MALTA 2011 - One Life

Malta is one of those countries where the ESC is more than just a contest. The Maltese are crazy about the ESC ... not that there's anything wrong with that, of course ... and they would go really crazy if it should ever happen that they won. They never have; their best results are two second places. Which isn't at all bad, of course. But it doesn't bring the contest to Valletta. I would love for Malta to win one of these years, just because they would be so totally happy about it and they would put their collective heart into giving us a hell of a show. :-)

But alas, that will not happen in 2012. I'm sorry to say it. They have been really struggling over the past five years. I would love to see them do better this year. But I'm not at all sure that they will manage to. There isn't anything really wrong with this song, it will no doubt be on my mp3 player before too long. But there isn't anything special about it either. Unless you want to count the singer's atrocious accent. ;-) It's just a standard pop song. It's catchy, and it may have people dancing then and there, but there's nothing special about it. Of course it depends on the competition, but I'm not hoping for very much for this song.

It will also depend on the presentation, which I really hope they will change before Düsseldorf. I am so not digging what they did in the national final. I mean, like the dancers. What is the deal with those faceplates?? And the singer's outfit too. No, change it, stat. Look to Serbia.

Well, I always have my fingers crossed for Malta in some small way. I can't vote for them, because they're in our semi, but good luck. :-) This is Glen Vella performing One Life by Paul Giordimania and Fleur Balzan. They will be competing for Malta on Tuesday, May 10th.



Widescreen here.

Lyrics here.

MALTA 2010 - My Dream

Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without.
Confucius

Note that the type of music is not specified. ;-)

Malta is a nation that takes the ESC extremely seriously. I mean, extremely extremely. If they ever won that would be SO awesomely cool, because they would be so incredibly super happy about it. :-) I'm not sure where in Valletta it could be hosted, but I would dearly love to see them try. :-) They participated for a few years in the early 70s, then dropped out, but then were back with a vengeance in 1991 and have never been gone from the contest since. They tended to do well for about a decade and a half ... never quite well enough, but well. Their best results so far are 2nd place in 2002 and, most notably, in 2005. Now that was an amazing song ... I love it. But after that fantastic entry the sparkle seemed to have disappeared from their ESC efforts and they have been doing really badly since. Something which upsets them greatly, of course. :-) How will they do this year??

If they end up bombing again, I have to say that it won't be the singer's fault. She's good. Good voice, stage presence, performance, everything. As for the song itself ... I'm divided. I do like it, a lot. But it's grown on me, I didn't take to it immediately. And I have to say that it still takes way too long to build up. The ending's great, I love it. But it takes so long to get to that point where it gets really good ... the transitions between verses and choruses are weird ... and in places the song resembles certain previous entries just way too much. It's also a ballad which is always risky, result-wise. This isn't the winner, I don't think ... it may do well, I hope it will do well, but I think it will also depend on to what extent it's overshadowed by other entries. I'm having a hard time with this one.

Oh, and keep an eye on her dress while she's performing. You think you've seen some weird dresses so far? Nuh-uh, you have not. This is the dressy weirdness to top all gown-related peculiarities. Just keep watching, it starts out normal, but then ... !! I'm sure they will keep the performance as is, because it's way too expensive to change. ;-) It will make the song stand out and be remembered, but that may not be to the good, if it's remembered primarily for weirdness. I personally don't really understand how the performance, or at least that part of it, relates to the song.

This is Thea Garrett performing My Dream by Jason Cassar and Sunny Aquilina, who will be competing on May 25th. Good luck to them. I always root for the Maltese a little bit, their enthusiasm is infectious. :-)



Lyrics here.

So, I lucked out asking about vacations in Slovakia, but has anyone been to Malta?? ;-)

MALTA 2005: Chiara - Angel

Time for another ESC favorite. This is the best Maltese entry ever, IMO, a beautiful song by a wonderful singer. I've listened to this song a lot over the past four years. :-) I love Chiara's voice, it's so expressive. And this song just has it all, really. Malta's strongest entry ever. They were one of the top favorites that year. Unfortunately they only got to 2nd place ... the genuinely talented Chiara was beaten on the finish on the finish line by that Greek slut, pardon my French. Alas.

Chiara composed this song herself, and she wrote the lyrics too, so she really competed in every possible way. :-) She competed for Malta on Thursday, May 19th, and Saturday, May 21st, 2005 in the Palace of Sports in Kyiv.



Lyrics here.

Moldova, Malta, Estonia

Moldova:
Yay ... !! :-)
Now here's an ESC performer who can really sing. I don't care what Aftenposten says. ;-)
Again, everything's good about this song. Nothing I would change. She even sings in Moldovan. Me like ... !! I'm so glad she got through from the semi ... otherwise she would have had to pay for the trip herself. :-D Go Moldova!! I'm sure they'll do very very well. :-)

Malta:
Good song, good performer with a wonderful voice. But we're talking about BookCrossing and vacation experiences (on Malta, but still) while she's singing, so it obviously can't be all that.
The Maltese have high hopes - as usual - but I'm afraid they're rather groundless. They'll probably do pretty well, because, hello, it's Chiara. :-) But I'd be amazed if this won.

Estonia:
Ooh, my favorite ... !! I love this song. Every time I hear it, I just like it more and more. Beautiful.
The lyrics aren't even about that same old un/requited love shit. They're very deep and profound. ;-)
Lovely music, beautifully performed, a wonderful singer.
I can't see this winning, because I think its appeal isn't quite broad enough. I would be deliriously happy if they did, though. :-)
Go Estonia!!!

Portugal, Malta, Bosnia & Herzegovina

Portugal:
Another song that has really grown on me. The more I hear it the more I like it. And I totally love what they're doing with the stage. Fantastic. Fun and charming.
The song is soo pretty!! And the singer is so pretty too. :-) Young and sweet. I really like their presentation. And the song is just adorable. I love her voice. She has such an unusual voice. It'll be remembered.
See you, Portugal, I hope ... and all the best of luck!!

Malta:
At least here's a song that is guaranteed to be very well performed ... !!
A lovely song and a beautiful voice.
A very Chiara presentation. :-)
But it's a ripoff of Angel ... both the song and the presentation. The latter even more than I'd thought.
I hope they will get through, but I'm less sure than I was.
A really good entry though ... I like it ... but ballads are dangerous.
Good luck to Malta, they deserve it.

Bosnia & Herzegovina:
Ooh, great presentation ... !!
One of the real contenders this year.
Very good song, a great performance.
Nothing here I don't like. And I'm sure I will like this song more and more the more I hear it, too.
Ending the show on a high note. :-)

MALTA 2009: Chiara - What If We

Umm ... so, not at all to be rude in any way, because this is a contestant I really respect - the Maltese are crazy about the ESC, they're desperate to win (and for my part I would love to watch the contest being brought to us live from Valletta :-) and Chiara is a total ESC queen. This will be her third time performing in the contest (1998, 2005, 2009) and her song in -05, Angel, which she composed and wrote herself, is one of my all-time ESC favorites ever. She ended up 2nd that time ... which I thought seriously sucked, because she had been a much more deserving winner than the scantily clad Swedish-born strumpet who won for Greece with almost the worst lyrics ever. (Wild Dances is much worse though, lyric-wise. That's my opinion and I stand by it. I'll take my wild chances. >:-) Anyway ...

My problem with this song is that it's kind of a rewrite of Angel, just nowhere near as good. And I feel that she performed that entry better, too. Of course it's her own composition, so that would explain that. I do think her performance is very good now too, but she has a lot to live up to now. :-) I like this song, it's good, and it ought to do well (although ballads are always dangerous ... but the Serbians kind of brought them back :-) but it doesn't grab me the way Angel always did from the word go. This song is more bland, more standard. Which of course is not in its favor. So I don't think Malta should be expecting too much ... it ought to do well, but if they couldn't win four years ago with that fantastic song, they sure won't be able to now.

And about the slams she's getting here and there about her weight ... seriously, who cares? She's a wonderful singer, no doubt one of the best we will see on stage in Moscow, if not the very best. So what if she's not skinny like all the rest? The interesting part is when you hear people say, She sings fantastically, it's too bad she's so fat. How stupid can you get? The fact that she's fat is a big reason why she sings so well. Why do they think so many great opera singers are overweight? Duh. People suck. >:-(

But this song certainly doesn't, even though I personally had been hoping for something even better. This is Chiara Siracusa performing What If We, written and composed by Gregory Bilsen and Marc Paelinck. They will be competing for Malta with the excellent starting number 17 in the first semi.* So I couldn't vote for this entry even if I wanted to. Let's hope it gets through.

Lyrics here.

*There are only 18 entries in the first semi because Georgia got disqualified.

Malta, Cyprus, FYR Macedonia, Portugal

Malta:
Finally a nice outfit again ... or pretty nice, anyway. Didn't notice the boots at first.
A really good voice and a professional, confident singer ... pretty good presentation ... and a catchy, upbeat song.
But. It gets really annoying really quickly.
I can feel my blood pressure rising as I watch this ...

Cyprus:
And we're back to the hideous gowns ...
Ouch, she changed, and now it's almost even worse! :-o
This song is catchy and sort of has many elements that one ought to like, but I don't like it anyway. It seems very calculated to me. Kind of heartless, like the Swedish song.
I don't think this will get to the final.

FYR Macedonia:
This song is just really boring IMO, there's nothing to it that makes it stand out in any way. And nothing much that's special about the presentation either.
I don't have much to say about this. It's just completely standard issue all the way.
I hope it doesn't get through, it doesn't deserve it.

Portugal:
A better presentation that in their national final. Rather striking.
Maybe overly theatrical for my taste. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
She has a very good voice and this is a beautiful ballad. And the similarities to last year's winner have been toned down a lot. So now I'm starting to think they may not be so off the mark with this. :-)
No chance of winning, I don't think, but may get to the final, I won't be surprised if they do.

MALTA: Morena - Vodka

This song is not about vodka. 'Vodka' on the contrary is a code being used by the characters in the song, who are spies. :-)

Someone must be hoping for some votes from Russia ... ; -) ... perhaps the only country who is more desperate than Malta to win.

This song sounds good at first, but then it gets annoying. It's just too much. She's a good singer, but she needs a better song. I'm afraid Malta won't be getting as far as they hope this year ...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeO0J_VlnQ8


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wXVf3iBGhI