Eslin Kurti finishes 15th at Junior Eurovision with “Kërce me mua,” Armenia wins in Malta with Naré

Eslin Kurti ended her Junior Eurovision 2026 journey in 15th place with 62 points in the final held on Saturday at the Malta Fairs & Conventions Centre in Ta' Qali. With the song “Kërce me mua” (Dance with me), written and composed by Enis Mullaj and Eriona Rushiti, the RTSH entrant took the stage 14th of the 16 participating countries.

Albania received 19 points from the national juries and 43 from the public online vote. According to the contest's records, this is Albania's second-lowest placing in its Junior Eurovision history. Albania's jury points were announced by Viola Gjyzeli, while Andri Xhahu provided commentary on the final for RTSH.

Armenia wins for the third time

The winner of the 24th edition was Armenia's Naré with the song “Boo!”, which collected 202 points, 103 from the juries and 99 from the public, also winning the online vote. It is Armenia's third trophy in the contest. Spain finished second with Lucas Paulano and 184 points, and France third with Alec and 165 points. San Marino and Georgia completed the top five.

Among the countries of the region, Montenegro with Mija Vujović finished 12th with 68 points, mostly thanks to the public vote, while North Macedonia with Ana Stojanoska finished bottom with 57 points. The result was decided 50% by the juries of all 16 countries and 50% by the online vote. Kurti had earned her ticket to Malta in June by winning the National Children's Song Festival in Shkodra.