Luiz Ejlli (born 12 July 1985) is an Albanian singer, songwriter, actor, musician, ex-

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

, reality show star and TV personality. A former winner of the 44th edition of , he also represented Albania in the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest. After several years of absence on music, he gained popularity and received significant attention following his participation and victory of the second season of the Albanian reality competition '' Big Brother VIP'' on

Top Channel Top Channel is a national commercial television network in Tirana, Albania, founded by Dritan Hoxha in 2001. It is part of the Top Media Group, one of the largest media conglomerates in Albania, which includes Top Albania Radio, Top Gold Radi ...

. In 2010, Ejlli was appointed by the Albanian Government as First Secretary for Culture, Tourism, and Arts in the Albanian Embassy in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Life and career

Ejlli was born on 12 July 1985, in

Shkodër Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra; historically known as Scodra or Scutari) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, fifth-most-populous city of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. Shkodër has been List of o ...

, Albania. Between 1991 and 2002, he attended the Prenk Jakova Musical secondary school in Shkodër. He debuted in an Albanian version of

Idol Idol or Idols may refer to: Religion and philosophy * Cult image, a human-made object that is venerated or worshipped for the deity, spirit or daemon that it embodies or represents * Murti, a devotional image of a deity or saint used during puja ...

Tirana Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills, with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest ov ...

called "Ethet e së premtes mbrëma". After his victory, he participated in the 43rd edition of . He ended in second place with the song "Hëna dhe Yjet Dashurojnë". Ejlli participated in the music competition again in 2005 and won with the song "

Zjarr e ftohtë "Zjarr e ftohtë" (; ) is a song by Albanian singer Luiz Ejlli. Klodian Qafoku composed the music while Dr. Flori wrote the lyrics. Musically, it is an Albanian-language pop song incorporating a southern Albanian folklore element in its instru ...

", with which he represented Albania at the

Eurovision Song Contest 2006 The Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was the 51st edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Athens, Greece, following the country's victory at the with the song "My Number One" by Helena Paparizou. Organised by the European Broadcas ...

, but failed to make it past the semi-final stage. In November 2010, Ejlli collaborated with

Juliana Pasha Juliana Pasha (born 20 May 1980) is an Albanian singer. In 2010, she won Honorary Citizen Award of Burrel from the mayor of the city. After she went into Eurovision in 2010 she won the first prize in the festival "Kenga Magjike" with the song ca ...

on "Sa e shite zemrën", with which they competed in the annual musical competition

Kënga Magjike Kënga Magjike (; ) is an annual music competition organised by the Albanian television broadcaster Televizioni Klan. The music competition has been broadcasting annually since its inauguration in 1999 with the exception of 2020 and 2023. The f ...

, winning the prize of the critic and the first place award. Ejlli was also employed from the Albanian state authorities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a high-profile cultural attaché at the Albanian embassy in

. On 24 December 2022, Ejlli appeared as a contestant on the second season of the reality competition '' Big Brother VIP'', an Albanian edition of ''

Celebrity Big Brother ''Celebrity Big Brother'' or ''Big Brother VIP'' is an adaptation of the '' Big Brother'' reality television series. It is the celebrity version of its parent franchise ''Big Brother'', the celebrity version airs in several countries, however, t ...

''. During his participation on the competition, he recorded the song " Me ty" which was dedicated to Albanian television presenter Kiara Tito, who was also a participant of the competition, and released on 14 February 2023, which was also

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a Christian martyrs, martyr named Saint Valentine, Valentine, and ...

. On 6 May 2023, in the season finale, Ejlli emerged as the winner of the second season. On the same night, Ejlli also married Tito. Following his participation and victory of the second season of ''Big Brother VIP'', Ejlli played Besi in the 2023 romantic comedy film ''Within Love''.

References

1985 births Living people Musicians from Shkodër 21st-century Albanian male singers Festivali i Këngës winners Cultural attachés Eurovision Song Contest entrants {{Albania-singer-stub Big Brother VIP (Albanian TV series) winners