Last Friday 10th of November, the third semifinal of Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2024 (MESC2024) took place in Valetta, where 9 more acts showcased their songs to the public. After a more mediocre second semifinal, Malta decided to bring us 9 different and exciting songs that made us wonder if we already have heard the winner of MESC2024. Several of the 9 songs could do well at Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmo next May, but who were the ones that stood out the most? Find out below.
As explained in previous posts from us, MESC2024 started earlier than other editions, having its 4 semifinals aired every Friday from last night 27th of October, until the 4th semifinal taking place on 17th of November. In each show, 9 song will be taking the stage to showcase their voices and songs with no props just focusing on the voice. On Friday 24th of November, on a final show, we will get to know the combined results form both juries and public vote and the names of the 12 finalists will be finally revealed.
The first 9 acts (with their respective song and songwriters) that took the stage last Friday on the third semifinal were:
- Jessica Micallef – «Tagħna Tnejn»
- Cosette Baldacchino – “Free Fall» – Lauren White Murphy, Natasha Turner and Niall Mooney
- Michaela Galea – «Let’s Talk About Love» – Andreas Stone Johansson, Michela Galea, Emil Calleja Bayliss and Sebastian Pritchard-James
- Thea Aquilina – «Blood Stream» – Gerard James Borg, Leire Gotxi Angel, Thea Aquilina and Toby Farrugia
- Miguel Bonello – «Better Off Alone» – Leire Gotxi Angel, Matthew Mercieca, Michael Joe Cini, Miguel Bonello
- Moira Starface –«Feather Flight» – David Cassar Torreggiani, Moira Stafrace and Toby Farrugia
- Dan – «Baraxx» – Cyprian Cassar and Daniel Muscat Caruana
- Stefan Galea – «Numb» – Matthew James Borg, Matthew Mercieca, Michael Joe Cini and Stefan Galea
- Karin Duff – «Breaking Bad» – Andreas Stone Johansson, Gerard James Borg and Karin Duff
First person taking the stage was Jessica Micallef with her song Tagħna Tnejn, which translated into “Our Monday”, a song in Maltese that got us dancing. Unfortunately, Jessica’s vocals weren’t amongst the best of the night, and her shaky vocals did not match the energy of the song, that even if basic, had that special and unique Maltese touch that Europe is demanding from the small Mediterranean island,
Second one of the night was Cosette Baldacchino with “Free Fall”, a beautiful and emotional ballad that Cosette san beautifully with her warm and strong voice. It really stands out from this group of 9, but the song itself is not anything new to the contest and we don’t know if it will stand out and will be memorable enough when compared to other girls ballads of the competition such as Eliana’s or Hailey’s song.
Michela Galea went on stage in third place to perform “Let’s talk about love”, a very nice and easy to remember song, with beautiful arrangements that makes you want to replay the song over and over. She sang it perfectly, connecting emotions and creating a magical moment on stage. The only problem: Is it competitive enough to fight for the crystal microphone in Malmo?
Next was Thea Aquilina singing “Blood stream”. Everything from this song stands out-from vocals, to music and lyrics, topped up with arresting visuals. The potential of this song is huge, and Thea really proved us that she can sing it and defend it live-so it would be a pity for the song and the performer not to have the chance of elevating this promising act to the big MESC final stage. Her confidence totally sells the song itself, and the interesting melodies reminiscing of great hits from Rihanna or Taylor Swift, really makes the song sound polished and high-quality.
Fifth act of the night was Miguel Bonello with “Better off alone”. This is exactly what we were asking for Malta: A current song with interesting visuals, a story behind and a performer that can really defend a song that sounds international but with Maltese flavours. Miguel was the one act of the night you couldn’t forget about. We see potential MESC winner and next Maltese representative in Eurovision potential if the song is taken wisely to the big MESC finals stage. We wish him the best luck and just a tip: You do you!
Sixth person taking the stage was the Maltese representative at Eurovision 1994-Moira Starface with “Feather Flight”. Moira has a very unique voice with husky and rock voices, making her stand out just because of that. Also, her aesthetics were on point and the song itself was a very good produced and melodically interesting one. The only concert is that rock ballads don’t normally do really well at Eurovision Song Contest, thus, it might struggle getting to the final due to this.
Dan took the stage in seventh place with Baraxx, a very feel good and catchy song sung in Maltese. Just like last year, Dan bursted on energy and positive vibes, making you smile nonstop for 3 minutes. The melodies aren’t very innovative and staging opportunities are limited for this act, but it does stands out just cause of the style of the song and the radio friendliness.
Eight act of the night was Stefan, a very well known name to the Maltese music competitions, with his song “Numb”. Mixing international and worldwide hit essence with Maltese sounds and ethnic flavours, “Numb” is one to watch out for sure on the run to the finals of MESC 2024. Visually captivating, with polished moves and very well-though imagery and aesthetics, Stefan comes eager to fight for that MESC 2024 trophy. Is one of those songs alongside “Loop” or “Better off alone” that sound Eurovision ready from the first second of the song.
And finally, one of the protagonists of the night, was Karin Duff with “Breaking bad”- An ethnic bop from beginning to end. Although her vocals weren’t the best on that take, Karin defended the song flawlessly with lots of confidence and sold the song amazingly. The potential of this song to do an breathtaking and epic staging are limitless. We just hope her team and PBS don’t let this chance go by and help her polishing the final product and putting together an unforgettable show for this epic song that keep you wanting to listen more of it everything a new element is incorporated to the instrumental. No one can deny Karin’s talent and stamina, and her aesthetics and looks are one of the strengths of the entry itself. Winner potential and the cherry on the top to this third MESC 2024 semifinal that only went upwards since the start of the show.
All in all, the third semi final of Malta Eurovision Song contest 2024 left us wanting more, as the overall quality of the semifinal increased significantly compared to the last two shows, making it clear PBS left the best for the last. It seems that finalists songs will all be written by the same bunch of songwriters that proved the Eurovision fans they know how to write a good Eurovision song for specific artists meeting their needs and focusing on their strengths, vocal abilities and singing styles. The most liked songs so far by the audience they all come from the following songwriters: Leire Gotxi Angel, Sebastian Pritchard-James, Andreas Stone Johansson, Matthew James Borg, Michael Joe Cini and Matthew Mercieca.
From this third heat, and taking into account the potential of the songs, our qualifiers for the finals are:
- Karin Duff – «Breaking Bad»
- Stefan Galea – «Numb»
- Thea Aquilina – «Blood Stream»
- Miguel Bonello – «Better Off Alone»
But as said, PBS has probably left the acts that created the most expectation for the last semifinal, as Ryan Hili, Greta Tude and Matt BLXCK, the ultimate fan favourite of this year, are expected to showcase their MESC song at the last semifinal. After that show, all the juries and televote points will be aggregated and a list of 12 finalists will be compiled. The final list of 12 finalists will be announced on a final fifth show on Friday 24th of November at XOW program at TVM1. We can’t wait to find out the 12 names that will be fighting for the Maltese ticket to Malmo, as expectation and hype has been increasing show after show, some of the songs being almost Eurovision ready!
The first national final of the 2024 season, the Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2024 (MESC), began last Friday, October 27, with semi-finals running until November 24 when the finalists will be revealed. The Maltese television will be disclosing the list of artists participating in each semi-final of the Maltese competition every Wednesday, and will be broadcast through the Maltese television program XOW every Friday. In this show, the 9 participants of each semifinal will perform their songs live, without any props or scenography whatsoever, and very interesting names have surged on this first group of names.
Once all the artists in each semifinal have performed their songs, a professional jury and the public will vote for the proposals they want to see continuing further in the national final. What is not know yet is if juries and public will have the same weight when it comes to the final result. Public vote will be open in every semifinal for 30 minutes, and audience will be able to cast their vote via SMS for their favourite acts, so make sure you vote for your favourite once all the songs have been performed on the night. The results won’t be disclosed until November 24th, when all the semi-finalists have taken the stage to sing their songs. Only then, the 12 acts receiving the most points from both the public and jury, will fight for gold in the grand final taking place in a to-be-decided date in late January 2024.
After this, pre-recorded live-on-tape performances of the 12 finalists will filmed in December 2023 at the PBS studios that will be aired at the grand finale. The 12 finalists will have 60 minutes and three takes to achieve the top-notch performance and select their best take for the final in January.
For this grand finale live-on-tape performances, the acts will be able to add any props, choreography and staging they would like to their performance. And as a novelty, PBS is also providing with 5000€ to each of the 12 finalist destined to recording the official video clip of the song by their own means, which will be as well broadcast in the grand finale in January.
The final result of who will be representing Malta in Malmo will be decided at that grand finale, and is not revealed yet how the final result will be calculated, but a mix of national and international professional juries and public Maltese televote will presumably be used to determine the act that will be flying the Maltese flag next May 2024 in the Swedish city of Malmo.