Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014

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Eurovision Song Contest 2014
Country Malta
National selection
Selection processMalta Eurovision Song Contest 2014
Selection date(s)Semi-final:
7 February 2014
Final:
8 February 2014
Selected entrantFirelight
Selected song"Coming Home"
Selected songwriter(s)Richard Micallef
Finals performance
Semi-final resultQualified (9th, 64 points)
Final result23rd, 32 points
Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2013 • 2014 • 2015►

Malta participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 with the song "Coming Home" written by Richard Micallef. The song was performed by Firelight. The Maltese entry for the 2014 contest in Copenhagen, Denmark was selected through the national final Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2014, organised by the Maltese broadcaster Public Broadcasting Services (PBS). The competition consisted of a semi-final round and a final, held on 7 and 8 February 2014, respectively, where "Coming Home" performed by Firelight eventually emerged as the winning entry after scoring the most points from a five-member jury and a public televote.

Malta was drawn to compete in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 8 May 2014. Performing as the opening entry during the show in position 1, "Coming Home" was announced among the top 10 entries of the second semi-final and therefore qualified to compete in the final on 10 May. It was later revealed that Malta placed ninth out of the 15 participating countries in the semi-final with 64 points. In the final, Malta performed in position 22 and placed twenty-third out of the 26 participating countries, scoring 32 points.

Background[]

Main article: Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest

Prior to the 2014 Contest, Malta had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest twenty-six times since its first entry in 1971. Malta briefly competed in the Eurovision Song Contest in the 1970s before withdrawing for sixteen years. The country had, to this point, competed in every contest since returning in 1991. Malta's best placing in the contest thus far was second, which it achieved on two occasions: in 2002 with the song "7th Wonder" performed by Ira Losco and in the 2005 contest with the song "Angel" performed by Chiara.[1] In the 2013 edition, Malta qualified to the final and placed 8th with the song "Tomorrow" performed by Gianluca.

For the 2014 Contest, the Maltese national broadcaster, Public Broadcasting Services (PBS), broadcast the event within Malta and organised the selection process for the nation's entry. PBS confirmed their intentions to participate at it on 19 July 2013.[2] Malta selected their entry consistently through a national final procedure, a method that was continued for their 2014 participation.

Before Eurovision[]

Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2014[]

Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2014 was the national final format developed by PBS to select the Maltese entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2014. The competition consisted of a semi-final and final held on 7 and 8 February 2014, respectively, at the Malta Fairs and Conventions Centre in Ta' Qali.[3] Both shows were hosted by television presenter Moira Delia and past Maltese Eurovision entrants Ira Losco and Gianluca Bezzina and broadcast on Television Malta (TVM) as well on the broadcaster's website tvm.com.mt, while the final was also broadcast on the official Eurovision Song Contest website eurovision.tv.[4][5]

Format[]

The competition consisted of twenty songs competing in the semi-final on 7 February 2014 where the top fourteen entries qualified to compete in the final on 8 February 2014. Five judges evaluated the songs during the shows and each judge had an equal stake in the final result. The sixth set of votes were the results of the public televote, which had a weighting equal to the votes of a single judge. Ties in the final results were broken based on the entry which received the higher score from the judges.[6]

Competing entries[]

Artists and composers were able to submit their entries between 24 September 2013 and 31 October 2013 with an entry fee of €150 per submission. Songwriters from any nationality were able to submit songs as long as the artist were Maltese or possessed Maltese citizenship. Artists were able to submit as many songs as they wished, however, they could only compete with a maximum of two in the semi-final and one in the final. 2013 national final winner Gianluca Bezzina was unable to compete due to a rule that prevented the previous winner from competing in the following competition.[7] 210 entries were received by the broadcaster. On 19 November 2013, PBS announced a shortlist of 70 entries that had progressed through the selection process.[8] The twenty songs selected to compete in the semi-final were announced on the TVM programme Xarabank on 29 November 2013. In order to present the competing songs to the public, the semi-finalists filmed promotional videos for their entries which were released in December 2013.[3]

Among the selected competing artists were former Maltese Eurovision entrants Miriam Christine who represented Malta in the 1996 contest and Fabrizio Faniello who represented Malta in the 2001 and 2006 contests. Sophie DeBattista represented Malta in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2006 and Daniel Testa represented Malta in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2008. Among the songwriters, Boris Cezek, Paul Abela, Gerard James Borg and Philip Vella were all past writers of Maltese Eurovision entries. Paul Giordimaina represented Malta in the 1991 edition and together with Fleur Balzan co-wrote the Maltese entry in 2011; Stephen Rudden represented the United Kingdom in the 1995 edition as part of the group Love City Groove; Glen Vella represented Malta in the 2011 edition; Johan Bejerholm co-wrote the Azerbaijani entry in 2009.

Semi-final[]

The semi-final took place on 7 February 2014. Twenty songs competed for fourteen qualifying spots in the final. The running order for the semi-final was announced on 3 December 2013.[3] The interval act featured guest performances by Denmark's Eurovision Song Contest 2013 winner Emmelie de Forest performing "Only Teardrops", 2014 Ukrainian Eurovision entrant Maria Yaremchuk performing "Tick-Tock" and the local bands the Crowns and Red Electrick.[9]

The five members of the jury that evaluated the entries during the semi-final consisted of:

  • Reuben Zammit (Malta) – Head of Programmes at PBS
  • Ekaterina Orlova (Russia) – Head of Delegation for Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest
  • Alessandro Capicchioni (San Marino) – Head of Delegation for San Marino at the Eurovision Song Contest
  • Victoria Romanova (Ukraine) – Head of Delegation for Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest
  • Arthur Caruana (Malta) – Disc jockey
Draw Artist Song Songwriter(s) Result
1 Amber "Because I Have You" Paul Giordimaina, Fleur Balzan Finalist
2 Chris Grech "Oblivion" Philip Vella, Gerard James Borg Finalist
3 Romina Mamo "Addictive" Ylva Persson, Linda Persson Eliminated
4 Jessika "Hypnotica" Philip Vella, Gerard James Borg Finalist
5 Andreana "Now and Forever" Vinny Vella, Karl Spiteri Eliminated
6 Daniel Testa "One Last Ride" Stephen Rudden, Lawrence Peter Bridge Finalist
7 Raquel "Invisible" Gerard James Borg, Philip Vella Eliminated
8 Fabrizio Faniello "Just No Place Like Home" Johan Bejerholm Eliminated
9 Wayne William "Some Kind of Wonderful" Wayne Micallef Finalist
10 Ryan Paul Abela "City Lady" Paul Abela, Ryan Paul Abela, Joe Julian Farrugia Finalist
11 Christabelle "Lovetricity" Magnus Kaxe, Gerard James Borg Finalist
12 Pamela "Take Me" Boris Cezek Finalist
13 Sophie "Let the Sunshine In" Sophie DeBattista, Adam Pakard, Alex Dew Finalist
14 Franklin "Love Will Take Me Home" Glen Vella, Beatrice Eriksson, Marcus Frenell, Michael James Down Finalist
15 Miriam Christine "Safe" Mark Scicluna, Emil Calleja Bayliss Eliminated
16 Deborah C "Until We Meet Again" Elton Zarb, Matt Mercieca Finalist
17 Firelight "Coming Home" Richard Micallef Finalist
18 De Bee "Pin the Middle" Peter Paul Galea, Debbie Stivala Finalist
19 Davinia "Brand New Day" Elton Zarb, Matt Mercieca Finalist
20 Corazon "Ten" Paul Giordimaina, Fleur Balzan Eliminated

Final[]

The final took place on 8 February 2014. The fourteen entries that qualified from the semi-final were performed again and the votes of a five-member jury panel (5/6) and the results of public televoting (1/6) determined the winner. The interval act featured guest performances by Malta's Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2013 winner Gaia Cauchi, Emmelie de Forest performing "Rainmaker", 2014 Swiss Eurovision entrant Sebalter performing "Hunter of Stars" and the local bands Winter Moods and Ġorġ u Pawlu.[5] After the votes from the jury panel and televote were combined, "Coming Home" performed by Firelight were the winners.[10]

The five members of the jury that evaluated the entries during the final consisted of:[11]

Draw Artist Song Jury Televote Total Place
1 Christabelle "Lovetricity" 14 4 18 8
2 Wayne William "Some Kind of Wonderful" 9 0 9 12
3 Davinia "Brand New Day" 4 3 7 13
4 Ryan Paul Abela "City Lady" 16 0 16 10
5 Franklin "Love Will Take Me Home" 20 5 25 7
6 Daniel Testa "One Last Ride" 31 10 41 3
7 Sophie "Let the Sunshine In" 11 0 11 11
8 Chris Grech "Oblivion" 6 1 7 13
9 Deborah C "Until We Meet Again" 28 0 28 5
10 Jessika "Hypnotica" 6 12 18 8
11 Pamela "Take Me" 21 6 27 6
12 Firelight "Coming Home" 56 7 63 1
13 Amber "Because I Have You" 30 2 32 4
14 De Bee "Pin the Middle" 38 8 46 2

At Eurovision[]

Firelight at the second semi-final dress rehearsal

During the semi-final allocation draw on 20 January 2014 at the Copenhagen City Hall, Malta was drawn to compete in the first half of the second semi-final on 8 May 2014.[12] In the second semi-final, the producers of the show decided that Malta would open the semi-final and perform 1st, preceding Israel.[13] Malta qualified from the second semi-final, placing 9th with 63 points and competed in the final on 10 May 2014.[14] During the winner's press conference for the second semi-final qualifiers, Malta was allocated to compete in the second half of the final.[15] In the final, the producers of the show decided that Malta would perform 22nd, following Hungary and preceding Denmark.[16] Malta finished with an overall score of 32 points landing 23rd place.[17]

The Maltese performance featured Firelight performing with instruments on stage. The LED screens transitioned from red and blue skies with black and white photos displayed on the cube screens.[18] The black and white photos were 208 selfies that the Maltese broadcaster received after a public request was made asking fans to send in their photos in late March 2014.[19][20]

In Malta, the semi-finals and the finals were broadcast on TVM with commentary by Carlo Borg Bonaci.[21] The Maltese spokesperson revealing the result of the Maltese vote in the final was Valentina Rossi.[22]

Voting[]

Points awarded to Malta[]

Points awarded by Malta[]

Detailed voting results[]

The following members comprised the Maltese jury:[25]

  • Paul Abela (jury chairperson) – musician, composer, maestro
  • Manolito Galea – sound engineer
  • Elton Zarb – music producer
  • Corazon Mizzi – television host, semi-professional singer/songwriter
  • Pamela Bezzina – vocal coach, singer, vocal arranger
Detailed voting results from Malta (Semi-final 2)[26]
Draw Country P. Abela M. Galea E. Zarb C. Mizzi P. Bezzina Average Jury Rank Televote Rank Combined Rank Points
01  Malta
02  Israel 9 7 13 13 12 14 11 14
03  Norway 5 5 11 3 7 5 6 4 7
04  Georgia 4 4 7 11 4 3 14 9 2
05  Poland 13 3 10 14 10 11 8 10 1
06  Austria 12 6 1 4 11 8 1 2 10
07  Lithuania 7 9 8 1 8 7 12 12
08  Finland 11 8 12 12 9 13 7 13
09  Ireland 10 13 5 9 14 12 3 7 4
10  Belarus 3 14 2 5 3 2 9 5 6
11  Macedonia 6 12 3 7 2 4 13 8 3
12   Switzerland 14 10 9 6 1 10 4 6 5
13  Greece 2 11 4 10 5 6 5 3 8
14  Slovenia 8 2 14 2 13 9 10 11
15  Romania 1 1 6 8 6 1 2 1 12
Detailed voting results from Malta (Final)[27]
Draw Country P. Abela M. Galea E. Zarb C. Mizzi P. Bezzina Average Jury Rank Televote Rank Combined Rank Points
01  Ukraine 10 13 14 24 18 19 18 21
02  Belarus 4 11 18 3 2 4 16 11
03  Azerbaijan 6 21 2 7 5 5 24 16
04  Iceland 22 20 22 21 25 25 22 24
05  Norway 9 8 17 15 10 11 8 9 2
06  Romania 2 3 1 5 9 3 7 3 8
07  Armenia 1 2 3 6 3 1 15 5 6
08  Montenegro 7 6 4 16 8 6 25 17
09  Poland 15 9 6 25 21 18 9 14
10  Greece 3 10 5 20 11 8 11 10 1
11  Austria 14 4 13 11 16 9 1 2 10
12  Germany 20 24 19 17 17 21 20 23
13  Sweden 21 5 12 14 7 10 3 4 7
14  France 23 19 24 18 22 24 23 25
15  Russia 8 7 21 1 6 7 10 6 5
16  Italy 5 1 7 2 4 2 2 1 12
17  Slovenia 19 12 16 4 12 12 21 18
18  Finland 25 18 23 19 19 23 14 20
19  Spain 13 14 8 23 13 14 12 12
20   Switzerland 24 22 11 12 1 13 6 8 3
21  Hungary 16 15 20 22 15 20 19 22
22  Malta
23  Denmark 17 16 15 10 14 16 13 15
24  Netherlands 18 23 25 13 24 22 5 13
25  San Marino 11 25 9 8 20 17 17 19
26  United Kingdom 12 17 10 9 23 15 4 7 4

References[]

  1. ^ "Malta Country Profile". EBU. Archived from the original on 16 July 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  2. ^ Jiandani, Sanjay (19 July 2013). "Malta: PBS confirms participation in Eurovision 2014". Esctoday. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Borg, Luke (3 December 2013). "Malta: National selection details revealed". Esctoday.com. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  4. ^ Borg, Luke (26 January 2014). "Malta: Running order, Hosts…and more". Esctoday.com. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  5. ^ a b Roxburgh, Gordon (7 February 2014). "Malta has decided their 14 finalists". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  6. ^ Scott, Robin (26 September 2013). "Malta:PBS announces its 2014 selection process". Esctoday.com. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  7. ^ Calleja Bayliss, Marc (24 September 2013). "MESC 2014: Regulations Officially Published by PBS". escflashmalta. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  8. ^ Borg, Luke (19 November 2013). "Malta: 70 songs left in the race". Esctoday.com. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  9. ^ Borg, Luke (7 February 2014). "Tonight: Malta Eurovision Song Contest Semi Final". Esctoday.com. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  10. ^ Roxburgh, Gordon (8 February 2014). "Firelight to represent Malta". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  11. ^ Vanhoutte, Olivier (8 February 2014). "MESC '14: The Grand Final - LIVE". escflashmalta. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  12. ^ Escudero, Victor M. (20 January 2014). "Allocation Draw results: Who's in which Semi-Final?". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  13. ^ Siim, Jarmo (24 March 2014). "Running order for Eurovision Semi-Finals decided". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  14. ^ "Second Semi-Final of Copenhagen 2014". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  15. ^ Brey, Marco (8 May 2014). "Second Semi-Final: The Winners' Press Conference". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  16. ^ Storvik-Green, Simon (9 May 2014). "Running order for the Grand Final revealed!". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  17. ^ "Grand Final of Copenhagen 2014". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  18. ^ Roxburgh, Gordon (29 April 2014). "Firelight hoping to blaze a trail". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  19. ^ Calleja Bayliss, Marc (29 March 2014). "Malta: Firelight Request Your Selfies for Backdrop". escflashmalta. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  20. ^ Escudero, Victor M. (3 May 2014). "Malta's Firelight feeling at home". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  21. ^ Calleja Bayliss, Marc (6 May 2014). "ESC 2014: Few Hours Away from Semi-Final One". escflashmalta. Archived from the original on 8 May 2014. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  22. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 2014: ecco l'elenco degli spokesperson" (in Italian). Eurofestival News. 8 May 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  23. ^ a b "Results of the Second Semi-Final of Copenhagen 2014". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  24. ^ a b "Results of the Grand Final of Copenhagen 2014". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  25. ^ Brey, Marco (1 May 2014). "Who will be in the expert juries?". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  26. ^ "Full Split Results | Second Semi-Final of Copenhagen 2014". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 14 May 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  27. ^ "Full Split Results | Grand Final of Copenhagen 2014". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 13 May 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
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