The Maltese broadcaster TVM revealed a few minutes ago the 20 songs that will compete in the semi final of its national selection, to take place on the 22nd of January, when the 14 tickets for the Maltese national final for Eurovision 2016 will be given.
The 20 selected artists have been revealed as usual during the show Xarabank, which is broadcast on TVM. According to the broadcaster, a total of 153 submissions were received but only 49 of them have been selected for the second phase of the competition. The 20 performers listed above will compete on the 22nd (semi final) and 23rd (final) of January to represent Malta at Eurovision 2016. The winner of MESC 2016 will be decided by a jury panel made up of six members as well as public televoting, which will count as a seventh vote added to the six jury vote.
The 20 semifinalists of this year’s Malta Eurovision Song Contest can be found below:
- Maxine Pace – Young Love
- Deborah C – All around the world
- Lawrence Gray – You’re Beautiful
- Brooke – Golden
- Raquel Galdes – Flashing Lights
- Corazon – Falling Glass
- Kimberly Cortis – Lighthouse
- Jasmine Abela – Alive
- Domenique Azzopardi – Empty Hearted
- Jessika – The Flame
- Daniel Testa – Under The Sun
- Ira Losco – That’s why I Love You
- Franklin – Little Love
- Dario Misfud Bonnici – I Love You
- Dominic – Fire Burn
- Danica Muscat – Front Line
- Ira Losco – Chameleon (Invincible)
- Christabelle – Kingdom
- Sarah Crystal – Right Here With You
- Stefan Galea – Light up my Life
Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest
Malta has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 28 times since its debut in 1971. Malta has never won the contest although it has twice finished second and twice finished third. At first, the country sent songs in its native language, Maltese, but it failed to rank highly, finishing last in its first two attempts in the contest in 1971 and 1972 and subsequently withdrew after the 1975 contest.
Malta’s return to the contest in 1991 (after a 16-year absence) proved more successful with eight consecutive top 10 placings (1991-1998) and finishing in the top 10 in 12 out of 15 contests from 1991-2005. These results included third-place finishes in 1992 and in 1998 for Chiara and second-place finishes in 2002 for Ira Losco and in 2005 for Chiara, who in 2009 became the first performer to represent Malta at three contests finishing 22nd. Malta is the most successful country not to win the contest yet.
Since 2004, when semi finals were introduced to the contest, the country has failed to qualify from the semi-final round five times: in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2015. Together with France, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom, Malta is one of the few countries that has not missed a contest since 1991. All of Malta’s entries since 1991 have been sung in its other official language, English. The only use of the Maltese language was three lines in the 2000 entry Desire. Along with Croatia and Sweden, Malta was the only non Big Four country never to have been relegated under the previous rules of the contest.
Below you can watch Amber performing Warrior at the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest.
