24 November 2014

Eurovision 2015: Amber to Represent Malta With Warrior

Amber Bondin : Source YouTube
Amber and her Warrior stomped all over the competition on Saturday evening at the national selection of Malta's song for the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna. She not only received full marks from the five-person jury, but also topped the public televote.

She and thirteen other finalists took to the stage at a converted shipyard in Marsa in a three hour extravaganza to choose the song that will represent Malta. It was like a practice run of one of the actual Eurovision semi-finals, with all the glitz and drama only this competition can offer.

Amber probably won it on passion and perseverance alone: passion in her live vocals and perseverance because this was her fifth straight attempt in Malta's national final. But what about the song?

Composed by Elton Zarb and Matt 'Muxu' Mercieca, Warrior is a power ballad from the Undo/Rise Like A Phoenix songbook, with a generous helping of Sia's Chandelier thrown in.

Amber handles the vocals very well even if, in places, elements of the song are screamed rather than sung. Hopefully, she will work on that, together with her diction, between now and next May. Unfortunately, for the most part, I really could not understand what she was singing about.

Nevertheless, the chorus packs a dramatic punch and the melody is almost instantly memorable. That's always a good thing for a Eurovision song.

Its qualification odds? As it's only the second finalist to be chosen, it's tough to offer an opinion on its chances in Vienna. Given the right staging and some much-needed tweaks, Warrior could fight its way into the final. There is, of course, the new rule in Malta's selection process for the artist to reject their chosen song and substitute it for another. In view of the overwhelming support for Warrior on the island, it's unlikely that this will happen. However, I'm sure that won't stop any modifications that are deemed necessary.

What are your thoughts about the Maltese selection? Did they get it right?


View the full Maltese Eurovision national final result.


20 November 2014

Eurovision 2015: Malta: Dominic: Once in a While

Dominic Cini Minik - Source: Facebook
Dominic has been trying his luck in the Malta Eurovision Song Contest for the past few years. Even though he has never quite made it to the semi-finals he has, however, taken part as a backing vocalist on a number of occasions.

Aside from his attempts at Eurovision, Dominic's day job is in a recording studio on Malta, where he produces and records local talent. He can also be seen on stage, regularly performing in musicals and pantomimes

This year, however, he has been picked as one of the Eurovision semi-finalists with the song Once in a While, composed by Elton Zarb and penned by Rita Pace. The styling of his song is Pop/Rock and is quite different to what he his used to singing. However, Dominic believes that this approach enhances his vocal skills for the better.

With its rock backing sounding like a watered-down Queen track from the 1980s, Once in a While is really like no other song in this year's Maltese semi-final. That's not a put-down because it's cool to see a band on stage playing their own instruments, rather than the singer accompanied by an obligatory playback. It's just that it feels as if I have heard the song somewhere before.

That aside, Dominic's somewhat edgy vocals push the song further into the soft rock genre, while his backing group help to power this effort towards a memorable chorus.

Thankfully, they all give a polished performance but, in view of the nature of the track and the prospect of a larger stage in Vienna, it could be bolder and more animated.

Nevertheless, this one has become one of my favourites for the 2015 ticket. Soft rock is something of a different sound for Eurovision which, given half a chance, could do well for the island. Its penultimate position in the 20-strong semi-final should help its prospects too.

There's a message in the song as well: No-one should give up on their dreams. I don't think Dominic should in this case, but what odds do you give him at representing Malta in Austria?




Read more reviews here of the songs participating at the Maltese semi-final.



19 November 2014

Eurovision 2015: Malta: Domenique: Take Me As I Am

Domenique : Source MP3
Domenique Azzopardi is no stranger to participating in the national semi-finals of Eurovision Malta.

As far back as 2004, she took part in the preliminary round for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest and finished in seventh place with the song Talk to Me. She has since appeared several times in the junior event, but progressed to the official semi-final in 2011 singing a composition by Eurovision stalwart Ralph Siegel called I'll Follow the Sunshine.

She returned in 2013 with Too Little Too Late, qualified for the final, but ultimately found herself at the bottom of the scoreboard.

Now she's back, hoping to erase the disappointment of that result with the song Take Me As I Am. Written by Sara Biglert, Christian Schneider, Madeleine Jangklev and Aidan O’Connor, it's a mid-paced ballad which builds into a memorable rock-inspired dance chorus.

As with all of the semi-finalists, it's difficult to judge how Domenique's vocal skills and performance will sound and look live on the night. If her voice is as impressive and impassioned as it sounds in the video (below), she should have no problem cruising through to the final.

She appears to be a natural performer and a pretty girl is always a positive benefit for the composers when taking on the opinions of both the judges and the public alike.

Not Malta's song choice for next year, in my opinion, but what do you think of Take Me As I Am?


Domenique performs in 11th position out of 20 competitors in the semi-final on 21 November.

Read more reviews here of the songs participating at the Maltese semi-final.

18 November 2014

Eurovision 2015: Malta: Iona Dalli: Could Have Been Me

Iona Dalli : Source TVM
Iona Dalli has been singing locally on Malta for a number of years now, deciding to participate in local competitions as well as performing internationally as a soloist and as a member of a choir. At 20-years-old, she now enters the race to represent Malta at the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna.

Could Have Been Me is written and composed by Philip Vella, the man behind the Ekklesia Sisters' Love and Let Go and one of the most prolifically successful composers on Malta. This is a very different composition to the one performed by the singing nuns, however.

Here, we have a high energy, guitar-driven pop/rock song delivered very proficiently by Iona. Her voice is appealing and confident, possessing enough power to carry the track. This assessment is based upon the playback in the video below. How she will cope with a live performance remains to be seen. Nevertheless, the instrumentation is rhythmically engaging and allows for a driving melody.

On the other hand, the lyrics are a little predictable and unwieldy. I'm sure the verses scan just fine but, to me, they sound a little awkward. Nowadays, it's not that often that you hear the word "smooch" repeated so much on a track.

It's a confident performance though, but I must admit that I'm not overly impressed with the song.

What do you think?



Iona performs in 2nd position out of 20 competitors in the semi-final on November 21.



Eurovision 2015: Malta: Corazón Mizzi: Secretly

Corazón Mizzi

Corazón Mizzi has become a very recognisable face as a TV host in her native Malta and is now no stranger to Eurovision fans. In fact, this will be her fourth consecutive participation in the Maltese national final and her first with a composition of her own.

In the previous contest, she missed out on the final with the song Ten. This time around she will perform Secretly, a rockier sounding ballad with lyrics which are a confession of love, as yet not reciprocated by the object of her desire.

Nothing really new there, but Ms. Mizzi gives a confident and expressive vocal to a melody that soon gets into your head after a couple of listens. This is something that competing in the Eurovision Song Contest dictates, as does the repetitive nature of these lyrics.

As the composer of both the lyrics and music, Corazón Mizzi obviously has belief in her song and this comes through in her performance. This should see her through to the final, but my feeling is that there are stronger songs, so she is unlikely to become Malta's representative in 2015.

What do you think?


Corazón performs in 15th position out of 20 competitors in the semi-final on November 21.



17 November 2014

Review: Vincenzo Cantiello: Tu primo grande amore: Italy JESC

Vincenzo Cantiello
Although I'm an ardent Eurovision fan, the Junior Eurovision Song Contest has never really appealed to me. It was with some trepidation then that I tuned in yesterday to a rerun of the Maltese show online.

I'm glad I chose to watch it this way, because I was able to fast forward through all of the irrelevant bits. In hindsight, it would probably have been advisable to have just watched the voting.

I know they are just kids, but Junior Eurovision should really sound better than this year's extravaganza. That's not the fault of Malta, which actually staged a very polished show. It was more to do with the quality of the singing.

I hate to criticise a kid's best efforts - as does the EBU apparently, in refusing to award any of the acts nul points - but 95% of those chosen to sing live were not able to do so on the night. For the most part, many sounded like the bad auditions from the early rounds of The X-Factor.

It was with some surprise then that 14-year-old Vincenzo Cantiello captured first place with a typically rousing Italian ballad called Tu primo grande amore (Your First Great Love). I say "surprise" because for the majority of his performance his vocals were akin to a cat being strangled, particularly as the key changed to a higher register and the song dictated that he become even more shouty.  

The song itself is not too bad. It's the sort of ballad you might have expected to hear from Whitney Houston. It just required someone a little more mature and with more experience to handle the vocals.

Nor, in my opinion, was it the winning song. Yes, there's a rush of strings and it builds to a powerful conclusion, but there's no real hook to reel you in. Its first place, I feel, had more to do with young Vincenzo being the only male representative rather than the overall quality of the song. 

In my humble opinion, I felt the Bulgarian entry should have taken the prize. Three very talented kids presented Planet of the Children but, like so many on the night, Krisia's vocals let her down.

In the meantime, here's the studio version of the Italian winner. What do you think of it?

Image by Okras (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-4.0], via Wikimedia Commons



15 November 2014

Review: Eurovision 2015: Malta: Danica Muscat: Close Your Eyes

Danica Muscat
Image: Facebook

For the third time, Danica Muscat is participating in the national Eurovision semi-final for Malta, although it wasn't initially her intention to do so. It is the song Close Your Eyes, written by Elton Zarb and Emil Calleja Bayliss which has persuaded her to return.

If you have heard Danica before, then you know that she has a strong voice. This emotional ballad is therefore a perfect fit. 

It tells of the joys of motherhood and the role of a mother in her child's life. It's full of wonderful sentiments, but whether the laid-back melody will click with the jury and voters remains to be seen.

It's one of those songs that will depend heavily on the staging, as well as the performance on the night. My personal feeling is that it could easily become lost and forgotten among so many candidates and is therefore unlikely to figure in the national final on November 22.

What do you think?


Danica Muscat performs in 14th position out of the 20 competitors in the semi-final on November 21.



13 November 2014

Eurovision 2015: Macedonia: Lisja Esenski: Daniel Kajmakoski

Daniel Kajmakoski
Daniel Kajmakoski, singing the composition Lisja esenski (Autumn Leaves), will represent Macedonia at the 60th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2015 in Vienna, Austria.

Twenty music stars, accompanied by a live orchestra, performed their songs on the stage of the Metropolis at the Skopje 2014 Music Festival. Daniel accumulated the most points in a 50:50 weighted vote, split between an international jury and a public telephone vote. It was a close run thing, though, with just two points separating first and second place (Tamara Todevska with Brod sto tone). Lisja esenski thus becomes the first national selection in the 2014/15 season.

As such, there is obviously nothing else to compare it with, but even so, it's a strong, modern pop ballad that shows great potential. It helps that local X-Factor winner Daniel Kajmakoski is a strong singer because he carries the melody very well, even if I have no understanding of his lyrics.

Will an English version help the song? Very possibly. While I usually prefer to hear the original language, the current lyrics offer limited appeal to the wider, Eurovision audience. In the long run, this may hamper its chances of success.

A change in language didn't help Macedonia earlier this year, however. The country failed to qualify from the semi-finals when Tijana's poor performance of the totally dissimilar To the Sky failed to garner enough votes.

Will the same happen to Daniel Kajmakoski in Vienna in 2015? Time will only tell.

What do you think of Macedonia's chances with this song?

Image: Facebook


An English version, Autumn Leaves, has been released:

11 November 2014

Review: Eurovision 2015: Malta: Raquel: Stop Haunting Me

Raquel Galdes

Image via Facebook

Raquel Galdes was involved in the semi-final stage of the Maltese Eurovision national final earlier this year, but failed to progress with the song, Invisible. Nine months later, she returns to the spotlight in Malta, hoping again to represent the island nation in 2015 with the Elton Zarb/Muxu composition, Stop Haunting Me

The song is one of four submissions by this songwriting duo in this year's semi-final, but probably not one of their best. 

I've listened to it three or four times now and while this mid-tempo ballad has a strong ethereal quality about it, Stop Haunting Me never really feels like it goes anywhere. 

There's nothing wrong with 18-year-old Raquel's voice even if, at times, it sounds as if she has studied at the Lena school of vocals. She carries the song well but, for me, the melody and pace are just too sleepy. 

As a result, it loses any immediate impact, in my opinion, and could easily be one of the six casualties of the semi-final to be held on November 21. 

What do you think?



Raquel performs in 10th position out of the 20 competitors in the semi-final on November 21.


09 November 2014

Review: Eurovision 2015: Malta: L-Aħwa: Beautiful to Me

Gianluca Bezzina of family group L-Aħwa
Image by Albin Olsson (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

The singing doctor, Gianluca Bezzina, returns to Malta's Eurovision stage after a one year break, joining his siblings in the family group L-Aħwa.

As you might remember, Gianluca was Malta's representative in Sweden in 2013, where he finished in a very respectable eighth place with the song Tomorrow. This time, he takes on the lead vocals on a not too dissimilar composition called Beautiful to Me.  

Possessing a jaunty melody, Gianluca's distinctive vocals and with his brother and sisters backing him up, you could be forgiven for thinking that it's The Partridge Family meets The New Seekers. 

While there is strong evidence that the whole concept embraces the "cute factor", it never crosses the line to become twee and sickly.

In fact, Gianluca's infectious smile and immense likability and popularity should easily carry this catchy number through to the Maltese final on November 22, where it has a very strong chance of becoming the island's representative in Vienna.

What do you think?

 

L-Aħwa perform in 16th position out of 20 competitors in the semi-final on November 21.

Read more reviews of the songs participating at the Maltese semi-final
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