Sonja "Soni" Malaj (born 23 October 1981), also known mononymously as Soni, is an Albanian singer, songwriter and dancer.
Life and career
Soni Malaj was born on 23 October 1981 into an
Albanian family in the city of
Tropojë, then part of the
People's Republic of Albania, present
Albania
Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
.
Her real name is Sonja Malaj. She spent her childhood until the age of 9 in
Tropoja. The family then moved to
Tirana where Soni would continue her career as a singer.
She has participated in competitions like "Top Fest" (2006), and she placed second in
Kënga Magjike with
Flori Mumajesi, with the song "Fluturimi 3470". After Serbian singer
Marija Šerifović won
Eurovision Song Contest 2007, there was speculation that her winning song
Molitva was actually
plagiarism of Soni Malaj's song Ndarja. Soni Malaj also won Top Fest 11.
She was a judge on the
second,
third and
sixth seasons of the Albanian talent Show
''X Factor''.
In 2018, Malaj unsuccessfully attempted to
represent Albania in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2019, after finishing fifth at the 57th edition of
Festivali i Këngës with the song "Më e fortë". In March 2021,
Televizioni Klan (TV Klan) announced her as one of the contestants selected to compete at the
22nd edition of
Kënga Magjike.
Discography
Albums
* ''Nuk qaj për ty'' (2002)
* ''Mbretëresha e natës'' (2003)
* ''E vogëla'' (2005)
* ''Mesdhe'' (2006)
* ''Unik'' (2010)
Singles
As lead artist
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malaj, Soni
1981 births
21st-century Albanian women singers
Albanian dancers
Albanian showgirls
Albanian songwriters
Albanian-language singers
Living people
People from Tropojë