An intriguing and promising performance from Malta. The stage show was very similar to how she performed in the Maltese final. When its not broken though, there is no need to fix it. You can meet Christabelle in our complete the sentence interview below – and take a look in our gallery.

Malta is competing in the second semi-final in position number 12. The country is represented by Christabelle and her Taboo, which is written by veteran Swedish songwriter Thomas G:son, Johnny Sanchez, Maltese Muxu and Christabelle herself.

Gallery

Second Rehearsal

Opinions expressed during our second rehearsal coverage are personal from the mentioned writers.

Josef, Czech Republic (in the arena) – When the production team decided that there will be no LED screens this year, some delegations decided to bring their own screens or things to project on. Estonia took a beautiful dress, Russia the rock and Malta four piece LED box. Christabelle looks really angry and also a little bit scary as Taboo is somehow a dark song. Besides the projections, Christabelle also uses some on-screen graphics of the heart and Earth. I don’t like the song from the beginning, but I had to admit, that the staging is quite impressive and I think that Malta will qualify easily.

Michael, UK (in the press centre) – This is a visual treat and Christabelle has really strong vocals. This show can be called a real performance, with the visuals adding to the song, but they were not needed as the song stands on its own. Malta always send pop songs but with a little twist in them that gives them their own individuality. Christabelle is all in black and the meaning of the song about mental health isn’t obviously apparent. Will she qualify? Let’s hope so, she deserves to.

Complete the sentence

First Rehearsal

The song starts of with a projection shot of a black panther, followed by one of a lady swimming under sea. Despite all the colours, especially red being thrown at it, the stage looks very mysterious. A burning heart is projected onto Christablle, not very good as a reminder for those who suffer the agony of heartburn.

People are projected on to the boxes in various poses, all dressed in white, while Christabelle is dressed in black.

The visuals are very impressive. It looks very complicated close up, but from afar the stage looks very organised. Christabelle has a voice like treacle and even on the more aggressive notes, it’s very pleasing to listen to. She sings most of the first part of the song between the four walls, before moving to the front of the stage. A dancer then replaces her in the box, There is a lot of stage communication between the singer and dancer, so it means something. Hopefully Christabelle can let us know the significance of it.

At the final rehearsal shots of fire, blow out at the crucial moments of the final chorus. Malta should be happy with this performance.

How Christabelle was chosen

The Malta national final took place on the 4th of February. 16 acts, selected from 129 submitted, had been chosen for the final which was held with no prior semi-finals.

In the final, Christabelle won over, among others, a former Eurovision participant, Richard from the group Firelight, which represented Malta in 2014. This time he took part together with his father, and their song was popular and close to winning, but in the end, Christabelle won the honour.

Malta at the Eurovision Song Contest

Things have been quite mixed for Malta at the Eurovision Song Contest. The country has, since its debut in 1971, taken part 30 times, so far without winning. In the first 20 years, the country weren’t a dedicated participant. It wasn’t until 1991, things became steady.

With Ira Losco who came second in 2002 with the charming song 7th Wonder, and Chiara who did the same three years later singing Angel, the country have been close to winning twice.

When semi-finals were introduced in 2004, Malta ran into a period with quite mixed results. From 2007 to 2017, Malta failed to reach the final on five occasions. An 8th place for Gianluca Bezzina in 2013 is the only time the country secured themselves a top 10 result in that period.