Is it Malta's destiny to win in 2021?
History
Joe Grech was Malta’s very first entrant and is one of the island’s most popular singers. Throughout 1970s, he successfully toured the U.K. and Canada, the US, and even Australia where he recorded an album with member of the Sydney Opera House orchestra. Unfortunately for Joe, he came in last position, as did the 1972 entry.
1971 - Joe Grech - 'Marija l-Maltija' ('Maria the Maltese')
Both the 1971 and 1972 entries were the only songs performed in Maltese. All entries since have been performed in English.
The country didn’t appear at the 1974 contest, but did at the 1975 contest with Renato 'Singing This Song':
Malta then withdrew from the Contest for 16 years, between 1976 and 1991.
Returning in 1991, Malta gained a respectable sixth place with duo, Paul Giordimaina and Georgina and 'Could It Be', the power ballad that always does well at Eurovision:
Malta made its debut at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1971, but didn't have real success until the 2000s with some now fan favourites:
2002 - Ira Losco – '7th Heaven' – 2nd place
Ira, who was much loved by fans, later returned to Eurovision in 2016 with “Walk on Water” and came in a respectable 12th place.
2005 – Chiara – 'Angel' – 2nd place
Chiara has appeared at Eurovision three times in addition to 2005. She had good support for her song and came in 3rd in 1998 but failed to repeat the success of 2005, finishing 22nd in 2009.
Here’s a selection of the best of Malta at Eurovision:
Fabrizio Faniello
A huge Eurovision fan, Fabrizio has entered the Maltese National Finals to select the country’s Eurovision entry on several occasions, winning the coveted place twice in 2001 with 'Another Summer Night' and in 2006 with 'I Do'
2006 – “I Do”
2011 - Glen Vella – 'One Life'
Despite giving an excellent performance, Glen missed out on his ticket to the Grand Final by just one point. Glen studied music and theory in voice and guitar. He is a qualified vocal coach. A EuroStarz favourite, Glen wowed the audience at our 2019 event.
2012 - Kurt Calleja – 'This in the Night'
This great techno party number by Kurt, who appeared at EuroStarz in 2017.
2017 - Claudia Faniello - 'Breathlessly'
Claudia is the younger sister of Fabrizio. She gave a very stunning performance of 'Breathlessly', but unfortunately, she didn’t make it through to the Final. See her semi-final performance here:
Looking ahead to this year's competition, is 2021 the year for Malta to take the crown?
Destiny Chukunyere - 2020 and 2021
Currently the favourite to win the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest. No stranger to Eurovision, she won the Junior Eurovision Title in 2015. She was the backing singer to Michela, the Maltese entry in 2019. She was mentored by past Eurovision entrant, Ira Losco, and won X-Factor Malta, thus was selected as the Maltese representative for Eurovision 2020. Unfortunately the Contest was cancelled due to the Covid pandemic, but she was reselected by the Maltese broadcaster for 2021.
If she wins, Destiny will be Malta’s first Eurovision victory and would make history being the first ever artist to win both Junior Eurovision and the main event! We await the exciting outcome on Saturday 22 May 2021; take a look at her 2020 and current song below:
2020 - 'All Of My Love'
2021 - 'Je Me Casse'