One more year has passed and Malta’s hopes for a win at the Eurovision song contest were crushed again.

Each year, we hold our own contest to choose our representative, and many Maltese ready themselves in the hopes of seeing Malta’s name in the spotlight. While Malta has had some degree of success in the past but never reached the ultimate goal to win the competition, more often than not this is not the case.

When it comes to the Eurovision contest, Malta is divided, with people either loving it or not caring at all.

The Eurovision song contest is exceedingly hard to break through, given the block voting seems to occur, and thus sometimes the best singers are not the ones who make it to the top, which is in itself a shame. Yet the Maltese, each year, follow the event intently and everyone suddenly becomes a music expert.

When Malta doesn’t do well, those who watch the competition with high expectations always end up upset, yet the question arises, why? Why do we care so much about one annual competition?

This has to do with national pride, with the Maltese wanting to show the world what we can do, that we can stand toe-to-toe with countries much larger, with a lot more funding. While others take the loss with a pinch of salt, many a Maltese who turn the contest into a be-all-end-all situation are disappointed to an extreme. An interesting trend this year seems to be that the section of society who don’t really care about the result, seem to have become more vocal on social media, contrasting sharply with the Eurovision lovers.

Well, the message should be that we should not take the Eurovision too seriously. It is just a competition, it is one in which Malta should continue to take part, but let’s not make it a national tragedy if we do not make it to the final or, if we do make it, we do not win.

With this in mind, Christabelle, as well as past contestants, should be praised for the effort, hard work, and performances. It is not easy representing your country on the world stage, and we applaud them. The team behind the Maltese Eurovision this year also did a good job. It is sad to see the singer and the team being attacked on a personal level.

The Eurovision aside, it is clear that there is a need for further investment in the local music industry given that the country is beginning to produce bigger and more talented musicians and performers. As an example, Red Electrick comes to mind, Ira Losco being a talented singer, as do a number of other bands and singers. Obviously Joseph Calleja remains Malta’s biggest name.

More recently it was reported that one of Malta’s metal bands - Align the Tide - announced their first US tour. As for Malta’s electronic music culture, many Maltese DJs have seen success.  Malta’s music scene is, in itself, quite diverse, and artists should be given even more support than they currently receive.

Investment in music should, in other words, not stop with the Eurovision.

It is good to note that V18 is offering the opportunity for many of Malta’s talented artists to be noticed, giving them the space to perform. And while this is very positive, we must ensure that this will not just end abruptly once we hit 2019.