For the second year running Malta’s entry to the Eurovision Song Contest failed to make it to the final night.

After Olivia Lewis was eliminated last year, Morena’s rendition of Philip Vella and Gerard James Borg’s song Vodka was not enough for the Sannat girl to make it to the final night, even though her performance rocked the crowd at the Belgrade Arena as well as the thousands of Maltese who watched her on TV.

The Gozitan singer took the stage by storm with inexhaustible energy, oozing confidence as she walked up and down the stage with her four Swedish dancers on tow, each step highlighted with her designer boots studded with tiny mirrors and her dark attire that lent mystery to her spy-story song.

Yet her efforts went unrewarded as the voters once again left Malta out of the final night. We will still meet in restaurants and family gatherings to watch the show, but it won’t be the same without Malta taking part.