Jum l-Indipendenza, Maltese Independence Day is celebrated on September 21. It is the day Malta gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1964.
To commemorate the day the Aussievision team have taken a deep dive into Malta’s performances at Eurovision and ranked their favourites.
Malta has competed 33 times on the Eurovision stage, debuting in 1971. Unfortunately Malta did not enter Eurovision for 16 years from 1971. Malta returned to Eurovision in 1991 and has competed every year since, we are so happy that they are here to stay!
The Aussievision team have re-watched and ranked every Maltese entry at Eurovision (including the 2020 entry). Join us on a wild ride through the Maltese highs and lows in the Contest as we award points in the familiar 12-to-1 format.
Enjoy the countdown!
29th (2003) - Lynn Chircop - 'To Dream Again' - 1 point
=26th (2011) - Glen Vella - 'One Life' - 2 points
=26th (2007) - Olivia Lewis - 'Vertigo' - 2 points
=26th (1971) - Joe Grech - 'Marija l-Maltija' - 2 points
25th (1995) - Mike Spiteri - 'Keep Me In Mind' - 6 points
=22nd (2006) - Fabrizio Faniello - 'I Do' - 7 points
=22nd (1997) - Debbie Scerri - 'Let Me Fly' - 7 points
=22nd (1992) - Mary Spiteri - 'Little Child' - 7 points
21st (1991) - Paul Giordimaina and Georgina - 'Could It Be' - 11 points
20th (2004) - Julie and Ludwig - 'On Again... Off Again' - 12 points
19th (2015) - Amber - 'Warrior' - 17 points
18th (1998) - Chiara - 'The One That I Love' - 18 points
=16th (2001) - Fabrizio Faniello - 'Another Summer Night' - 21 points
=16th (2000) - Claudette Pace - 'Desire' - 21 points
15th (1975) - Renato - 'Singing This Song' - 23 points
14th (2017) - Claudia Faniello - 'Breathlessly' - 26 points
13th (2012) - Kurt Calleja - 'This Is the Night' - 31 points
12th (2013) - Gianluca Bezzina - 'Tomorrow' - 33 points
11th (2008)- Morena - 'Vodka' - 36 points
Ok, on to the serious points and the big players, here’s the breakdown of our top 10 Maltese entries, as voted for by the Aussievision team (keep a look out for repeat performers, Malta sure love to send and resend favourite artists…)
10th Place - Chiara - ‘What If We’ (2009) - 37 Points
(10 points from Estelle)
This is not the first time we've found Chiara on our countdown and it won’t be the last… 2009 was actually the third time that Chiara had represented Malta in a Eurovision Grand Final. Previously she had come 2nd and 3rd, placing her as the third most successful participant who never won the Contest (behind Germany's Katja Ebstein and Wind.) Chiara belted out ‘What If We’ which was a beautiful power ballad tribute to her recently deceased father. The solo performance was modestly staged, simply letting the vocals do all the work. Although ‘What If We’ finished 22nd in the Grand Final with 31 points, Chiara had cemented herself as a powerhouse of Maltese entries.
9th Place - William Mangion - 'This Time' (1993) - 42 Points
(12 points from Wade, 10 points from Craig)
William Mangion came 8th for Malta in 1993 and WOW, what an entry. 'This Time' is a dramatic ballad which was inspired somewhat by soul music. Boy does this song pack a punch as William belts out "this time I'll be strong, I won't fall in love again." We have to give a special mention to William’s crowning glory, his glorious curly mullet; this bold hairstyle truly could be considered the true winner of the Contest in 1993. His backing singers wrote this song and they clearly caught the Eurovision bug, returning to represent Malta themselves in 1999 as the girl group Time three.
8th Place - Ira Losco - ‘7th Wonder’ (2002) - 56 Points
(12 points from Mark, 10 points from Fleur)
Quite a change (and quite a few key changes) as we move into 8th place. ‘7th Wonder’ is a sweet little pop ballad that shot to 2nd place in 2002. A couple of upbeat key changes and the sprinkling of glitter over the stage saw Ira Losco almost take the crown. ‘7th Wonder’ is a girl band pop song which scored quite solid voting amongst the Aussievision team, scoring the entire range of our points between 1-12.
7th Place - Firelight - ‘Coming Home’ (2014) - 62 Points
(10 points from Hayley and Tim)
Something a little bit different here, and we appreciate the quirkiness and unique sound of folk band Firelight. Lead singer Richard found it 5th time lucky has he had previously entered the Maltese Eurovision pre selection shows in 2003, 2005, 2010 and 2011. ‘Coming Home’ was penned out of love for the thousands of people who travel far from home all over Europe for work.
Very interestingly Richard played the Appalachian mountain dulcimer (an American stringed folk instrument) on stage, we are always here for a unique instrument at Eurovision! ‘Coming Home’ came in at 23rd on the night of the Grand Final. It still has a really strong YouTube following and is viewed by many fans as an underrated hit.
6th Place - Christabelle Borg - ‘Taboo’ (2018) - 63 Points
(12 points from Josh, 8 points from Fleur)
A bit of a controversial one here, ‘Taboo’ didn't qualify for the Grand Final, but it made our top 6. ‘Taboo’ boasted adventurous staging, taking advantage of LED screens and CGI. We are glad to see ‘Taboo’ getting some recognition here in the Aussievision vote as it was sorely missed in the Final.
5th Place - Ira Losco - ‘Walk On Water’ (2016) - 66 Points
Top 5! And we are kicking it off with Ira Losco...again! 14 years after her triumphant second place, Ira was back representing Malta once more. ‘Walk on Water’ is a pretty song with a pretty interesting background. Originally Ira won the Maltese national selection with a song called ‘Chameleon’ (No, not Chameleon from 2019, that's just a strange coincidence.) It was later judged that Malta would have a better chance with another song and so Ira’s entry was changed to ‘Walk on Water.’ Malta threw it all at this performance with a budget of €1,500,000, a whopping increase from the previous year of €200,000. This time around Ira placed a respectable 12th place, perhaps we will see her compete for Malta for a third time in the future?
4th Place - Michela Pace - 'Chameleon' (2019) - 82 Points
(12 points from Hayley, 10 points from Laura, Josh, Wade, Emma, Hugo)
Ok things are getting serious now as we move into the top 4, seeing a great increase in our awarding of 12, 10 and 8 points. And we are back to ‘Chameleon’ again, albeit a different song this time which made it through the semi-finals and into the Grand Final. Quite a new style for Malta to take as ‘Chameleon’ is an edgy, up-tempo track which had the audience up on its feet dancing the night away. ‘Chameleon’ placed 14th in the Grand Final was a breath of fresh air for the Malta.
3rd Place - Destiny - ‘All Of My Love’ (2020) - 97 Points
(12 points from Craig, 10 points from Cooper, 8 points from Estelle, Hayley, Emma and Kyriakos)
And with bronze on the podium we have...Destiny! Never fear, in true Malta style you can bet to see her again in our list. 2020 robbed us of a Contest and of a potentially stunning performance from Destiny. Interestingly this song had already done the Eurovision rounds, being offered to Bulgaria and Croatia, eventually finding its way to Destiny who absolutely slayed it in every way possible. She draws on gospel, soul and R&B.
‘All Of My Love’ was absolutely a strong contender to win the 2020 competition. Alas we will never know where it would have placed, so we are pleased that it can take glory here in our Aussievision ranking at 3rd place.
2nd Place - Destiny - ‘Je Me Casse’ (2021) - 98 Points
(12 points from Laura, Emma, Hugo and Cooper, 10 points from Kyriakos, 8 points from Steve and Mark)
The Silver medal goes to... step up Destiny once more! Rightfully deserving of another chance to compete Destiny lit up the Eurovision stage in 2021. At only 18-years-old Destiny pulled off a powerhouse performance that was a huge standout on the night of the Grand Final, coming in a solid 7th place. Knowing Malta’s history of resending successful artists we have no doubt that we not seen the last of Destiny at Eurovision and we can't wait to see how she progresses and evolves as an artist in the future.
1st Place - Chiara - ‘Angel’ (2005) - 100 Points
(12 points from Steve, Kyriakos and Dale, 10 points from Mike, 8 points from Wade and Guy.)
Storming into first place and awarded the gold medal from the Aussievision team is Chiara with ‘Angel.’ Classic Malta sending repeated artists, Chiara has represented Malta three times in the Grand Final! ‘Angel’ is a beautiful solo love ballad which came second in 2005 with 192 points, narrowly pipped at the post by Greece. This was the best result for Malta in their history at Eurovision. The song hit the German singles chart at No. 95.
A huge favourite of the Aussievision team and a well deserved 1st place! Congratulations Chiara!
So where next for Malta? It has been over 50 years, hopefully we get to see them take the Eurovision trophy. Maybe we will see the return of the glorious mullet too ?
We live in hope!
Where is Chris & Moira?? 😢