did nobody call out these alleged… Read more »
Tbh the orchestra argument has been there for years, I remember that one of the contestants in 2018 (or technically 2017, since it was December) was also the pianist for all the other performances.
Alketa threw Mikaela under the bus pretty hard, right there.
Even if you don’t agree with what happened, as a host or a director….I don’t think you should be doing that.
well, there arent many arguments to support why a juror gave only 2 points to the most viewed song of FiK ever and the song that the public wanted…..
Oh I agree. You can say it, I can say it…I just don’t know if the host/director should be coming out and saying it.
If she wasnt involved in the jury, she shouldnt experience the massive hate by the people regarding the results.
Sorry which public ?? FiK public surely not. Yes Elvana has her fans but come on that was not a song on FiK concept. So the only solution is that the Song going to Eurovision should be selected from another competition… but for god sake please don’t ask us to change our traditions and our Institutions, because for us FiK is an institution, just for sending a poor non Albanian song to Eurovision…
She is only a host. She has no say on the scoring anyway so why gatekeep her from having the liberty to say anything she wants?
Mikaela Minga, probably one of the most hated persons in albania/kosovo at the moment, her facebook overflows by unwanted comments.
And YES, music is about taste, BUT to put Elvana 11th out of 12 songs, no matter how odd taste you have, thats should be impossible, that’s just insane!!!
One question i’m askning my self, did the jurys reveal to each other who they might vote for during the show? At least Mikaela took probably advantage of that and did the math needed to change the winner.
I’m not going to get over this for a looong time.
i dont believe in coincidences. The way she gave her points was perfectly calculated in order to give victory to Arilena with some points difference
I do think it’s a bit of a farce, Elvana more or less had this in the bag and SHOULD have won, and they know it even the HOST admits this, why didn’t they just internally select her and did this behind closed doors and had the public choose her song, as much as we love FiK we could have done without it for a year, and when such a massive, regional artist is interested in doing Eurovision he, she or they need to be snatched up immediately and none of this meandering with the national final where it could… Read more »
I have a feeling…if the broadcaster really gets pushed they may recount the votes…(ie choose Elvana)
Oh wow. That is a slippery slope.
Moving the goalposts, changing the voting or the rules of the contest after it’s been held? That sounds like something that might happen in the Ukraine. For the short-term gain of getting Elvana, that could do serious damage to FiK in terms of attracting artists/jurors in the future.
There is still a karma ….I wish good luck to Arilena, but it can be the same situation like it was with Ester and Romania this year in Israel 🙁
That will 100% happen. Arilena would have already struggled to qualify for the final with Shaj but this situation will make it even harder.