1. Elvana Gjata rose to recognition in Albania and other Albanian-speaking territories in the Balkans following the release of her two studio albums, Mames and Afer dhe larg.
18 Facts About Elvana Gjata
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Elvana Gjata was born to Fatmir and Donika Gjata on 3 February 1987 into an Albanian family of the Catholic faith in Tirana, then part of the People's Socialist Republic, present Albania.
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Elvana Gjata's father served in the Albanian Armed Forces for more than two decades.
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Elvana Gjata studied at the University of Arts in Tirana to become a film director.
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At the age of 14, Elvana Gjata auditioned for the Albanian talent show and began dedicating herself to music.
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Elvana Gjata has since then participated in two subsequent editions of the contest, including in 2007 and 2009 with the songs "" and "", respectively.
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In June 2011, Elvana Gjata won the 8th edition of Top Fest with the song "", which she dedicated to her friend Elsina Hidersha who died following a car accident that year.
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In March 2013, in a collaboration with Albanian rapper 2po2, Elvana Gjata released the well-received single "Beso".
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In February 2014, Elvana Gjata released "Disco Disco" featuring Kosovo-Albanian duo Kaos, followed by the release of "Puthe", which peaked at number 37 in Poland.
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Elvana Gjata's second extended play, 3, was released on her 31st birthday on 3 February 2018, and included the two number one chart-topping songs, "Me fal" and "Xheloz".
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In February 2019, following a certain commercial hiatus, she released her next number one single, "Tavolina e merzise" In June 2019, Elvana Gjata collaborated a second time with Capital T on the follow-up single "Fustani", which went on to peak at number one in Albania.
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In October 2019, the Albanian broadcaster, Radio Televizioni Shqiptar, announced that Elvana Gjata would compete in the 58th edition of Festivali i Kenges, the country's national selection competition for the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, with the song "Me tana".
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Elvana Gjata became the bookmakers' and fans' favourite to win the competition, though in the grand final she finished in second place.
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Elvana Gjata held her grand concert at the "Air Albania" stadium on 22 June 2023, under the name "Decade", which is related to the fact that this is a key moment of her musical journey of two decades.
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In October 2024, RTSH announced that Elvana Gjata would compete in the 63rd edition of Festivali i Kenges, the national selection competition for the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 with the song "Karnaval".
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The artistic and musical work as well as the fashion sense of Elvana Gjata are widely covered by media throughout Albania and the Albanian-speaking Balkans.
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Elvana Gjata has cited Albanian musicians Vace Zela, Parashqevi Simaku, Aurela Gace and Nexhmije Pagarusha as well as Canadian singer Celine Dion as her musical influences and inspirations.
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Elvana Gjata has been accused of being involved in human trafficking.