Junior Eurovision 2023 is getting closer and closer on the calendar. Despite some turbulent years with the risk of cancellation of the junior festival, the contest is back for another year, showcasing the voices of young Europeans.
This year, the 21st edition of the junior festival will be held on 26 November in the French city of Nice, following the victory of the young Frenchman Lissandro and his song “Oh Maman!“ in the 2022 edition.
Malta is once again participating in the junior festival, after opting for its popular children’s competition “Malta Junior Eurovision Song Contest” to choose its representative for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest.
Yulan Law, was the winner of the contest on 12 August, after two programs were held to determine all the junior hopefuls to represent Malta in the junior festival, the semi-final in which the finalists were announced, and the final, in which Yulan Law beat youngsters Dawn Desira and Daylin Cassar -third and second respectively-.
After that, TVM opened a period of receiving songs for the young Maltese to defend the theme on stage at the Palais Nikaia. Finally, on 7 October, the song with which Yulan Law will represent Malta at Junior Eurovision was announced.
Yulan’s song for Nice
The young singer will defend the song “Stronger“, with which she will try to achieve the third victory for the Mediterranean country. It is an emotional ballad that has captivated the selection committee, who have chosen it unanimously.
As for the technical aspects of the song, “Stronger” stands out for its arranged instrumentation that includes soft strings, emotive piano and a captivating horn section that eventually explodes into a typical powerballad. Yulan Law’s exceptional vocals blend perfectly with the music, taking the song to a higher musical level. The lyrics speak of the dreams and aspirations we all share, regardless of our background or culture. It is a call to follow our hearts and pursue our desires, no matter what difficulties we may encounter along the way.
The song has been composed by a Swedish-born team including Elise Hedengren, who has worked on occasion for Emmelie de Forest, Isak Alvedahl, John-Emil Johansson, responsible for several songs at this year’s Belgian Eurosong, including Hunter Falls’ “Ooh La La La“, and Sandra Wikström, lead songwriter of “Ashes Of Yesterday”, which came second at Ireland’s Eurosong 2022 and several other Eurovision pre-selection songs. It has also been produced entirely by one of the team members, John-Emil Johansson.
Meet Maltese representative Yulan Law
The 14-year-old Maltese girl already has extensive experience in the world of singing. She started her musical career in the popular Russian contest “New Wave Junior” in 2019. In the same year, she also participated in the “Sanremo Junior Malta“.
A year later, in 2020, he entered the “Malta Junior Eurovision Song Contest” with the song “Deck of Cards“, together with also young Maltese singer Gianluca Cilia – who represented Malta at Junior Eurovision in 2017, which was held in Georgian city of Tbilisi, with the song “Dawra Tond“, finishing in ninth position -.
Already in 2021, he participated inMalta’s Got Talent. In 2022, he participated in that year’s MJESC, with the song “Change“ and “On My Way“, reaching third position in the final ranking. After that, he participated in “The Voice Kids Malta“, where he was in the team of the popular Maltese singer Destiny – Eurovision 2020 and 2021, finishing in the latter, 5th with his song “Je Me Casse”-, reaching the final.
Malta at Junior Eurovision
Malta was one of the founding countries of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Copenhagen 2003. In its first participation, with Sarah Harrison and her song “Like A Star” it reached 7th place. During this first stage in the children’s contest, Malta achieved discreet results, except in Limasol 2008, when Daniel Testa with “Junior Swing” achieved a 4th place.
Thus, in 2011, PBS decided to withdraw from Junior Eurovision. Despite being one of the countries that has been participating in the festival from the very beginning, its results were never encouraging for the Maltese broadcaster, along with an audience performance that was not as expected.
After its absence for two editions, Kiev 2013 saw the long-awaited return of the Mediterranean island. Gaia Cauchi with her song “The Start” took the trophy. Two years later, in Bulgaria 2015, Destiny Chukunyere with “Not My Soul” broke all records and gave another triumph to her country.
Malta has been in the Top 10 ten times. Its best stint in the competition came between 2013 and 2018, when the country achieved its two wins at the children’s festival. On the opposite side, there are its last three places obtained in 2005, with Thea & Friends and their song “Make It Right”, in 2019, with Eliana Gomez Blanco and her “We Are More” and in 2022 with Gaia Gambuzza and her “Diamonds In The Skies”.
During this time, PBS has chosen its representative through open pre-selections, except in 2013 and 2014, when they did it internally.
Malta has hosted the Junior Eurovision Song Contest twice. In 2014, held at the Malta Shipbuilding in Marsa and in 2016 at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta.