Elvana Gjata

 
Elvana Gjata (; born 3 February 1987), also known mononymously as Elvana (), is an Albanian singer, songwriter, actress, composer and entrepreneur. Born and raised in Tirana, she has been referred to as the "Diva of Albanian music" and is noted for her versatility in music, performance and presentation. She rose to recognition in the Albanian-speaking Balkans following the release of her two albums, "Mamës" (2007) and "Afër dhe larg" (2011), both of which were influenced by r&b and dance-pop. Her success was further solidified with the later released extended play "3" (2018), which incorporated more pop-rock and folk elements. Gjata has received numerous awards and accolades, including two Balkan Music Award, a Festivali i Këngës Award, four Kënga Magjike Awards and a Top Fest Award.
Life and career.
1987–2002.
Elvana Gjata was born to Fatmir and Donika Gjata on 3 February 1987 into an Albanian family of the Roman Catholic faith in the city of Tirana, then part of the People's Socialist Republic, present Albania. Her father has served in the Albanian Armed Forces for more than two decades. Migena, her elder sister, is also a musician and soprano with a musical career based in Germany. She studied to become a film director at the University of Arts in Tirana. Describing her early life, Gjata has stated that she was raised in a poor but happy household. She began to dedicate herself to music when she was fourteen as she auditioned for the Albanian talent show Ethet e së premtes mbrëma.
2003–2013.
In 2003, Gjata unsuccessfully attempted to represent Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004, after her participation at the 42th edition of Festivali i Këngës with the song "Pranë Teje", whom she dedicated to God. In 2004, she released her first single "Të Kam Xhan" composed for her participation in Kënga Magjike by her future collaborator and manager Flori Mumajesi. She began working on her debut album "Mamës" shortly after. Since then, she has participated two times in the aforementioned competition, including in 2007 and in 2009 placing third with the song "Ku Jeton Dashuria" in 2007, and second in 2009 with the song "Dhe Zemra Ndal". In June 2011, she won the 8th edition of Top Fest the song "Me Ty", which she dedicated to her friend Elsina Hidersha who died following a car accident that year.
In August 2011, Gjata released her second studio album "Afër dhe Larg" with fifteen songs, including the eponymous single "Afër dhe Larg". Due to its success, the latter single received Gjata's first international awards of her career at the 2012 Balkan Music Awards. Later that year, she was featured on the advertising campaign of Türk Ekonomi Bankası (TEB) in Kosovo. In February 2012, she was announced as one of the celebrities to compete on season three of Dancing with the Stars. Considered one of the favourites to win, Gjata received high scores in the time of her tenure on the show and ultimately won the competition in the final. The follow-up single "Gjaku im" was released in April 2012 to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Independence of Albania, which she also dedicated to the Albanian people. Shortly thereafter, she was chosen as the face of the Albanian television platform Tring Digital. In March 2013, in a collaboration with Albanian rapper 2po2, Gjata released the well-received single "Beso".
2014–present.
In February 2014, Gjata released "Disco Disco" featuring Albanian duo Kaos, being followed by the release of "Puthe", which peaked at number 37 in Poland. That year, she released her first extended play, "Acoustic Live Session", showcasing live performances of five songs, including "Anonim", "As ti", "Mëngjesi i kësaj here", "Pak nga pak" and "Si une". Also in 2014, she was announced as the official face of the Albanian telecommunication company Albtelecom. In March 2015, she collaborated with Albanian musician Flori Mumajesi on "Kuq e zi je ti", which was selected as the official supporters song for Albania's participation at the 2016 UEFA European Championship in France. A year after release, "Love me" featuring Albanian singer Bruno was nominated for the Song of the Year at the 2016 Top Music Awards. In July 2016, she unexpectedly released her follow-up number one single "Njësoj" without any prior announcement or promotion. In October 2016, she scored her second number one single with "Lejla", a collaboration with Albanian rappers Capital T and 2po2.
Following several months spent in the United States, Gjata came into close liaison with American producer Poo Bear and French disc jockey David Guetta with whom she started to work with. In February 2017, she attended the 59th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles upon the invitation of Poo Bear. In June 2017, her first English-language single "Forever Is Over" reached number one in Albania. Gjata's second extended play, "3", was released on her 31st birthday on 3 February 2018, which also included the two number one chart-topping songs "Më fal" and "Xheloz". In April 2018, she was featured on Poo Bear's single "Shade" and collaborated with American rapper Ty Dolla Sign on her follow-up single "Off Guard". After Gjata's return to Albania in the same year, the follow-up releases, "Ku Vajti" and "Mike", both attained success in her country as they reached number 2, respectively. In February 2019, following a certain commercial absence, she released her next number one single "Tavolina e mërzisë" In June 2019, Gjata collaborated a second time with Capital T on the follow-up single "Fustani", which went on to peack at number one in Albania.
"Fustani" was succeeded by "Meine Liebe" featuring German-Albanian singer Ardian Bujupi, reaching number 73 in Switzerland. In August 2019, Gjata premiered "A m'don" and went on to perform at the Sunny Hill Festival in Pristina, sharing stage with other acclaimed artists, such as Miley Cyrus, Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa. In October 2019, the Albanian broadcaster, Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH), announced that Gjata would compete in the 58th edition of Festivali i Këngës, the country's national selection competition for the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, with the song "Me tana". Gjata subsequently became the bookmakers and fans favourite to win the competition though in the grand final she finished in the second place. Returning after a year of absence, she released her follow-up single "Thirr" on her 34th birthday on 3 February 2021, which debuted at number one. The singer's third extended play "Çelu" was issued in April 2021. "Drandofilat" from the record peaked at number one on the Albanian Top 100, while "Kunadhe" and "Mos u ngut" reached the top 10.
Artistry.
The artistic and musical work as well as the fashion sense of Gjata are widely covered by media throughout Albania and the Albanian-speaking Balkans. Several observers have commended her fashion style for its captiousness and versatility describing her as an icon of fashion. Gjata's music has generally been regarded as r&b and pop, although she has been experimenting with a variety of other music genres, including EDM, ethnic-pop, dance-pop, funk, pop rock and soul. She has cited Albanian musicians, as for instance, Vaçe Zela, Parashqevi Simaku, Aurela Gaçe and Nexhmije Pagarusha as well as Canadian singer Celine Dion as her musical influences and inspirations.
Other ventures.
Throughout her career, Gjata has ventured into other businesses and industries, including film, fashion and design. In 2014, she has posed for the cover of the British "Velvet" and Albanian "Anabel" magazines, respectively. In 2016, she first entered the fashion industry partnering with international Albanian fashion designer Valdrin Sahiti to launch the exclusive gown collection line "Lejla".