Although several years had gone by, the minute Chiara started to sing Angel last Saturday at the Maltasong festival, it was like I had been transported back in time to when she had first won with The One that I love.

To quote Olivia’s song, it was deja vu. You could feel a ripple of excitement go through the audience, and by the time she reached the refrain, everyone went wild. Wow, can this girl sing.

To be fair, even Olivia’s song received a similar reaction and, with modest pride, I have to say that when someone asked me during the break who I thought would win, I told them it would be a race between these two ladies. Little did I imagine that the difference in the number of votes would be negligible, and that Olivia would be so tantalisingly close to finally achieving her dream.

I want to add that I also loved the song Deja Vu, which was very original and, if I’m not mistaken, the only one which included Maltese lyrics. It was the way they were used which I liked, with that very dramatic ethnic beat. But if Olivia was not meant to win this year, than I’m glad that at least she wasn’t beaten by a mediocre song.

I know we’re always being told not to take these festivals seriously, but there have been many times when I end up feeling disillusioned by what we send up to represent us, while much better songs are left trailing behind. I have often rooted for Malta during the Eurovision solely for patriotic reasons, but my heart wouldn’t be in it because the song is so blah.

This year, I can at least cheer for the home team with all my heart. The home team this year being Chiara, Chiara and Chiara since she composed and wrote the song herself.

I’m writing this while away from the island so I have no idea whether the day after the festival erupted with the usual controversies. What I do know is that parts of Malta were without electricity (I was told that it came back on just before Chiara’s song, but have no way of confirming this). Honestly though, I do hope no one is going to start reading all sorts of conspiracy theories into this. This year is perhaps the first time that the public really had the decision in their hands, and even without watching the show, if someone really wanted to vote for a particular song or singer, all they needed to know was the number.

That’s enough of possible polemics. What I really want to write about is the fact that, once again, Chiara clinched first place in the same way she did when she first came on the scene. With a minimum of fuss (she had no dancers, no razzamatazz and no complicated choreography); this is one woman who just gets on that stage and lets us enjoy her pure, crystal clear voice. A voice which sends shivers down your spine.

I find this particularly gratifying because for years I’ve argued that we’ve got to forget the showbiz, schmaltzy side to the Eurovision and stick to the basics. Just send a good melodic song and a singer who leaves people open-mouthed with amazement. It’s nice to know that at long last a lot of people seem to have come round to this way of thinking as well.

Frankly, singers who are “good” seem to be a dime a dozen in Malta – take a look at all these year’s participants, they were all good. OK, so what separates “good’ from ‘great”? Well, charisma, for a start, of which Chiara has so much. People obviously feel very affectionate towards her; as we say, ‘ghandhom grazzja magghha’. She has such stage presence as well and, to top it all off, she has remained endearingly humble. Her reaction of overwhelmed emotion was enough to show that she didn’t for a minute take her winning for granted. But above all, she has that instrument which is her voice; the kind of voice which doesn’t come along every day.

One last point I wish to make about last Saturday’s top three is that, from the look of things, Maltese composers and lyricists need not fear that they are going to be usurped by foreign writers. The top three songs were all Maltese compositions.