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Posted by: Ryan. 14th November 2016, 10:07 PM

Posted by: Ryan. 14th November 2016, 10:07 PM

Quite a few changes for Malta's 2017 selection process. Televoting will play a much larger part in the result than usual, there's no semi-final to eliminate 6-8 of the entries and the show is happening later than it has done in the last few years!

https://escxtra.com/2016/11/09/malta-changes-to-selection-process-final-to-take-place-in-february/

I'm really hoping to see Maxine Pace return, if she brings another song like "Young Love" then she'd definitely pick up the cutesy vote that Gianluca got a few years ago!

Posted by: LexC 13th December 2016, 01:02 AM

So, Malta do this thing every year where they release a 'longlist' of songs that have got through to the final pre-televised jury check where basically every single singer in Malta of working age gets a look in. The source http://www.tvm.com.mt/en/news/60-songs-selected-from-156-entries-for-mesc-2017/ reveals that all of the usual suspects are there including fan favourites Jessika, Brooke, Kevin Borg, Maxine Pace, Richard Edwards outta Firelight, everyone with the surnames Faniello or Calleja and tragifave Deborah C (sadly this time only in a duet).

Posted by: AdamAloud 21st December 2016, 08:09 PM

The final 16 are:

Brooke Borg – “Unstoppable”
Cherton Caruana – “Fighting To Survive”
Claudia Faniello – “Breathlessly”
Crosswalk – “So Simple”
Deborah C & Josef Tabone – “Tonight”
Franklin Calleja – “Follow Me”
Jade Vella – “Seconds Away”
Janice Mangion – “Kewkba”
Kevin Borg – “Follow”
Klinsmann Coleiro – “Laserlight”
Maxine Pace – “Bombshell”
Miriana Conte – “Don’t Look Down”
Raquela Dalli Gonzi – “Ray of Light”
Rhiannon Micallef – “Fearless”
Richard Edwards – “You”
Shauna Vassallo – “Crazy Games

EDIT: Links to listen to each song are https://escxtra.com/2016/12/21/listen-16-finalists-malta-eurovision/

Posted by: LexC 21st December 2016, 10:50 PM

So, to my mind, the three main standouts are:

Brooke Borg – “Unstoppable” (strikes me as the kind of song Ira thought 'Chameleon' was, got serious potential this one!)
Claudia Faniello – “Breathlessly” (major Disney ballad influences with this one)
Maxine Pace – “Bombshell” (she's moved from Meghan Trainor to early Little Mix but this is another one with serious potential)

Kevin Borg and Richard Edwards are probably going to do reasonably well with their rather bland efforts but hopefully one of these three will get it.

Posted by: Ryan. 26th January 2017, 02:06 AM

Running order surely confirms victory for Brooke?

01. Laserlight – Klinsman Coleiro
02. Ray of Light – Raquela Gonzi
03. Tonight – Deborah C/Josef Tabone
04. Follow – Kevin Borg
05. Seconds Away – Jade Vella
06. So Simple – Crosswalk
07. Follow Me – Franklin
08. Fearless – Rhiannon Micallef
09. Don’t look down – Miriana Conte
10. Crazy Games – Shauna Vassallo
11. Kewkba – Janice Mangion
12. Fighting to Survive – Cherton Caruana
13. Bombshell – Maxine Pace
14. You – Richard Edwards
15. Unstoppable – Brooke Borg
16. Breathlessly – Claudia Faniello

Posted by: LexC 26th January 2017, 02:08 AM

All of that last four are in with the biggest chance I think, Maxine's number is being very underrated!

Posted by: Ryan. 26th January 2017, 02:14 AM

Oh I'd LOVE Maxine, her song has the most potential for Eurovision itself I think. It's so cutesy and catchy and will go down very well with jury and televoters alike. It all depends on the exact details of this televote/jury split. If it is going to be 50/50 then it's very hard to see past the Borgs and Claudia at a push. I'd love Maxine to be a contender though!

Posted by: Ryan. 17th February 2017, 11:01 PM

Running order
01. Klinsmann Coleiro - Laserlight
02. Raquela Dalli Gonzi - Ray Of Light
03. Deborah C & Josef - Tonight
04. Kevin Borg - Follow
05. Jade Vella - Seconds Away
06. Crosswalk - So Simple
07. Franklin - Follow Me
08. Rhiannon - Fearless
09. Miriana Conte - Don't Look Down
10. Shauna Vassallo - Crazy Games
11. Janice Mangion - Kewkba
12. Cherton Caruana - Fighting To Survive
13. Maxine Pace - Bombshell
14. Richard Edwards - You
15. Brooke - Unstoppable
16. Claudia Faniello - Breathlessly

Voting format
For the first time in Malta Eurovision Song Contest history, the winner will be chosen by 100% televoting. Each phone number may only cast one vote.

The favourites to win
While there are no betting odds for the competition, the fan community predicts Brooke to be the favourite to win. Nevertheless, she is expected to face stiff competition from Kevin Borg and Janice Mangion. Furthermore, Claudia Faniello and Maxine Pace are also expected to be in contention.

Posted by: Ryan. 18th February 2017, 10:58 PM

Shocker in Malta as Claudia Faniello finally wins after like 25 tries! Brooke fails to make the top 3...

Posted by: AdamAloud 18th February 2017, 11:01 PM

Brooke texting every Maltese person not working then, what a costly flop she's had.

It's a nice entry from Malta but that's all I can say about it, think it'll struggle to get out of the semi.

Posted by: Ryan. 20th February 2017, 11:45 PM

Full voting results in Malta have been revealed, Brooke finished 4th and Maxine was 6th!

http://www.escxtra.com/2017/02/20/full-voting-breakdowns-revealed-malta-eurovision-song-contest/

Posted by: ___∆___ 21st February 2017, 12:52 AM

I desperately want Malta to win. They literally get so excited about the contest - for a country that only has a population of 400,000 it's pretty impressive that over 18,000 votes were cast in the national final.

Doubt we are going to be in Malta in 2018 with this entry but I really hope they get a winner soon!

Posted by: Ryan. 21st February 2017, 01:01 AM

It was limited to only 1 valid vote per phone number too, so even more impressive when taking into account that multivoting wasn't even possible.

Posted by: Ryan. 11th March 2017, 05:55 PM

Official music video along with revamped song:

Posted by: gooddelta 16th April 2017, 08:34 AM

I'm really coming around to this song, but I do wish it had a little bit more of a punch. I feel like the addition of a strong bridge and a much bigger climax or classic Eurovision money note ending at the end could have made it into a much more classic ballad. Bit of a wasted opportunity.