Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010

Malta selected its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 on February 2010 in The GO Malta EuroSong 2010 competition, organised by the Public Broadcasting Services (PBS), the Maltese broadcaster. At the final of the contest held on 20 February Thea Garrett was chosen by jury and televoting to represent Malta with the song "My Dream", written by Jason Paul Cassar and Sunny Aquilina.[1][2]

Eurovision Song Contest 2010
Country Malta
National selection
Selection processThe GO Malta Eurosong 2010
Selection date(s)Weekly semi-finals:
9 December 2009 – 13 January 2010
Final:
20 February 2010
Selected entrantThea Garrett
Selected song"My Dream"
Finals performance
Semi-final resultFailed to qualify (12th, 45 points)
Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2009 • 2010 • 2011►

Before Eurovision

The GO Malta Eurosong 2010

In November 2009, it was announced that plans for the competition were paralysed by legal disputes between PBS and Grace Borg, former chairwoman of the Maltese Eurovision selection. Despite this the Maltese Head of Delegation, Joe Dimech, has denied that the whole national selection process was in danger, and that PBS were consulting legal advice.

New dates for the national selection were to be made after missing their planned start date of 9 November 2009 for the first stage of the contest.[3][4] On 18 November 2009, a Maltese court ruled in favour of PBS, in that they could prohibit foreign composers from competing in The GO Malta EuroSong 2010, finally allowing the Maltese selection process to continue.[5][6]

Format

The competition consisted of thirty-six songs competing over six weekly semi-finals, incorporated into the new talent show L-Isfida (The Challenge) between 9 December 2009 and 13 January 2010.[7] A five-member international jury evaluated the songs during the semi-finals and each judge had an equal stake in the final result. The sixth set of votes were the results of the public telephone vote and the seventh set of votes were the results of the public SMS vote. The top twenty entries qualified to compete in the final on 20 February 2010.[8] The winner of the final was determined by a 50/50 combination of votes from the international jury and a public televote.[9]

The semi-finals were hosted by Claudette Pace at the Audiovision TV Studios in Hamrun. The final was hosted by Keith Demicoli and Pauline Agius (with Owen Bonnici presenting from the Green Room) at the Malta Fairs & Convention Centre in Ta' Qali.[10][11]

Competing entries

Artists and composers were able to submit their entries until 30 October 2009.[9] In a change from previous years, eligible artists and songwriters were required to be Maltese nationals. Songwriters were able to submit as many songs as they wished, however, the artist could only perform one song.[9] This change however caused some criticism, especially from Grace Borg.[12] 123 entries were received by the broadcaster, considerably less than last year due to PBS rules allowing only one song per singer and allowing only Maltese songwriters to submit entries. Between 2 and 4 December 2009, all entrants performed their songs live in front of an international jury and 36 were selected to compete in the semi-finals, which were announced on 4 December 2009.[13][14]

Among the selected competing artists were former Maltese Eurovision entrants Mike Spiteri who represented Malta in the 1995 contest and Miriam Christine who represented Malta in the 1996 contest, as well as many names familiar to the Maltese Eurovision selection process.[15] The running order for the semi-finals were announced on 4 December 2009.

Semi-final 1

The first semi-final was held on 9 December 2009. Televoting was open from the end of the show until Saturday 12 December at 16:30 CET.[16]

Draw Artist Song Songwriter(s) Result
1 Raquela "Here I Am" Philip Vella, Gerard James Borg Eliminated
2 Ally "Curiosity" Elton Zarb, Gerard James Borg Eliminated
3 Richard Edwards "Change" Richard Micallef Eliminated
4 Foxy Federation "Fired Up" Philip Vella, Gerard James Borg Finalist
5 Klinsmann "Her Name Was Anne" Jonathan Spiteri & Klinsmann Coleiro, Aldo Spiteri Finalist
6 J.Anvil "Mirage" Andrew Zahra, Deo Grech Eliminated
Semi-final 2

The second semi-final was held on 16 December 2009. Televoting was open from the end of the show until Saturday 19 December at 16:30 CET.[17]

Draw Artist Song Songwriter(s) Result
1 Aldo Busuttil "Pizzicato" Philip Vella, Alfred C. Sant Eliminated
2 Claudia Faniello "Samsara" Philip Vella, Gerard James Borg Finalist
3 Claire Galea "Ole Satchmo Blues" Claire Galea, Erin Stewart Tanti & Claire Galea Finalist
4 Godwin Lucas & Eve Daly "The Best Years" Carm Fenech Eliminated
5 Josef Tabone "Who Cares?" Elton Zarb, Rita Pace Eliminated
6 Glen Vella "Just A Little More Love" Paul Giordimaina, Fleur Balzan Finalist
Semi-final 3

The third semi-final was held on 23 December 2009. Televoting was open from the end of the show until Saturday 26 December at 16:30 CET.[18]

Draw Artist Song Songwriter(s) Result
1 Miriam Christine "Beautiful Contradiction" Miriam Christine, Gerard James Borg Eliminated
2 Thea Garrett "My Dream" Jason Paul Cassar, Sunny Aquilina Finalist
3 Tiziana Calleja "Words are Not Enough" John David Zammit, Paul Callus Finalist
4 Eleanor Spiteri "Velvet Ocean" Paul Abela, Joe Julian Farrugia Finalist
5 Francesca Borg "I Surrender" Dominic Cini, Mario J Caruana Eliminated
6 Eleanor Cassar "Choices" Paul Giordimaina, Fleur Balzan Finalist
Semi-final 4

The fourth semi-final was held on 30 December 2009. Televoting was open from the end of the show until Saturday 2 January 2010 at 16:30 CET.[19]

Draw Artist Song Songwriter(s) Result
1 Audrey Marie Bartolo "Good Intentions" Miriam Christine, Rita Pace Finalist
2 Wayne Micallef "Save A Life" Wayne Micallef Finalist
3 Ryan Dale & Duminka "One For You" Ryan Dale, Jon Lukas Finalist
4 Mike Spiteri "Twenty Thousand Leagues" Ray Agius, Alfred C. Sant Eliminated
5 Cynthia Attard "If I Knew" Miriam Christine, Gerard James Borg Eliminated
6 Dario Bezzina "Grave Dancers" Chan Vella, Alexia Schembri Eliminated
Semi-final 5

The fifth semi-final was held on 6 January 2010. Televoting was open from the end of the show until Saturday 9 January 2010 at 16:30 CET.[20]

Draw Artist Song Songwriter(s) Result
1 Petra Zammit "All I Need" Andrew Zammit, Keith Zammit Finalist
2 Pamela Bezzina "Hold On" Paul Giordimaina, Fleur Balzan Finalist
3 Nadine Axisa & Clifford Galea "Once in a Lifetime" Jason Paul Cassar, Mario Farrugia Finalist
4 Priscilla & Kurt "Waterfall" Mark Debono, Rita Pace Finalist
5 Baklava "Euphoria" Philip Vella, Gerard James Borg Eliminated
6 Rosman Pace "Hypnotized" Rosman Pace Eliminated
Semi-final 6

The sixth semi-final was held on 13 January 2010. Televoting will open from the end of the show until Saturday 16 January 2010 at 16:30 CET.[21]

Draw Artist Song Songwriter(s) Result
1 Ruth Portelli "Three Little Words" Philip Vella, Gerard James Borg Finalist
2 Roger Tirazona "Silver Rain" Paul Abela, Joe Julian Farrugia Eliminated
3 Jessica Muscat "Fake" Philip Vella, Gerard James Borg Eliminated
4 Silver Clash "Broken" Robert Parde Finalist
5 Lawrence Gray "Stories" Ray Agius, Godwin Sant Finalist
6 Dorothy Bezzina "Moments" Chan Vella, Alexia Schembri Finalist

Final

The final took place on 20 February 2010. The twenty qualifiers were revealed on 16 January 2010 and the running order draw took place on 17 January 2010.[22][23][24] The twenty entries that qualified from the semi-finals were performed again and a 50/50 combination of votes of a five-member jury panel and public televoting determined the winner. After the votes from the jury panel and televote were combined, "My Dream" performed by Thea Garrett was the winner, gaining nearly double the points of runner-up Glen Vella, with Tiziana Calleja finishing in third place.[1][2]

A number of guests performed during the final: Sirusho, the Armenian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2008; Mary Spiteri, who came third for Malta at the Eurovision Song Contest 1992; and last year's, Malta EuroSong winner, Chiara.[1][25]

Draw Artist Song Jury Televote Total Place
1 Dorothy Bezzina "Moments" 21 6 27 10
2 Foxy Federation "Fired Up" 0 9 9 18
3 Lawrence Gray "Stories" 21 12 33 7
4 Eleanor Spiteri "Velvet Ocean" 25 14 39 5
5 Claudia Faniello "Samsara" 3 28 31 8
6 Thea Garrett "My Dream" 54 48 102 1
7 Priscilla & Kurt "Waterfall" 6 13 19 12
8 Nadine Axisa & Clifford Galea "Once in a Lifetime" 7 12 19 12
9 Glen Vella "Just a Little More Love" 28 30 58 2
10 Audrey Marie Bartolo "Good Intentions" 7 3 10 17
11 Klinsmann "Her Name Was Anne" 10 16 26 11
12 Claire Galea "Ole Satchmo Blues" 3 6 9 18
13 Wayne Micallef "Save a Life" 27 9 36 6
14 Petra Zammit "All I Need" 7 7 14 15
15 Ryan Dale & Duminka "One for You" 7 6 13 16
16 Eleanor Cassar "Choices" 5 11 16 14
17 Silver Clash "Broken" 0 5 5 20
18 Tiziana Calleja "Words Are Not Enough" 13 32 45 3
19 Ruth Portelli "Three Little Words" 19 12 31 8
20 Pamela Bezzina "Hold On" 27 13 40 4

Promotion

Thea Garrett took part in a wide promotional tour on April, in order to promote her Eurovision entry "My Dream". Her tour will begin on 15 April, where she visited Slovakia, appearing on a national breakfast show and on a state radio station. Afterwards she visited the Netherlands, performing at the "Eurovision in Concert" festival in Zaanstad on 24 April. Afterwards she flew to Belgium, where she performed on the "Studio TVL" show on regional TV channel TV Limburg and at a Eurovision party in Antwerp.[26]

Garrett also recorded a Maltese version of "My Dream", entitled "Ħolma" (Dream).[26]

Meanwhile, as of 24 April, Eurovision commentator Valerie Vella will host "Euromix" on PBS, which will preview the video-clips of the 39 Eurovision entries.[26]

At Eurovision

Malta competed in the first semi-final of the contest, on 25 May, and failed to qualify to the final..

Split results
  • In the Semi-final 1 Malta came 12th with 45 points: the public awarded Malta 12th place with 40 points and the jury awarded 7th place with 66 points.

Points awarded by Malta[27]
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

See also

References
  1. Webb, Glen (20 February 2010). "Thea Garrett takes the Maltese ticket to Oslo!". European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
  2. Floras, Stella (21 February 2010). "Malta sends Thea Garrett to Eurovision". ESCToday. Retrieved 21 February 2010.
  3. Hondal, Victor (7 November 2009). "Malta selection process paralysed". ESCToday. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
  4. Calleja Bayliss, Marc (6 November 2009). "Eurosong 2010 procedure postponed". ESCMalta.com. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
  5. Viniker, Barry (18 November 2009). "PBS wins court case in Malta". ESCToday. Retrieved 18 November 2009.
  6. "Grace Borg loses case for festival rule change". Oikotimes. 18 November 2009. Archived from the original on 6 February 2010. Retrieved 18 November 2009.
  7. Klier, Marcus (9 September 2009). "Malta: Talent search will be part of national selection". ESCToday. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
  8. "MALTESE SEMI-FINALS 2010".
  9. Siim, Jarmo (1 October 2009). "Malta chooses in February". European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 1 October 2009.
  10. Klier, Marcus (8 December 2009). "Malta Song for Europe semi final allocation". ESCToday. Retrieved 8 December 2009.
  11. Klier, Marcus (8 January 2010). "Three hosts for Maltese national final revealed". ESCToday. Retrieved 10 January 2010.
  12. Viniker, Barry (31 August 2009). "Grace Borg attacks Malta selection... again". ESCToday. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  13. Floras, Stella (19 November 2009). "http://www.esctoday.com/news/read/14513". ESCToday. Retrieved 19 November 2009. External link in |title= (help)
  14. "PBS gets 123 entries, national final on 20/2". Oikotimes. 19 November 2009. Archived from the original on 6 February 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2009.
  15. Hondal, Victor (4 December 2009). "These are the 36 Maltese semifinalists". ESCToday. Retrieved 4 December 2009.
  16. Klier, Marcus (9 December 2009). "Live: First semi final in Malta". ESCToday. Retrieved 13 December 2009.
  17. Klier, Marcus (16 December 2009). "Live: Second semi final in Malta". ESCToday. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
  18. Klier, Marcus (23 December 2009). "Live: Third semi final in Malta". ESCToday. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
  19. Klier, Marcus (30 December 2009). "Live: Fourth Semi final in Malta". ESCToday. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
  20. Klier, Marcus (6 January 2010). "Live: Fifth semi final in Malta". ESCToday. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
  21. Klier, Marcus (13 January 2010). "Live: Sixth semi final in Malta". ESCToday. Retrieved 13 January 2010.
  22. Klier, Marcus (17 January 2010). "Malta: The running order for the final". ESCToday. Retrieved 17 January 2010.
  23. Klier, Marcus (16 January 2010). "Results: 20 acts qualified in Malta". ESCToday. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  24. Webb, Glen (16 January 2010). "Maltese finalists announced!". European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  25. Montebello, Edward (21 February 2010). "Sirusho to guest star at Maltese Final". ESCToday. Retrieved 21 February 2010.
  26. Montebello, Edward (9 April 2010). "Thea Garrett to kick-off with her promo tour". ESCToday. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
  27. Eurovision Song Contest 2008
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