Prior to the 2016 Contest , Albania had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest twelve times since its first entry in 2004 . The nation 's best placing in the contest was fifth , which it achieved in 2012 with the song " Suus " performed by Rona Nishliu . Following the introduction of semi-finals for the , Albania had , to this point , featured in seven finals . In 2015 , Albania qualified to the final and placed seventeenth with the song " I 'm Alive " performed by Elhaida Dani
I 'm Alive
I'm Alive (Elhaida Dani song)
Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016