After two very long evenings filled with big voices, a live orchestra and a much-improved stage, Festivali i Këngës 55 — Albania’s selection show for Eurovision 2017 — is ready for the final.

On Thursday evening, semi-final two saw plenty of potential winners — including R&B star Dilan Reka and American Idol veteran Lindita Halimi. Both of them advanced to the final. Say, what?! Yes, producers went ahead and made the announcement at the end of tonight’s show. They went with 14 finalists rather than the 22 they selected last year. That will give you a few extra hours to get ready for Friday’s finale!

You can check out the performances from the second semi-final and the qualifiers below.

The finalists:

Dilan Reka – “Mos harro” (Don’t forget)

Edea Demaliaj – “Besoj në ëndrra” (I believe in dreams)

Fabiola Agalliu & Agnesa Çavolli – “Shkon e vjen” (You come and go) Flaka Krelani – “Osiris” (Osiris) Franc Koruni – “Macka” (The pussycat) Genc Salihu – “Këtu” (Here) Lindita Halimi – “Botë” Lorela – “Me ty” (With you) LYNX – “Sot” (Today) Orges Toçe – “Shi diamantësh” (Diamond rain) Rezarta Smaja – “Pse prite gjatë” (Why did you wait so long?) Xhesika Polo – “Eva jam unë” (I am Eva) XUXI – “Metropol” (Metropoly) Yll Limani – “Shiu” (The rain)

SEMI-FINAL 2 PERFORMANCES:

Elson Braha – “Edhe një herë”

Lorela – “Me ty” (qualified)

Tiri “Më zgjo”

Fabiola Agalliu & Agnesa Çavolli – “Shkon e vjen” (qualified)

Rezarta Smaja – “Pse prite gjatë” (qualified)

Dilan Reka – “Mos harro” (qualified)

Albulena Jashari – “Fjalët ia lë zemrës”

XUXI – “Metropol” (qualified)

Luka & Serxhio Hajdini – “Koha plaket”

Classic Boys – “Dashuria për jetën”

Linda Rukaj – “Vija e lumit”

Lindita Halimi – “Botë” (qualified)

The grand final of Festivali i Këngës 55 will be held tomorrow night (December 23) at 21:00 CET. It will be streamed live on RTSH’s official stream here. We are expecting some big surprises during the grand final.

What do you think of the performances? We wanna hear your opinions, so comment below!

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