Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009

Malta participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009. The Maltese broadcaster, Public Broadcasting Services (PBS) held a national final, GO Malta EuroSong 2009, to select the Maltese entry for the Eurovision Song Contest, set to be held in Moscow, Russia. Chiara won the place to represent Malta in the early hours of 8 February 2009, and represented Malta for the third time with the song "What If We".[1][2]

Eurovision Song Contest 2009
Country Malta
National selection
Selection processGO Malta EuroSong 2009
Euro Showbox
Selection date(s)Weekly semi finals
8 November 2008 – 10 January 2009
Final
7 February 2009
Selected entrantChiara
Selected song"What If We"
Finals performance
Semi-final resultQualified (6th, 86 points)
Final result22nd, 31 points
Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2008 • 2009 • 2010►

Background
Main article: Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest

Malta made its debut at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1971. Having come last twice in a row, Malta withdrew in 1973 for two years, before returning in 1975 to do slightly better. Afterwards Malta withdrew from the contest, not making their return until 16 years later in 1991, when Georgina & Paul Giordimaina came sixth, their best place at that point. There have been a total of 21 Maltese entries at Eurovision, with the 2009 entry marking the 23rd. There has since been no gap in its participation at the contest since the 1991 contest, and one of only six to compete in every contest since the introduction of relegation in 1993.

Malta is one of Eurovision's most successful countries not to have won, having come second and third twice. Their most successful entries at the contest were "Angel" by Chiara and "7th Wonder" by Ira Losco, which came second in 2005 and 2002 respectively. Chiara came third in 1998 with her song The One That I Love, after one of Eurovision's most exciting voting sessions. Malta's worst result has been last, which they have achieved on three occasions, in 1971, 1972 and 2006.

Before Eurovision

GO Malta EuroSong 2009

Go Malta EuroSong 2009 is the national final format developed by PBS to select the Maltese entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009.

Format

PBS decided on a new format for its national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009. The format of the competition included eight weekly televised shows, titled Euro Showbox, held between 8 November 2008 and 10 January 2009, where fifty-six songs were presented over the eight shows with seven songs in each. Twenty songs qualified for the final: fifteen were selected by a jury and the remaining five were selected by televoting. The winning song in the final was selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, a five-member international jury panel alongside with the jury and televoting results from the Euro Showbox determined the top three entries to proceed to the superfinal. In the superfinal, the winner was selected entirely by the televote.[3][4][5]

Competing entries

On 13 October 2008, PBS opened the submission period for artists and composers to submit their entries up until 14 October 2008. Maltese songwriters would be allowed to submit up to two songs per singer, though only one singer will be allowed on stage. 182 songs were received by PBS, 43 less than last year.[6] From 23 October 2008 to 2 November 2008, 80 songs were chosen internally for the second phase.[3] However PBS later changed the format for the show and instead of 80 songs taking part, only 56 out of the 182 songs submitted would be featured in the heats, now reduced from ten to eight. Each of the eight heats will include 7 songs, with the top 20 going to the final of the contest. After discussions with the Union of Maltese Singers and Songwriters (UKAM), only one song per artist will be allowed in the final of the contest.[7] The final 56 songs that were chosen were revealed on 27 October 2008.

Among the competing artists, former Maltese entrant Chiara Siracusa came second and third for Malta in 2005 and 1998 respectively.[8] Many former Malta Song for Europe contestants entered a song to PBS. 2008's second and third place artist Claudia Faniello had re-entered as both singer and songwriter.[8] Famous German Eurovision composers Ralph Siegel and Bernd Meinunger (under the pseudonym "John O'Flynn") submitted entries to PBS, which made it through to the semi-finals. Famous Maltese songwriting duo Philip Vella and Gerard James Borg, wrote songs together, apart and with other songwriters.[8]

After the initial line-up of Euro Showbox was confirmed, changes occurred in its line-up. In the first heat, Klinsmann, instead of singing the initial "Butterfly Sky", sang "Rock and Rise", which had been planned to be performed in the last heat.[9] Chiara was then moved to perform in the seventh heat of Euro Showbox on 3 January 2009, switching places with Maria Mallia, due to Chiara encountering some problems.[10] The 20 finalists from the semi-finals were revealed at the last semi-final of Euro ShowBox on 10 January 2009, along with the order they performed in.[11][12]

Heat 1

The first heat was held on 8 November 2008 at the Audiovision TV Studios in Hamrun, hosted by Valerie Vella. The first song was the operatic ballad "Lament", performed by Ludwig Galea along with Fidela tal-Bambinu. Galea had previously represented Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004. The second song was "I'm In Heaven", performed by Dominic Cini. It began as a ballad, but transformed into a swing song. The third song, "Tonight at the Opera" by the Classic Rebels, was a schlager song, written by the past Eurovision composers Ralph Siegel and Bernd Meinunger (as "John O'Flynn"). The fourth song was Klinsmann with the pop-rock song "Rock and Rise". The fifth song was Talitha Dimech's "Earth and Sky", which begins as a ballad before becoming more up-tempo. The sixth song was the mid-tempo ballad "One Million Ways" by Rosman Pace, and the final song was "Falling in Love" by Francesca Borg, a ballad which features Borg alone in a black dress.[9][13]

The Classic Rebels and Rosman Pace qualified to the final, with the other acts being eliminated from the competition.[11][12]

Controversy arose after the heat had been broadcast, after it was revealed that the incorrect SMS numbers had been displayed on screen. As such, a 20-minute voting window was opened at the beginning of the second heat the following week for a re-vote.[14][15]

Heat 1 – 8 November 2008
Draw Artist Song Songwriter(s) Result
1 Ludwig Galea ft. Fidela tal-Bambinu "Lament" Philip Vella Eliminated
2 Dominic Cini "I'm In Heaven" Elton Zarb, Rita Pace Eliminated
3 Classic Rebels "Tonight at the Opera" Ralph Siegel, John O'Flynn Advanced
4 Klinsmann "Rock and Rise" Philip Vella, Gerard James Borg Eliminated
5 Talitha Dimech "Earth and Sky" Philip Vella, Gerard James Borg Eliminated
6 Rosman Pace "One Million Ways" Rosman Pace Advanced
7 Francesca Borg "Falling in Love" Jason Paul Cassar, Mario J. Farrugia Eliminated

Heat 2

The second heat was held on 15 November 2008 at the Audiovision TV Studios in Hamrun, hosted by Valerie Vella. The first song of the night was the Pop song "Live for Today" performed by quintet Q. The song was composed by Fleur Balzan and Paul Giordimaina, who represented Malta in the 1991 Eurovision Song Contest. They were followed by Josmar, performing "Circus". Jessica Muscat sang "Smoke-screen", a pop-rock ballad, composed by Eurovision veterans Philip Vella and Gerard James Borg. The fourth song was the ballad "To Be Myself", sung by Georgina. She represented Malta in 1991 alongside Paul Giordimaina.

Laura Bruno, a newcomer to Maltese Eurovision selection, performed her song, "Something About You", composed by Vella and Borg. The penultimate song was "Castaway", performed by Marija Galdes. The final song of the second heat was Vittorio & Dorothy's ballad "Promises".[16][17]

Only Vittorio & Dorothy were able to qualify to the final, with all other entries leaving the competition.[11][12]

Heat 2 – 15 November 2008
Draw Artist Song Songwriter(s) Result
1 Q "Live for Today" Paul Giordimaina, Fleur Balzan Eliminated
2 Josmar "Circus" Josmar Eliminated
3 Jessica Muscat "Smoke-screen" Philip Vella, Gerard James Borg Eliminated
4 Georgina "To Be Myself" Rafael Artesero, Joe Julian Farrugia Eliminated
5 Laura Bruno "Something About You" Philip Vella, Gerard James Borg Eliminated
6 Marija Galdes "Castaway" Philip Vella, Rita Pace Eliminated
7 Vittorio & Dorothy "Promises" Chan Vella, Alexia Schembri Advanced

Heat 3

The third heat was held on 29 November 2008 at the Audiovision TV Studios in Hamrun, hosted by Valerie Vella. PBS paused between the second and third heats in order to broadcast Malta's participation in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2008.

Trilogy performed first with a schlager ballad, "The Song in Your Heart". This was followed by a classically inspired Pop song, "Mozart Revives" interpreted by Dorothy Bezzina. She was followed by Derrick Schembri and Yanika Fava with "For A Moment", composed by Philip Vella and Rita Pace. The song begins as a ballad, developing into an up-tempo dance number. Jo Zette, a Maltese drag act, performed the fourth song of the evening, "I'm Me". It was composed by Steve Compagno and Noel Zammit and is an anthemic Pop song about being true to yourself. Philip Vella then performed his second song of the evening, Evita Magri's "Sexy Girls". Trevor Fenech and Claudia Faniello composed the penultimate song, "This Ain't a Love Song" performed by Christian Arding. The final contestant was Gloriana Arpa Belli, performing "Love Was Made of Clay", composed by Renato Briffa and Doris Chetcuti.[18][19]

Trilogy were the only act from this semi-final to qualify for the final, with all others leaving the contest.[11][12]

Heat 3 – 29 November 2008
Draw Artist Song Songwriter(s) Result
1 Trilogy "The Song in Your Heart" Paul Abela, Joe Julian Farrugia Advanced
2 Dorothy Bezzina "Mozart Revives" Chan Vella, Alexia Schembri Eliminated
3 Derrick Schembri and Yanika Fava "For A Moment" Philip Vella, Rita Pace Eliminated
4 Jo Zette "I'm Me" Steve Compagno, Noel Zammit Eliminated
5 Evita Magri "Sexy Girls" Philip Vella, Melchiore Magri Eliminated
6 Christian Arding "This Ain't a Love Song" Trevor Fenech, Claudia Faniello Eliminated
7 Gloriana Arpa Belli "Love Was Made of Clay" Renato Briffa, Doris Chetcuti Eliminated

Heat 4

The fourth heat was held on 6 December 2008 at the Audiovision TV Studios in Hamrun, hosted by Valerie Vella. The refrain of "Innocent Heart" performed by Ruth Portelli, was used in the song "Just Get Out of My Life", the Montenegrin entry for the 2009 contest.

Heat 4 – 6 December 2008
Draw Artist Song Songwriter(s) Result
1 Ruth Portelli "Innocent Heart" Ralph Siegel, John O'Flynn Eliminated
2 Eleanor Cassar "Someday" Paul Giordimaina, Fleur Balzan Advanced
3 Dario and Grecia Bezzina "Fjamma tas-Sliem" Philip Vella Eliminated
4 Claire Caruana "Harmony" Augusto Cardinali, Giovann Attard Eliminated
5 Maria Mallia "Love in the Sahara" Charlene Grech, Clinton Paul Eliminated
6 Charlene & Natasha "Alchemy" Charlene Grech, John A. Agius Eliminated
7 Claudia Faniello "Midas Touch" Sean Vella, Philip Vella Eliminated

Heat 5

The fifth heat was held on 13 December 2008 at the Audiovision TV Studios in Hamrun, hosted by Valerie Vella.

Heat 5 – 13 December 2008
Draw Artist Song Songwriter(s) Result
1 Miriam Christine "Mama" Miriam Christine Warner Advanced
2 Baklava "Kamikaze Lover" Philip Vella, Gerard James Borg Advanced
3 Ruth Portelli "Blame It On Your Heart" Ralph Siegel, John O'Flynn Eliminated
4 J. Anvil "Choose Your Number" Augusto Cardinali, Giovann Attard Advanced
5 Corazon Mizzi "Another Side of Me" Philip Vella Eliminated
6 Rebecca Bonnici "Carry Me" Renato Briffa, Rita Pace Eliminated
7 Justine ft. Siconix "Rhythm of the Night" Renato Briffa, Doris Chetcuti Eliminated

Heat 6

The sixth heat was held on 20 December 2008 at the Audiovision TV Studios in Hamrun, hosted by Valerie Vella.

Heat 6 – 20 December 2008
Draw Artist Song Songwriter(s) Result
1 Jamie Tonna "Where Was I?" Jason Paul Cassar, Mario J. Farrugia Advanced
2 Q "Before You Walk Away" Paul Giordimaina, Fleur Balzan Advanced
3 Julie Pomorski "Shades of Memories" Johann Schembri Eliminated
4 Jessica Muscat "Hey You" Rafael Artesero Eliminated
5 Raquela "Crossroads" Philip Vella, Gerard James Borg Advanced
6 Ludwig Galea "Inferno" Philip Vella, Gerard James Borg Eliminated
7 Kylie Coleiro "Let It Shine" Andrew Zahra, Joe Julian Farrugia Advanced

Heat 7

The seventh heat was held on 3 January 2009 at the Audiovision TV Studios in Hamrun, hosted by Valerie Vella.

Heat 7 – 3 January 2009
Draw Artist Song Songwriter(s) Result
1 Alison Ellul "Typical Me" Philip Vella, Gerard James Borg Advanced
2 Daniela Vella "Soulmate" Ray Agius, Alfred C. Sant Eliminated
3 Eleanor Cassar "This is our Life" Paul Giordimaina, Fleur Balzan Eliminated
4 Georgina and Ruth Casingena "Avalon" Paul Abela, Joe Julian Farrugia Advanced
5 Claudia Faniello "Blue Sonata" Ray Agius Advanced
6 Chiara "What If We" Marc Paelinck, Gregory Bilsen Advanced
7 Christine Barbara "Visions of You" Philip Vella Eliminated

Heat 8

The eighth and final heat was held on 10 January 2009 at the Audiovision TV Studios in Hamrun, hosted by Valerie Vella.

Heat 8 – 10 January 2009
Draw Artist Song Songwriter(s) Result
1 Charlene & Natasha "King" Charlene Grech, John A. Agius Eliminated
2 Annabelle Debono "Army of Lovers" Sean Vella, Gerard James Borg Eliminated
3 J. Anvil "Love Me or Leave Me" Trevor Fenech, Claudia Faniello Eliminated
4 Christine Barbara "Life is an Opera" Rita Pace Advanced
5 Klinsmann "Butterfly Sky" Klinsmann Coleiro, Joe Julian Farrugia Advanced
6 The Elements "Ha Hi Hu" Carm Fenech Advanced
7 Wayne Micallef "Where You Belong" Wayne Micallef, Luke Ambrogio Advanced

Final
The hosts Pablo Micallef and Valerie Vella

The final was held on 7 February 2009 at the Malta Fairs & Convention Centre in Ta' Qali, hosted by Pablo Micallef and Valerie Vella. The twenty entries that qualified from the eight semi-finals were performed again and the winner was selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, a combination of votes from a five-member international jury panel (which included 1992 Eurovision Song Contest winner Linda Martin and British Eurovision 2000 representative Nicki French) determined the top three entries to proceed to the superfinal: "What If We" performed by Chiara, "Before You Walk Away" performed by Q, and "Someday" performed by Eleanor Cassar. An additional two set of votes were also added to the jury votes, which were based upon the jury and televoting figures from the heats.[20] In the superfinal, "What If We" performed by Chiara was selected as the winner entirely by a public televote.[1][2][21][22] The public televote in the superfinal registered 26,653 votes.

Interval acts included local Maltese acts such as Niki Gravino, Airport Impressions, the Yada Dance Company, Crisitina Casolani & Toby, The Riffs and Morena, as well as international acts such as Hadise, Jade Ewen and Andrew Lloyd Webber.[23][24]

Final – 7 February 2009
Draw Artist Song Points Place
1 The Elements "Ha Hi Hu" 25 19
2 Baklava "Kamikaze Lover" 30 18
3 J. Anvil "Choose Your Number" 71 10
4 Wayne Micallef "Where You Belong" 85 7
5 Classic Rebels "Tonight at the Opera" 94 5
6 Vittorio & Dorothy "Promises" 57 16
7 Chiara "What If We" 129 1
8 Rosman Pace "One Million Way" 76 9
9 Q "Before You Walk Away" 124 3
10 Kylie Coleiro "Let It Shine" 14 20
11 Jamie Tonna "Where Was I?" 51 17
12 Christine Barbara "Life is an Opera" 62 14
13 Eleanor Cassar "Someday" 126 2
14 Raquela "Crossroads" 71 11
15 Miriam Christine "Mama" 61 15
16 Georgina & Ruth Casingena "Avalon" 71 12
17 Alison Ellul "Typical Me" 79 8
18 Trilogy "The Song In Your Heart" 87 6
19 Claudia Faniello "Blue Sonata" 113 4
20 Klinsmann "Butterfly Sky" 65 13
Superfinal – 7 February 2009
Draw Artist Song Televote Place
1 Chiara "What If We" 12,249 (46%) 1
2 Q "Before You Walk Away" 4,619 (17%) 3
3 Eleanor Cassar "Someday" 9,785 (37%) 2

Promotion

After winning Eurosong, Chiara promoted her entry in other countries before performing at Eurovision. Her first stop was at the Greek national final, held on 18 February, where she performed her Eurovision entry "What If We" alongside acts from six other countries.[25][26] She later performed at the Bosnia and Herzegovina song presentation on 1 March.[27]

At Eurovision

Since Malta is not one of the "Big Four" nor the host of the 2009 contest, it had to compete in the first semi-final of the contest on 12 May 2009. Malta performed 17th in the running order, following Portugal and preceding Bosnia and Herzegovina. It won a place in the final but eventually finished in 22nd place.

TVM had revealed that the Maltese votes would be announced at the final of the contest by TV presenter and producer Pauline Agius.[28]

Points awarded by Malta[29]
Split voting results from Malta (final)
Draw Country Jury points Televoting points Scoreboard (Points)
01  Lithuania
02  Israel 3
03  France 1
04  Sweden 5 4
05  Croatia 2
06  Portugal
07  Iceland 12 10 12
08  Greece 6 6 7
09  Armenia
10  Russia
11  Azerbaijan 3 1
12  Bosnia and Herzegovina
13  Moldova
14  Malta
15  Estonia
16  Denmark 8 4 6
17  Germany 2
18  Turkey 8 5
19  Albania
20  Norway 10 7 8
21  Ukraine 5 2
22  Romania
23  United Kingdom 7 12 10
24  Finland 4 1 3
25  Spain
Points awarded to Malta (Semi-final 1)
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
Points awarded to Malta (Final)
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

See also

References
  1. Klier, Marcus (8 February 2009). "Malta: Eurovision entrant chosen". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 9 February 2009. Retrieved 8 February 2009.
  2. Sanz Martin, Jorge (8 February 2009). "Malta: Chiara bids in Eurovision 2009 for third time". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 11 February 2009. Retrieved 8 February 2009.
  3. Klier, Marcus (2 September 2008). "Malta: major changes to the selection process". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 3 September 2008. Retrieved 2 September 2008.
  4. Calleja Bayliss, Marc (12 January 2009). "Malta: PBS announces details regarding the Final". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 12 February 2010. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
  5. Konstantopoulos, Fotis (2 November 2008). "Malta: The draw for the Eurovision preselection". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 2 November 2008.
  6. Klier, Marcus (16 October 2008). "Only 182 songs". ESCToday. Retrieved 16 October 2008.
  7. Viniker, Barry (17 October 2008). "Malta chooses Eurovision entry on March 7th". ESCToday. Retrieved 17 October 2008.
  8. Grillhofer, Florian (27 October 2008). "Malta: Big names for Malta's Eurovision bid". ESCToday. Retrieved 27 October 2008.
  9. Klier, Marcus (8 November 2008). "Malta: 1st semi final". ESCToday. Retrieved 8 November 2008.
  10. "Euro ShowBox change; Chiara on January 3rd". Oikotimes. 21 November 2008. Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 26 November 2008.
  11. Calleja Bayliss, Marc (10 January 2009). "Malta: The 20 Finalists Revealed". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 12 February 2009. Retrieved 10 January 2009.
  12. Viniker, Barry (11 January 2009). "Malta: The twenty Eurovision finalists". ESCToday. Retrieved 11 January 2009.
  13. Euro Showbox: Heat 1. Television Malta (2008-11-08). Retrieved on 2008-11-08.
  14. Viniker, Barry (12 November 2008). "Mistakes in Malta Eurovision show". ESCToday. Retrieved 12 November 2008.
  15. Press Release (8 November 2008). "Mistakes in Maltese show to be corrected". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 23 November 2008. Retrieved 8 November 2008.
  16. Klier, Marcus (15 November 2008). "Second semi final in Malta". ESCToday. Retrieved 15 November 2008.
  17. Euro Showbox: Heat 2. Television Malta (2008-11-15). Retrieved on 2008-11-15.
  18. Klier, Marcus (28 November 2008). "Third semi final in Malta". ESCToday. Retrieved 28 November 2008.
  19. Euro Showbox: Heat 3. Television Malta (2008-11-28). Retrieved on 2008-11-28.
  20. Sanz Martin, Jorge (7 February 2009). "Malta: Results of the first round; Chiara in the superfinal". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 12 February 2010. Retrieved 7 February 2009.
  21. Webb, Glenn (8 February 2009). "Chiara completes her Maltese hat-trick!". EBU. Retrieved 8 February 2009.
  22. Pinto, Sónia (8 February 2009). "National final in Malta". ESCToday. Retrieved 8 February 2009.
  23. Horvat, Ivan (21 January 2009). "Malta: Hadise and UK representative in Eurosong final". ESCToday. Retrieved 21 January 2009.
  24. Calleja Bayliss, Marc (21 January 2009). "Malta: Hadise and UK representative/s guests in the Final". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 10 February 2010. Retrieved 21 January 2009.
  25. Floras, Stella (12 February 2009). "Malta: Chiara returns to Greece". ESCToday. Retrieved 12 February 2009.
  26. "Hadise and Chiara confirmed for Greek selection". Oikotimes. 16 February 2009. Archived from the original on 11 February 2010. Retrieved 16 February 2009.
  27. Floras, Stella (16 February 2009). "B & H: Eurostar studded song presentation on 1st March". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 19 February 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2009.
  28. Costa, Nelson (12 April 2009). "Pauline Agius to read the Maltese votes". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 11 February 2010. Retrieved 12 April 2009.
  29. Eurovision Song Contest 2008
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