Live: Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2015 Final

Tonight Maltese public broadcaster TVM will host the final of Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2015 live from Valetta and the winner of tonight’s show will become the representative for Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015. After last night’s semifinal, 14 acts have qualified for tonight’s final but there can only be one winner.

On tonight’s show the 14 finalists will perform their potential Eurovision entries and then five juries will cast their votes on who they think should be the winner. The sixth jury will come from public televoting, meaning that the public voting tonight only counts for 1/6th of the overall result. Once all the results have been revealed the song with the most points will be the winner and will have the right to represent Malta at the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 in Vienna next May, simple. The show will be presented by Daniel Chircop and Lyona Xuereb Gatt and will be presented from the exact same stage which was used for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2014 which was held in Malta last week.

So what does the line up look like tonight? Well we have previous Maltese Eurovision participants Glen Vella and Gianluca Bezzina returning as well as 2009 Eurovision winner Alexander Rybak who is competing as a songwriter, not to mention previous Malta Eurovision Song Contest participants including Jessika Muscat, Amber, Daniel Testa and Christabelle. We also this year have the Ekklesia Sisters who have been a particular favourite among Eurovision fans as the group of singing nuns with their song “Love and Let Go“. The full list of tonight’s participants looks like this:

1-Glen VellaBreakaway
2-Karen DeBattista12 Baker Street
3-Dominic Once in a while
4-TrilogyChasing a Dream
5-Chris Grech Closed Doors
6-Ekklesia SistersLove and Let Go
7-JessikaFandango
8-Deborah CIt’s OK
9-Amber Warrior
10-L-AhwaBeautiful To Me
11-FranklinStill Here
12-ChristabelleRush
13-Lawrence GrayThe One That You Love
14-Daniel Testa Something In The Way

The show starts at 2045CET and we here at ESCDaily will be liveblogging the whole event so you don’t miss any of it so be sure to check back at 2045CET where we’ll be guiding you through the second national selection show of Eurovision 2015 season.

WE’VE STARTED!

The show opens with a small recap of last year’s contest which reminds us all why we’ll be going to Austria next year, we then have a performance of “Rise Like a Phoenix” by Conchita Wurst and she looks fantastic and the Maltese audience love her! Our hosts then give us a brief welcoming to the show and the voting procedure before we begin the performances!

First up tonight it’s Malta’s 2011 representative Glen Vella with the song “Breakaway” and this song is good, very good. Glen is accompanied by four dancers dressed in black and white for this upbeat number. This song is much better than “One Life” and the styling on this one is on point, it sounds like it could easily be a One Direction single. The vocals are good and there is even some acrobatics happening on stage during the performance, this is a very catchy and fun performance, the song is also very memorable and upbeat. It’s a fantastic way to open the show.

Next up is Karen DeBattista with “12, Baker Street“. In a nude coloured dress accompanied by four musicians, Karen looks beautiful and innocent as she recites this ballad. The song tells a story of love and the performance is captivating, it has gypsy influences and is slightly mystical. She delivers the performance well and it’s all very cutesy and wholesome, the crowd really enjoy this.

Third on stage is Dominic with the song “Once In a While”. This is a colourful and rocky number, Dominic is joined on stage by a live band and a cheery 1960s style visual. This is reminiscent of The Moniker from Melodifestivalen 2011. It’s a cheery and happy song however it tends to fall flat vocally and it’s not as memorable or catchy as some of the other entries tonight. This could get lost in the voting.

Trilogy are next to perform their entry “Chasing a Dream”. This is a disney style inspirational ballad, the vocals on this are nothing to shout about, it’s a little bit all over the place. This song is good though and the ending is very powerful with pyrotechnics at the end. It’s hard to say how well this will do, this is another one which may be overlooked. This is very similar to “Butterflies” by 3 + 2 from Belarus in 2010.

The fifth artist tonight is Chris Grech with the song “Closed Doors“. This performance is mesmerizing, the vocal is flawless and the melody of this song is very strong. Chris is joined by a pianist, a guitarist and a drummer for this epic rock ballad. Everything about this seems to fall flawlessly into place, my only concern is that the song could sound very 80’s and not up to date enough for Eurovision 2015.

The fans favourite Ekklesia Sisters are next to perform their song “Love and Let Go”. To be perfectly honest, I think this is too much. The song is quite bland and not suited to Eurovision, you’d expect singing nuns to be a novelty act however this is quite a serious act and it just doesn’t work. The media frenzy that is the Eurovision Song Contest will eat these women alive. The nuns are however incredibly endearing and sweet and the audience really do love them, the song is uplifting and the vocals are passable. Who knows, could this be tonight’s winner?

Fandango by Jessika is the next song to be performed tonight. Jessika is the queen of Maltese eurodance, she really knows how to put on a show and this song is really strong. Dressed in black and gold, she is joined by four dancers and a harpist. The dance break in the middle is funky and she’s really enjoying this performance. The vocals are good and this song is pretty catchy, this could do well tonight.

The 8th performer is Deborah C with the song “It’s OK“. Her dress is so awful, however the pretty song makes up for it. She is joined by two guitarists and two backing singers, it’s a happy, joyful song; the perfect summer tune. Catchy and memorable, this makes for a very fun performance, much like Portugal’s 2009 Eurovision entry “Todas as ruas do amor” by Flor-de-Lis.

Amber is next to perform “Warrior”. The crowd are going wild for this one, she’s really giving it her all. She is standing alone on stage wearing all black, it’s a very powerful uplifting ballad. I’ve spotted the first wind machine of the night as well! Amber gives me Khloe Kardashian vibes, she’s incredibly glamorous and her performance is fabulous. Vocally, she really nails it, this could be a very strong contender to win tonight.

The 10th act to perform is L-Ahwa who will perform the song “Beautiful To Me”. It’s Gianluca! The cutest singing doctor in all of Malta! After representing Malta in 2013, he’s back with his family band to try to represent Malta again and this song is just adorable. It’s very like “Tomorrow” except the lyrics to this song actually make sense. This song is so happy, sunshiney, and bright. It’s also very catchy and it will definitely be remembered, I think this one has been overlooked by many fans and will gather many points tonight and could even be the winner.

Next up is Franklin with “Still Here” which is written by Norwegian Eurovision god Alexander Rybak. This song is very beautiful, it’s like a 90’s boyband song. Franklin is accompanied on stage by three backing singers and he really is very adorable, the vocal is flawless and the crowd love him.

The 12th performer is Christabelle with the song “Rush”. This has been compared to many previous Eurovision entries including Ruslana’s “Wild Dances”. It’s an uptempo, colourful, disco number with electronic dance elements. Christabelle is accompanied by four dancers all dressed in black, she’s giving great amounts of sass in this performance. Vocally she is lacking slightly, however aside from that the performance is really delivering. The performance ends with a firework rain backdrop and the audience really enjoy it.

The penultimate act of the night is Lawrence Gray with the song “The One That You Love”. He’s playing piano to accompany himself through this theatrical ballad, the vocals are on point but there’s something about this that’s just a bit creepy, he’s very into it and I’m not sure that this performance is really going to draw people into voting for him. The song doesn’t really have a very memorable melody or anything that will make it stand out.

Closing the show it’s Daniel Testa with the song “Something In The Way”. This is pop music at it’s best, Daniel is accompanied by a jazz band and he’s looking awfully dapper in his blazer and bow tie. It’s a jolly, jazzy song which is actually quite a surprise for Daniel Testa as he’s more prone to the teen-pop genre. The whole performance is very strong and I’d like to see him gather lots of points this evening.

And that’s it! All 14 acts have performed and the lines are now open to vote! After a quick recap, we are treated to the same interval act which performed during the Junior Eurovision Song Contest last week. One more recap before the lines close and it’s time for the result! But before that: IT’S FIRELIGHT! I love those guys! They’re back to perform last year’s winning song “Coming Home”. They are received exceptionally well by the crowd in Valetta. We are then treated to a performance of “Heroes” by Conchita Wurst.

THE RESULTS

The first results to come in are the televoting results, giving 8 points to Franklin, 10 points to Ekklesia Sisters and 12 points to Amber.
First Juror Points- 8 points for Glen Vella, 10 points for Christabelle and 12 points for Amber.
Second Juror Points- 8 points for Daniel Testa, 10 points for Christabelle and 12 points for Amber. Her 3rd set of 12 points so far.
Third Juror Points- 8 points for Glen Vella, 10 points for Chris Grech and 12 points for Amber.
Fourth Juror Points- 8 points for Christabelle, 10 points for Lawrence Gray and 12 points for Amber. This is a clean sweep so far for Amber.
Fifth Juror Points- 8 points for Jessika, 10 points for Christabelle and 12 points for Amber.

With a clean sweep, 12 points from all juries, the winner of tonight’s show is Amber with the song “Warrior” and she will represent Malta at Eurovision next May in Vienna. She is thrilled to be presented with the award, and she is then invited to perform Malta’s Eurovision song for 2015 “Warrior”.

And that is it! Amber has won and will represent Malta next year in Vienna, are you happy with tonight’s result? How do you think she’ll do in Vienna? We want to know all of your comments here at ESCDaily and thank you for sticking with us throughout the liveblog tonight.

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