Time and again I have commented about song festivals as being a necessary evil.  In this day and age of Pop Idols, American Idol and many other similar contests, the Eurovision Song Contest, perhaps one of the biggest influences on such popular programmes (and big revenue earners) comes to mind.  Of course, with the Malta Eurovision Song Contest, the perception of the Eurovision Song Contest being the be-all and end-all for some of our local talents also comes to mind. Thankfully, this attitude is also changing.  Thankfully, The Malta Eurovision Song Contest is not a reflection of the bubbly scene that has developed over the past 15 years, a colourful and versatile one, and the best local scene we have experienced in more than 30 years. 

Time and again, I have also served as judge in such a festival (as well as similar other events), albeit the fact that I am more of a disciple of John Lennon’s famous quote about song contests being the graveyard of the songwriter.  However, there is no way that song contests will ever lose their importance, and nowadays, as revenue through record sales has grossly diminished, the chances of any aspiring singer’s rise to fame can indeed increase, unfortunately, by such song contests. It is also within this sad perspective that I followed this year’s Malta Eurovision Song Contest.

I still find it very hard to comprehend how this festival, ever since its re-launching back in 1991, has become so hugely popular amongst us Maltese. It also seems to bring about what can be regarded as an innocuous nationalism. Its excellent organisation and visual appeal certainly accounts for its mass popularity. Sadly, time and again, and as has been the case with this contest and the Eurovision Song Contest itself, there is more style over substance and in this regard, this year’s entries provided a glaring example. This I would not find so much surprising considering that songwriters and entrants would more be interested in trying to write a song that would appeal to the public, rather than being their plain selves. This may also be the reason why so many Eurovision entries sound so disjointed.

There is not much to write home about this year’s entries –there were ballads (Corazon Mizzi’s Ten, Amber’s Because I Have You, and Andreana Debattista’s Now and Forever being the best examples), songs fashioned on slick dance tunes, and once more, vocal delivery influences from the late Amy Winehouse (Davinia Pace’s interpretation of Brand New Day and at times, Andreana Debattista, featured such traits).  Yet, despite the efforts of the singers and their songwriters, some of whom are veteran and seasoned composers and musicians, one could discern something that was very formulaic.  Unlike last year, which featured a two horse race between the much popular Kevin Borg and Gian Luca Bezzina, then a relative newcomer with a very catchy song, this year’s Malta Eurovision Song contest featured a level playing field of mostly predictable and disjointed songs, some of which could have easily be polished into a tighter, organic presentation. Now and Forever is a case in point. The song sounds a bit limpid but then really catches momentum with a fine piano arrangement but then it just stops abruptly, which is sad, as it does feature the makings of a very good ballad. Pamela Bezzina expressed a fine soul-tinged vocal delivery on Take Me, another ballad song that could have been a bit more versatile.

On a different plane, Christabelle’s entry Lovetricity is catchy in name, and appealing as a modern dance song, but again it cannot be termed as a classic dance song. Deborah C had a good entry, a punchy song and perhaps the most holistic entry of the lot. Until We Meet Again drew on dance, Tamla Motown, and featured a pleasant unpretentious singer who delivered an unpretentious song that stops abruptly at the end (Eurovision Song Contest time limits!).  Jessika Muscat’s Hypnotika, another rather inconclusive but promising dance song won the tele-voting award and could have also win the best visual award if there was one. However, once more, it is going to be a folk-tinged pop song that will be representing Malta in this year’s Eurovision. Firelight, a band of relatively young and musically proficient young talents won this year’s edition with Coming Home. The positive thing about this song is that it reflects ta trend in nu-folk, the kind of popular music that has drawn on an under-current, that time and again, has cropped up in the mainstream charts, be it with the likes of Donovan in the 1960s, or The Pogues in the 1980s. Once more, this may not be the most appealing pop song and again, its rather tepid ending does not do much justice to the overall composition. With some polishing it may go places though, and I do hope that Firelight will continue expanding their musical horizons, which sound quite positive.