Authenticity is important but our musical tastes need updating. For example, this year's JESC entry couldn't be more authentically Maltese, and that's a plus, but musically it's nothing we haven't heard before, and thus also not making any waves. The reason Aidan is so popular is because he fuses the local flavour with modern trends. Then again, I'm afraid that by the time Aidan does get his turn, he will already be passé. Last year, we didn't have a particularly great lineup. But Erba and Matt Blxck were being talked about, Matt Blxck not necessarily in a good way but he could have still stuck out with his quirkiness like Finland 2024 or Croatia 2023. Instead, what did we go for? The polished forgettable bop nobody was talking about.
Finally someone who debunks the "televote only semis" excuse, I think they were really onto something with their X factor format but they just suddenly descended back into the controversies and lack of transparency again
I think you raise a lot of good points, but, sometimes revamps have a purpose like with The Busker in 2023 who said they ran out of time to get the song sounding exactly the way they wanted it to before the deadline. Also, I don't think most of the songs from Malta have sucked recently! The entries from 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023, and 2024 have been some of my faves (with 2023 being my actual winner from that year) of their respective contests. I'm really surprised running order wasn't mentioned. Going early in the first half of a SF makes things so much harder than going in the 2nd half. And also if they're in the harder SF which has happened to Malta in the last 2 years. I think they qualify both times if they were in the other SFs and went in the 2nd half. I agree with you on many points. They really need to not be so restrictive of what the contestants post on social media and it would be nice to see mostly all the songs be written by Maltese artists. I don't think they should all have to be in Maltese as even most Maltese artists don't release songs in Maltese. Oh and they should always have the voting be 50-50 and spell it out ahead of time, and the jurors should be industry professionals. Well, I hope TVM will at least continue to make positive changes. They are trying to go in the right direction anyway.
Thanks for your comment. Re revamps, the way things have been lately gives the impression that PBS is planning the revamp process before the song is even selection. I think The Busker were a one off though and even their MESC win was legitimate and totally deserved. I absolutey love the song and THEM however, with the results we are getting it just shows that something is wrong. Running order hasn’t been the best but a good song does not need good running order, case in point Teya Dora for example.
18:39 Regarding the fact that five additional composers got credited for a revamp that made very little for the song itself, begs two questions. 1. Was five people really needed for such a small change? 2. Or could it be that some of them just added themselves for songwriting credits just so they could nab some of the royalties?
I'm Portuguese but I follow Malta in this contest with much attention... I feel like it's time Malta wins the contest. And it always kinda of baffled me how the juries plays such a factor in the results of MESC... I'm glad I'm not the only one that finds that sketchy
I don’t think Malta is ready to win with this delegation to be honest. But I agree with you on the juries, that stuff should be illegal. Thanks for your comment btw.
This is a great video! You raised some very good points. Honestly, I think the overall problem with PBS & MESC is the over-reliance on jury friendly songs, and "pay to win" on Swedish songwriters. This has been going on for YEARS. Every year when juries were involved in the Semi voting from 2010-2022, Malta would always be in the top 10 of juries, but barely make it with the Televote either placing in 7th to 10th or would not have qualified at all. Eliminating the juries just exposed that discrepancy. Also, there was always a sense of meddling outside of Eurovision with Malta. For example, weren't there accusations of either PBS or the Maltese government inflating odds for Destiny to win in 2021? Of course, I knew Destiny was going to do well that year, but winning was a stretch due to how strong the competition was in 2021. I really liked Michela in 2019, and The Busker in 2023. Although their downfall were the BBC producers placing it in the death spot of that semi, and being in the same semi as Finland, Sweden, and Israel. You're correct that Malta's approach to Eurovision needs a complete overhaul. I wouldn't say forcing songs to be in 100% Maltese is a good idea, but I would definitely encourage songwriters and artists to include the language to their songs. Having the lead singer be of Maltese citizenship is a good start. You're also correct on the contract being too draconian, PBS needs to back off a bit. Either way, I wish Malta the best of luck next year! Awguri Malta!
Thanks for your comment. I agree, the jury vote is not something you can cater for anymore, and PBS don’t understand that you need to get to the final first to potentially benefit from that. About the language rule, I think it’s necessary for a few years to create a palette cleanser effect and give the televoters a sense of expectancy from Malta, something which is helping countries like Cyprus, Italy, Sweden, Norway and Ukraine A LOT lately.
@@SHAUUNZERSCyprus has always been a bit of a dilemma for me though. They churn more soulless generic pop than Malta, but it's well crafted and catchy. Silia qualified from the number 1 spot, but Sarah Bonnici didn't. That's the only reason why I see it doing well with the televote. However they haven't stopped rehashing Fuego since 2018, and the only time they didn't, they sent a sickly sweet ballad sung by an admittedly attractive Australian guy who rediscovered his Cypriot roots just in time for the contest. The internal selection for Malta worked to some extent, and got us in the top 10 even through the televote, even though it didn't particularly contribute to authenticity.
@@ds5379 I don’t personally like what Cyprus is doing - but I hate to say it, it’s given them enough expectancy points with the public to do well in the televote.
I watched mesc since 2011 onwards and followed the Maltese music industry closely, the only artists to ever do something that could actually do well outside of Malta are Ira Losco and Aidan. Ira went to esc twice. With the current mesc rules and regulations I don’t see Aidan participating this year. Let’s hope Aidan goes to esc 26 internally.
You missed saying the most important thing!!!! With 100% televoting Malta will never ever pass to the Final. Malta can have the best song of all but with 100% televoting it will not qualify!! As soon as Sarah performed she did so well that even the betting from last started going up to 11th place. And why you think she came last? 100% TELEVOTING! You think she deserved to come last?? Even if YOU don’t like the song she performed so well that for sure she was by far much much better than other songs who qualified or those who placed before malta.
21:58 I only agree partially, I think Destiny and Sarah were authethic personalities in interviews and their performance matched them well, especially Sarah's. Dis-sena rajt lil Kantera fil-camp, nittama li jkollom diska tajba!
I would have loved to see Maxine's Mhux Tal-Aħħar at the Eurovision stage despite the result, the songs in Malta Eurovision Song Contest sound like... Eurovision-like songs, meanwhile Mużika Mużika songs sound more authentic and the live orchestra and the Maltese language contributes to that authenticity and quality imo.
Malta should do something similar to Iceland where the semi finals of the national final must be in Maltese but the finalists are allowed to change it to the language they want to sing in at Eurovision proper
Well said! I think it's especially true when you mention how Malta literally has other music competition that is better (as in more well respected) than what MESC offers in the Maltese music industry community. Local involvement and culture is of course preferred, but foreign involvement isn't the worst thing that could happen. Connecting local artist to foreign composers/resources can be a positive thing if done correctly (e.g. Sirena from this year). At the end of the day, a good song matters. Revamps are OK but only if the artist needs a better way present a special gimmick like high notes or choreography, or fix awkward lyrics (if there were any)
I fear that their magnum opus Destiny campaigns have placed a pox on them since. Destiny aside, they largely send entries which are good but not great (Iceland - a fellow remote island country with similar population albeit in a bloc which helps it make decisions coordinated with them - has this exact same problem aside from Hatari and Dadi.)
Selection, music industry, delegation. Iceland has an okay selection, a music industry which I don’t know enough about and a delegation which does not serm inconsistent but certainly ineffective. 2024 was embarrassing however.
@@SHAUUNZERS Iceland’s industry has a lot of famous acts outside ESC, such as Sigur Ros, Kaleo, Of Monsters and Men, Bjork/sugarcubes, Lazytown/Robbie Rotten - RIP, Emiliana Torrini and 1989 nil-pointer GusGus, and I do feel ESC represents their scene more (though Vaeb was the only Songvakeppnin act that was doing that well on Spotify this year) than it does for Malta (Malta May be in my native UK’s commonwealth, but I don’t know many non-esc acts from there in contrast to Iceland)
So me again. I would love to hear your thoughts on “Out of Sight vs I am what I am” I adore Out of Sight because it’s real music… the fact it won unanimously was deserved. I despise however I am what I am because it was quite literally leftover garbage from a bigger national final of melodifestivalen. Please share your opinion with me
I think TVM were hellbent on sending Emma Muscat by March 2021 and they knew Malta would vote for her, she had lots of fans. Given she had never competed at MESC, they did a test run at Mużika Mużika 2021. She performed three songs; an English ballad, an Italian bop, and a ballad in Maltese. It was decided that the English ballad was the best, and therefore they were determined that her Eurovision song would be an English ballad as that is Emma’s first language. Out Of Sight was pretty authentic but admittedly, not competitive. So TVM panicked and sought out the first ballad in English they could find. And we ended up with that. Long story short, instead of working hard to achieve an optimal song for Emma - a bop in Italian or Italian/English, they sought a product that needed the least amount of work. Nothing confirmed here, this is just my guess of how things went.
@@SHAUUNZERS thanks for sharing… I really despise am what I am… U know… not to promote but I have a whole video on singing in english in ESC and Malta is an important point of thay video if you wanna watch
You really READ them... it's really disheartening how poorly PBS handles the Maltese participation every year. You made many points, I think the most important one is the Spotify one. I have no idea what year they're living in in order to think a RUclips-only release is ideal. You can replace the original file on Spotify without changing the title or the cover and maintaining the previous streaming count, so the revamp argument would be nonsensical from them!
Let’s summon a scenario where PBS listen and adjust, and to hire me in doing so. I’ll even do it for free for one year if I know they’ll take it seriously.
From this year's semifinalists, the obvious quality song didn't even make the final. Dominic Cini was robbed, plain and simple. Great song - in Maltese.
I didn't know songwriting camps would cost that much money, so that there would be not enough funds to host a NF. Bad thing is that in 2025 a lot of such camps pop up, and the songs that don't make it to the NF season, they stay closed in a drawer for next year or the other. Main reason: Swiss winning song came from one of such camps. On the other hand, what's being well done last year on MESC was that finalists had the chance to record (finally) professional music videos that had this local flavor, even though with the limited resources. Oh! Another thing changing for the better is that the selection commitee seems to have lost fear on sending songs in Maltese. International fans asked for it, and the fewer included in the selection are mostly praised for its originality (not only the language). And what's been done at MJESC this year seems like a good way to go on the adult contest. I don't think a full rebrand is needed, but the involvement of media and fans is mostly key to that change of mindset you're asking for. Got a Maltese colleague at work and he's more worried about what other countries send to ESC than what Malta actually sends. Finally someone criticising Malta from the inside, bit by bit. Thanks for your video!
Thanks for your comment. I’m not sure they are doing the music videos this year actually. That’s something that most artists don’t do in absence of record labels.
Authenticity is important but our musical tastes need updating.
For example, this year's JESC entry couldn't be more authentically Maltese, and that's a plus, but musically it's nothing we haven't heard before, and thus also not making any waves.
The reason Aidan is so popular is because he fuses the local flavour with modern trends. Then again, I'm afraid that by the time Aidan does get his turn, he will already be passé.
Last year, we didn't have a particularly great lineup. But Erba and Matt Blxck were being talked about, Matt Blxck not necessarily in a good way but he could have still stuck out with his quirkiness like Finland 2024 or Croatia 2023.
Instead, what did we go for? The polished forgettable bop nobody was talking about.
facts
Finally someone who debunks the "televote only semis" excuse, I think they were really onto something with their X factor format but they just suddenly descended back into the controversies and lack of transparency again
Thank you, say it louder!! Although the X Factor method won’t render much these days if we’ll give the artist a Melfest reject song.
I think you raise a lot of good points, but, sometimes revamps have a purpose like with The Busker in 2023 who said they ran out of time to get the song sounding exactly the way they wanted it to before the deadline.
Also, I don't think most of the songs from Malta have sucked recently! The entries from 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023, and 2024 have been some of my faves (with 2023 being my actual winner from that year) of their respective contests.
I'm really surprised running order wasn't mentioned. Going early in the first half of a SF makes things so much harder than going in the 2nd half. And also if they're in the harder SF which has happened to Malta in the last 2 years. I think they qualify both times if they were in the other SFs and went in the 2nd half.
I agree with you on many points. They really need to not be so restrictive of what the contestants post on social media and it would be nice to see mostly all the songs be written by Maltese artists. I don't think they should all have to be in Maltese as even most Maltese artists don't release songs in Maltese. Oh and they should always have the voting be 50-50 and spell it out ahead of time, and the jurors should be industry professionals.
Well, I hope TVM will at least continue to make positive changes. They are trying to go in the right direction anyway.
Thanks for your comment. Re revamps, the way things have been lately gives the impression that PBS is planning the revamp process before the song is even selection. I think The Busker were a one off though and even their MESC win was legitimate and totally deserved. I absolutey love the song and THEM however, with the results we are getting it just shows that something is wrong. Running order hasn’t been the best but a good song does not need good running order, case in point Teya Dora for example.
Amazing video! I hope PBS comes across this video and takes into consideration some rules. We need you in PBS
Thank you and bless you!!!
PREACH! PBS needs to see this video ASAP.
thank you… I wouldn’t mind if they did
18:39 Regarding the fact that five additional composers got credited for a revamp that made very little for the song itself, begs two questions. 1. Was five people really needed for such a small change? 2. Or could it be that some of them just added themselves for songwriting credits just so they could nab some of the royalties?
Very valid questions, and I’ll add another one. Where in this decision do the original songwriters, who wrote 99% of the song feature? 🙂
I'm Portuguese but I follow Malta in this contest with much attention... I feel like it's time Malta wins the contest.
And it always kinda of baffled me how the juries plays such a factor in the results of MESC... I'm glad I'm not the only one that finds that sketchy
I don’t think Malta is ready to win with this delegation to be honest. But I agree with you on the juries, that stuff should be illegal. Thanks for your comment btw.
This is a great video! You raised some very good points.
Honestly, I think the overall problem with PBS & MESC is the over-reliance on jury friendly songs, and "pay to win" on Swedish songwriters. This has been going on for YEARS. Every year when juries were involved in the Semi voting from 2010-2022, Malta would always be in the top 10 of juries, but barely make it with the Televote either placing in 7th to 10th or would not have qualified at all. Eliminating the juries just exposed that discrepancy. Also, there was always a sense of meddling outside of Eurovision with Malta. For example, weren't there accusations of either PBS or the Maltese government inflating odds for Destiny to win in 2021? Of course, I knew Destiny was going to do well that year, but winning was a stretch due to how strong the competition was in 2021. I really liked Michela in 2019, and The Busker in 2023. Although their downfall were the BBC producers placing it in the death spot of that semi, and being in the same semi as Finland, Sweden, and Israel.
You're correct that Malta's approach to Eurovision needs a complete overhaul. I wouldn't say forcing songs to be in 100% Maltese is a good idea, but I would definitely encourage songwriters and artists to include the language to their songs. Having the lead singer be of Maltese citizenship is a good start. You're also correct on the contract being too draconian, PBS needs to back off a bit.
Either way, I wish Malta the best of luck next year! Awguri Malta!
Thanks for your comment. I agree, the jury vote is not something you can cater for anymore, and PBS don’t understand that you need to get to the final first to potentially benefit from that. About the language rule, I think it’s necessary for a few years to create a palette cleanser effect and give the televoters a sense of expectancy from Malta, something which is helping countries like Cyprus, Italy, Sweden, Norway and Ukraine A LOT lately.
@@SHAUUNZERSCyprus has always been a bit of a dilemma for me though. They churn more soulless generic pop than Malta, but it's well crafted and catchy. Silia qualified from the number 1 spot, but Sarah Bonnici didn't. That's the only reason why I see it doing well with the televote. However they haven't stopped rehashing Fuego since 2018, and the only time they didn't, they sent a sickly sweet ballad sung by an admittedly attractive Australian guy who rediscovered his Cypriot roots just in time for the contest.
The internal selection for Malta worked to some extent, and got us in the top 10 even through the televote, even though it didn't particularly contribute to authenticity.
@@ds5379 I don’t personally like what Cyprus is doing - but I hate to say it, it’s given them enough expectancy points with the public to do well in the televote.
"Malta doesn't have neighbours"
Italy: "what am i? A roach??"
I watched mesc since 2011 onwards and followed the Maltese music industry closely, the only artists to ever do something that could actually do well outside of Malta are Ira Losco and Aidan. Ira went to esc twice. With the current mesc rules and regulations I don’t see Aidan participating this year.
Let’s hope Aidan goes to esc 26 internally.
I don’t think so either unfortunately. Ira Losco is well past her prime however.
You missed saying the most important thing!!!! With 100% televoting Malta will never ever pass to the Final. Malta can have the best song of all but with 100% televoting it will not qualify!! As soon as Sarah performed she did so well that even the betting from last started going up to 11th place. And why you think she came last? 100% TELEVOTING! You think she deserved to come last?? Even if YOU don’t like the song she performed so well that for sure she was by far much much better than other songs who qualified or those who placed before malta.
delulu is your solulu hun
@@SHAUUNZERSmy opinion and I am being realistic after all if you don’t agree its okay! I respect your opinion and your video
@@RoyIvins-j7c if you watch the video, you might just understand that this opinion is debunked
We qualified 4 times with televoting so your wrong
Tghough juries do help
21:58 I only agree partially, I think Destiny and Sarah were authethic personalities in interviews and their performance matched them well, especially Sarah's. Dis-sena rajt lil Kantera fil-camp, nittama li jkollom diska tajba!
Nittama jien ukoll. Għandom potenzjal.
A very fascinating video with some convincing arguments and viable solutions. Nice job! 👍
Thank you!
Love this video, and ty for introducing me to Muzika Muzika, the first song I heard from it was so good
Thank you. Which song is it?
@@SHAUUNZERS it was harsa biss
@@jnmkl-sx9my okay good start, check out the 2022 edition. I think it had a far better line up.
I would have loved to see Maxine's Mhux Tal-Aħħar at the Eurovision stage despite the result, the songs in Malta Eurovision Song Contest sound like... Eurovision-like songs, meanwhile Mużika Mużika songs sound more authentic and the live orchestra and the Maltese language contributes to that authenticity and quality imo.
facts on facts
Matt Blxck has been releasing songs since 2022 actually and he is consistent
Yes he has, and I did not state otherwise
Malta should do something similar to Iceland where the semi finals of the national final must be in Maltese but the finalists are allowed to change it to the language they want to sing in at Eurovision proper
That is a brilliant idea
Well said! I think it's especially true when you mention how Malta literally has other music competition that is better (as in more well respected) than what MESC offers in the Maltese music industry community.
Local involvement and culture is of course preferred, but foreign involvement isn't the worst thing that could happen. Connecting local artist to foreign composers/resources can be a positive thing if done correctly (e.g. Sirena from this year).
At the end of the day, a good song matters. Revamps are OK but only if the artist needs a better way present a special gimmick like high notes or choreography, or fix awkward lyrics (if there were any)
@@ESC_jackqulen Thanks for your comment. Like you said, foreign involvement is okay if done correctly - and I think lately it certainly has not.
I hope Malta will do better next year. I like your entry from 1998. Cheers from 🇸🇪
The fact that you have to go back to 1998 to find an entry of ours that you like is funny. 😅
@@ds5379 I just rewatched some supercut versions of 1990's eurovision finals and that one stuck in memory
@@Zakarias89 ah ok it's Chiara! Yes she was awesome for her time.
Chiara was a GOAT.
I fear that their magnum opus Destiny campaigns have placed a pox on them since. Destiny aside, they largely send entries which are good but not great (Iceland - a fellow remote island country with similar population albeit in a bloc which helps it make decisions coordinated with them - has this exact same problem aside from Hatari and Dadi.)
Selection, music industry, delegation. Iceland has an okay selection, a music industry which I don’t know enough about and a delegation which does not serm inconsistent but certainly ineffective. 2024 was embarrassing however.
@@SHAUUNZERS Iceland’s industry has a lot of famous acts outside ESC, such as Sigur Ros, Kaleo, Of Monsters and Men, Bjork/sugarcubes, Lazytown/Robbie Rotten - RIP, Emiliana Torrini and 1989 nil-pointer GusGus, and I do feel ESC represents their scene more (though Vaeb was the only Songvakeppnin act that was doing that well on Spotify this year) than it does for Malta (Malta May be in my native UK’s commonwealth, but I don’t know many non-esc acts from there in contrast to Iceland)
So me again.
I would love to hear your thoughts on “Out of Sight vs I am what I am”
I adore Out of Sight because it’s real music… the fact it won unanimously was deserved.
I despise however I am what I am because it was quite literally leftover garbage from a bigger national final of melodifestivalen.
Please share your opinion with me
I think TVM were hellbent on sending Emma Muscat by March 2021 and they knew Malta would vote for her, she had lots of fans. Given she had never competed at MESC, they did a test run at Mużika Mużika 2021. She performed three songs; an English ballad, an Italian bop, and a ballad in Maltese. It was decided that the English ballad was the best, and therefore they were determined that her Eurovision song would be an English ballad as that is Emma’s first language. Out Of Sight was pretty authentic but admittedly, not competitive. So TVM panicked and sought out the first ballad in English they could find. And we ended up with that. Long story short, instead of working hard to achieve an optimal song for Emma - a bop in Italian or Italian/English, they sought a product that needed the least amount of work. Nothing confirmed here, this is just my guess of how things went.
@@SHAUUNZERS thanks for sharing…
I really despise am what I am…
U know… not to promote but I have a whole video on singing in english in ESC and Malta is an important point of thay video if you wanna watch
Nothing wrong with a bit of promo, thanks for sharing. Will definitely check it out!
@SHAUUNZERS for me, Out of Sight was the more likely qualifier
@@johnoflaherty9105 probably, but again we’ll never know
You really READ them... it's really disheartening how poorly PBS handles the Maltese participation every year. You made many points, I think the most important one is the Spotify one. I have no idea what year they're living in in order to think a RUclips-only release is ideal. You can replace the original file on Spotify without changing the title or the cover and maintaining the previous streaming count, so the revamp argument would be nonsensical from them!
Let’s summon a scenario where PBS listen and adjust, and to hire me in doing so. I’ll even do it for free for one year if I know they’ll take it seriously.
You’re actually wrong, last year and the previous year, they didn’t even release the “official” versions on RUclips! Just the live versions 😂
@@brenda217esc They released the music videos last year - you can find them on the TVM youtube channel.
@@brenda217esc Lord have mercy!
@@SHAUUNZERS and why did they delete their mesc RUclips channel 😂?
See you in February!
Well done 👏
Thank you!
In a way, without the block voting Malta could have won at least once
and what do we know with simply “could have?”
The Code came from a songwriting camp
and therefore..?
@SHAUUNZERS it means a winning song can come from there but it is not something I would condone
I think mixed maltese andforigner composers should be allowed . To make the best package
Interested in the opinion of someone with a Maltese perspective
😀
I'm Maltese . The reason is we are not sending good singers but more worse good songs
From this year's semifinalists, the obvious quality song didn't even make the final. Dominic Cini was robbed, plain and simple. Great song - in Maltese.
facts, although it’s not THE one imo
I didn't know songwriting camps would cost that much money, so that there would be not enough funds to host a NF. Bad thing is that in 2025 a lot of such camps pop up, and the songs that don't make it to the NF season, they stay closed in a drawer for next year or the other. Main reason: Swiss winning song came from one of such camps.
On the other hand, what's being well done last year on MESC was that finalists had the chance to record (finally) professional music videos that had this local flavor, even though with the limited resources. Oh! Another thing changing for the better is that the selection commitee seems to have lost fear on sending songs in Maltese. International fans asked for it, and the fewer included in the selection are mostly praised for its originality (not only the language). And what's been done at MJESC this year seems like a good way to go on the adult contest.
I don't think a full rebrand is needed, but the involvement of media and fans is mostly key to that change of mindset you're asking for. Got a Maltese colleague at work and he's more worried about what other countries send to ESC than what Malta actually sends.
Finally someone criticising Malta from the inside, bit by bit. Thanks for your video!
Thanks for your comment. I’m not sure they are doing the music videos this year actually. That’s something that most artists don’t do in absence of record labels.
underrated.
But its a fact forigner composers songs where more succesful
no it’s not
But no one is worse than San Marino! haha
San Marino have very few resources and make something consistent with what they have - I respect that more personally.
Bit i libe in malta (MQLTA DOEANT SUCK YOU DO)
The song that wins Mesc should be changed to a better one
Absolutely not, would be unfair for all the other participants whose songs lost to that one.
They must've missed the memo in 2022