Eurovision Song Contest 2017
Country Malta
National selection
Selection processMalta Eurovision Song Contest 2017
Selection date(s)18 February 2017
Selected entrantClaudia Faniello
Selected song"Breathlessly"
Selected songwriter(s)
Finals performance
Semi-final resultFailed to qualify (16th)
Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2016 2017 2018►

Malta participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Breathlessly" written by Philip Vella, Sean Vella and Gerard James Borg. The song was performed by Claudia Faniello. The Maltese entry for the 2017 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine was selected through the national final Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2017, organised by the Maltese broadcaster Public Broadcasting Services (PBS). The competition consisted of a final, held on 18 February 2017, where "Breathlessly" performed by Claudia Faniello eventually emerged as the winning entry after gaining 26% of the public televote.

Malta was drawn to compete in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 11 May 2017. Performing during the show in position 4, "Breathlessly" was not announced among the top 10 entries of the second semi-final and therefore did not qualify to compete in the final on 13 May. It was later revealed that Malta placed sixteenth out of the 18 participating countries in the semi-final with 55 points.

Background

Prior to the 2017 contest, Malta had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest twenty-nine times since its first entry in 1971.[1] 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.[2] In the 2016 edition, Malta qualified to the final and placed 12th with the song "Walk on Water" performed by Ira Losco.

For the 2017 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 17 August 2016.[3] Malta selected their entry consistently through a national final procedure, a method that was continued for their 2017 participation.

Before Eurovision

Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2017

Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2017 was the national final format developed by PBS to select the Maltese entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2017. The competition consisted of a final held on 18 February 2017 at the Malta Fairs and Conventions Centre in Ta' Qali, hosted by Daniel Azzopardi and Charlene Mercieca and broadcast on Television Malta (TVM) as well as on the broadcaster's website tvm.com.mt.

Competing entries

Artists and composers were able to submit their entries on 30 November 2016 to the PBS Creativity Hub in Gwardamanġa. 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 one in the final.[4] 2016 national final winner Ira Losco was unable to compete due to a rule that prevented the previous winner from competing in the following competition. 156 entries were received by the broadcaster. On 12 December 2016, PBS announced a shortlist of 60 entries that had progressed through the selection process. The sixteen songs selected to compete in the competition were announced on 21 December 2016. Among the selected competing artists was former Maltese Eurovision entrant Richard Edwards who represented Malta in the 2014 contest as part of the group Firelight.[5]

Final

The final took place on 18 February 2017. Sixteen entries competed and the winner was determined solely by a public televote.[6] The interval act of the show featured performances by the 2016 Maltese Eurovision entrant Ira Losco, the 2016 Maltese Junior Eurovision entrant Christina Magrin and the local band The Travellers.[7] After the results of the public televote were announced, "Breathlessly" performed by Claudia Faniello was the winner.[8]

Final  18 February 2017
Draw Artist Song Songwriter(s) Televote Place
1 Klinsmann Coleiro "Laserlight" Dreher Emanuel, Stefan Moessle, Mathias Strasser 332 10
2 Raquela Dalli Gonzi "Ray of Light" Boris Cezek, Dean Muscat 551 8
3 Deborah C and Josef "Tonight" Jonas Gladnikoff, Primož Poglajen, Michael James Down, Sara Ljunggren, Angie Laus 572 7
4 Kevin Borg "Follow" Kevin Borg, Simon Gribbe 2,502 3
5 Jade Vella "Seconds Away" Kevin Borg, Simon Gribbe 166 14
6 Crosswalk "So Simple" Boris Cezek, Dean Muscat 245 12
7 Franklin Calleja "Follow Me" Ivan Grech, Cyprian Cassar, Muxu 1,303 5
8 Rhiannon "Fearless" Cyprian Cassar, Rhiannon Micallef 288 11
9 Miriana Conte "Don't Look Down" Cyprian Cassar, Muxu 156 16
10 Shauna Vassallo "Crazy Games" Cyprian Cassar, Muxu 159 15
11 Janice Mangion "Kewkba" Mark Scicluna, Emil Calleja Bayliss 4,544 2
12 Cherton Caruana "Fighting to Survive" Boris Cezek, Dean Muscat 340 9
13 Maxine Pace "Bombshell" Noel Cohen, Michael Macallister, Julie Hardy, Erin Bowman 627 6
14 Richard Edwards "You" Richard Micallef 186 13
15 Brooke Borg "Unstoppable" Christian Schneider, Aidan O'Connor, Sara Biglert, Brooke Borg 2,000 4
16 Claudia Faniello "Breathlessly" Philip Vella, Sean Vella, Gerard James Borg 4,996 1

Promotion

Claudia Faniello made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "Breathlessly" as the Maltese Eurovision entry. On 2 April, Faniello performed during the London Eurovision Party, which was held at the Café de Paris venue in London, United Kingdom and hosted by Nicki French. Between 3 and 6 April, she took part in promotional activities in Tel Aviv, Israel where she performed during the Israel Calling event held at the Ha'teatron venue.[9][10] On 8 April, Claudia Faniello performed during the Eurovision in Concert event which was held at the Melkweg venue in Amsterdam, Netherlands and hosted by Cornald Maas and Selma Björnsdóttir.[11]

At Eurovision

Claudia Faniello during a press meet and greet

The Eurovision Song Contest 2017 took place at the International Exhibition Centre in Kyiv, Ukraine and consisted of two semi-finals on 9 and 11 May, and the final of 13 May 2017.[12] According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot.[13] On 31 January 2017, an allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Malta was placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 11 May 2017, and was scheduled to perform in the first half of the show.[14]

Once all the competing songs for the 2017 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Originally, Malta was set to perform in position 5, following the entry from Macedonia and before the entry from Romania, however following Russia's withdrawal from the contest on 13 April and subsequent removal from the running order of the second semi-final, Malta's performing position shifted to 4.[15]

The two semi-finals and the final were broadcast in Malta on TVM. The Maltese spokesperson, who announced the top 12 Points awarded by the Maltese jury during the final, was Martha Fenech.

Semi-final

Claudia Faniello during a rehearsal before the second semi-final

Claudia Faniello took part in technical rehearsals on 2 and 5 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 10 and 11 May. This included the jury show on 10 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries.[16]

The Maltese performance featured Claudia Faniello wearing a glittery silver full-length tight-fitting formal dress, taking inspiration from her music video for "Breathlessly". The LED backdrops were mostly dark blue where Faniello appeared on the LED backdrop, sometimes with just a close-up of her face and sometimes with a full body shot. The chandelier was prominent, which was also taking inspiration from the setting of the music video. Claudia Faniello was joined by four off-stage backing vocalists: Chantal Hartmann, Hannah Köpf, Janina Krömer and Jeannette Marchewka.[17]

At the end of the show, Malta was not announced as having finished in the top 10 and did not qualify for the grand final. It was later revealed that Malta placed sixteenth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 55 points: 0 points from the televoting and 55 points from the juries.

Voting

Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding two sets of points from 1–8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results were released shortly after the grand final.[18]

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Malta and awarded by Malta in the second semi-final and grand final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows:

Points awarded to Malta

Points awarded to Malta (Semi-final 2)[19]
Score Televote Jury
12 points
10 points
8 points  Macedonia
7 points  Bulgaria
6 points
5 points
4 points  Estonia
3 points
2 points
1 point

Points awarded by Malta

Detailed voting results

The following members comprised the Maltese jury:[21]

  • Kevin Abela (jury chairperson)  principal of the Trumpet Malta Philharmonic Orchestra
  • Whitney Cremona  singer
  • Karl Bonaci  TV director
  • Chiara Siracusa  singer, represented Malta in the 1998, 2005 and 2009 contests
  • Mark Spiteri Lucas  teacher, musician, band leader, songwriter, arranger
Detailed voting results from Malta (Semi-final 2)[19]
Draw Country Jury Televote
K. Abela W. Cremona K. Bonaci C. Siracusa M. Spiteri Lucas Rank Points Rank Points
01  Serbia136912119215
02  Austria16131351313101
03  Macedonia433143812
04  Malta
05  Romania10127667447
06  Netherlands7106475683
07  Hungary17151213141756
08  Denmark6588126513
09  Ireland1511157510174
10  San Marino1417416161514
11  Croatia516161491238
12  Norway881717101411
13   Switzerland129149151165
14  Belarus1251124716
15  Bulgaria31221112112
16  Lithuania11141115171617
17  Estonia97101088392
18  Israel24133210210
Detailed voting results from Malta (Final)[20]
Draw Country Jury Televote
K. Abela W. Cremona K. Bonaci C. Siracusa M. Spiteri Lucas Rank Points Rank Points
01  Israel9234114717
02  Poland14211021251815
03  Belarus6691969224
04  Austria1015169121211
05  Armenia413178910125
06  Netherlands12142212101512
07  Moldova157852111101
08  Hungary111111288392
09  Italy11161112112
10  Denmark1691216151419
11  Portugal51043221038
12  Azerbaijan17232622262521
13  Croatia21221035683
14  Australia25202123202216
15  Greece26221813232118
16  Spain23262020242426
17  Norway22162324142014
18  United Kingdom20181917191974
19  Cyprus2117714161720
20  Romania8361176556
21  Germany13191315131623
22  Ukraine18252426182322
23  Belgium24242525222665
24  Sweden198147171347
25  Bulgaria34151438210
26  France7551857413

References

  1. "Malta Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  2. "Malta Country Profile". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 16 July 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  3. Jiandani, Sanjay (Sergio) (17 August 2016). "Malta: PBS confirms participation in Eurovision 2017". Esctoday. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  4. "ESC 2017 - Claudia Faniello (Malta)". ESCKAZ. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  5. Gallagher, Robyn (21 December 2016). "MALTA: PBS REVEALS 16 FINALISTS FOR MALTA EUROVISION SONG CONTEST 2017". wiwibloggs.com. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  6. Lamp, Andy (3 November 2016). "PBS ANNOUNCES CHANGES FOR MALTA EUROVISION SONG CONTEST 2017". wiwibloggs.com. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  7. Herbert, Emily (10 February 2017). "Malta: Ira Losco, Christina Magrin And The Travellers To Perform At MESC". Eurovoix. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  8. Roxburgh, Gordon (19 February 2017). "Claudia Faniello becomes the 30th Maltese representative at Eurovision". European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  9. Kavaler, Ron (22 March 2017). "ISRAEL CALLING! EUROVISION PROMO EVENT SET FOR APRIL 3 TO 6". wiwibloggs.com. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  10. Laufer, Gil (5 April 2017). "Tonight: Israel Calling 2017 to be held with 28 participating countries". esctoday.com. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  11. Jordan, Paul (29 March 2017). "Eurovision in Concert sets a new record with 33 acts". European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  12. Brey, Marco (24 June 2016). "Search for 2017 Eurovision host city has started". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 28 June 2016. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  13. Jordan, Paul (25 January 2017). "Semi-Final Allocation draw to take place in Kyiv". eurovision.tv. Archived from the original on 28 January 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  14. Jordan, Paul (31 January 2017). "Results of the Semi-Final Allocation Draw". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 3 February 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  15. "EBU: "Russia no longer able to take part in Eurovision 2017"". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. 22 April 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  16. Weaver, Jessica (10 May 2017). "Eurovision 2017: Live updates from semi-final 2 jury show". esctoday.com. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  17. "Malta". Six on Stage. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  18. Jordan, Paul (18 February 2016). "Biggest change to Eurovision Song Contest voting since 1975". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 3 October 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  19. 1 2 3 "Results of the Second Semi-Final of Kyiv 2017". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  20. 1 2 "Results of the Grand Final of Kyiv 2017". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  21. Jordan, Paul (29 April 2017). "Who will be the expert jurors for Eurovision 2017?". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
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