Elsa Lila

Elsa Lila (; born 4 July 1981) is an Albanian singer.

Life and career 

Elsa Lila was born on 4 July 1981 in Tirana, Albania. Her father is a retired tenor who was part of the former Albanian state choir, while her mother was a violinist, so both of her parents raised her close to the music and the theatre, giving her a great love for the arts. Lila had shown her singing and acting talents ever since she was a child in Albanian state television shows and won the Albanian national song contest, or Festivali i Këngës, two years in a row while she was in her teenage years. She is also known for originating the role of Satine in the Albanian-language version of the musical Moulin Rouge. In 2014, Lila was a judge on the fourth season of The Voice of Albania. For almost two months since March 16, 2022, she was arrested by the Italian police in Rome, because of the suspicion of criminal activities with narcotics but then the charges were later dropped.

In 1996, at the age of 15, Lila first won Festivali i Këngës with "Pyes lotin," and also won the Albanian Public Award through televoting. In 1997, she repeated herself with "Larg urrejtjes." In 1998, she was noticed by all of Europe when she won Albania the Varna International Song Contest in Bulgaria, where 14 other countries participated. Within that year, she also represented her country in Lisboa Expo 98, holding a concert. In 1999, at only 18 years old, Lila was elected "Albanian Singer of the Century" by the national poll of the Albanian state radio television. In the same year, Lila won the debut edition of Kenga Magjike with "Vetëm një fjalë." In 2001, she was awarded "Ambassador of the Albanian Music in the World" by Rexhep Mejdani, President of the Republic of Albania. Her first Sanremo participation was in the Sanremo Music Festival 2003 with the song "Valeria," placing 8th in the Newcomers section. She was also recognized in the United States when she modeled for various magazine covers in New York City and sang at the Avery Fisher Hall to the American State Secretary in 2005. For Asian recognition, she sang the jingle of the popular Chinese television program, CCTV, while she was a guest in the country. She took part at the Sanremo Music Festival 2007 with the song "Il senso della vita," reaching the finals. In December 2007, Lila hosted the 46th Festivali i Këngës with Pirro Çako, as well as the 47th Festivali I Këngës a year later in 2008 where she sang a song with Enrico Ruggeri, and it became part of the soundtrack of the movie by director Gjergj Xhuvani.

2022–present: Comeback and continued success 

In October 2022, the Albanian national broadcaster,  (RTSH), reported that Lila was one of 26 artists shortlisted to compete in the 61st edition of  with the song "Evita," dedicated to her daughter. She emerged victorious, but this time only managed to win the jury vote, and thus could not represent Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, as Albina & Familja Kelmendi won a separate public vote.

One of the notable collaborations with Italian conductor Enrico Melozzi after "Evita," was when Lila presented four rearranged songs at his "Un rave classico" concert, part of the Ravenna Festival on July 15, 2023. She, in recent years, has been experimenting with Albanian folk songs, as well as Baroque music, or music within the 17th-18th centuries, using her "natural voice;" she would not sound like an operatic soprano. In certain rearrangements, lyrics inspired by Albanian poetry were also inserted, such as when Lasgush Poradeci's "Dremit liqeri" was adapted to Piano Concerto No. 23 (Mozart).

In 2023, she was again selected to compete in the Festivali i Këngës with the song "Mars".

Discography

Albums

Singles

References 

1981 births
21st-century Albanian women singers
Albanian expatriates in Italy
Albanian-language singers
Festivali i Këngës winners
Kënga Magjike winners
Living people
Musicians from Tirana