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EUROVISION 2023: EUROVISION MALTA 2023 REVIEW


Malta's long and adventurous selection comes to an end on SuperSaturday February 11, 2023. Along the way we lost one of the favorites, Aidan and his Regina as he was disqualified, threatened a lawsuit but then the dust settled and we are left with 16 songs, selected through the submissions and the 40 selected songs were presented in three quarter finals, cut down to 24 for the semifinal. Along the way we also lost most Maltese language entries and Eurovision veteran Jessika, but Fabrizio Faniello made it. In the final there will be 50/50 jury/televote and hold your horses, this is Malta. The winning song may not end up to Liverpool, only the singer if they manage to buy a better song to her/him/them..... A fact that I find very ridiculous and unfair. Brooke seems to be the front runner (again) now that Aidan is out of the picture.

Brooke - Checkmate **
She's not here for the first time and this time she could make it. This is a kind of song fandom will go crazy while the bigger audience less so. I'm not a fan. Generic pop with some what aggressive vocals.
Cheryl Balzan - La la land *
Maltese rock? Fire and flames? Guitars and chorus beat that was old already in the 80s? Besides she seems like a wrong singer for that. Voice ok, but her attitude, lol. No thank you. 
Chris Grech - Indescribable ** 1/2
He's back with his voice singing a boyband ballad from the 1990's. Beautiful piano though. 
Christian Arding - Eku ċar ****
He's left alone to defend the Maltese language with his timeless, classic ballad that is sung wonderfully. Sadly I think this won't go anywhere but in my playlist. 
Dan - It'll be OK ***
Ok, that staging wa something new. Is this Maltese Don't worry, be happy? This is so annoying it's already good. Maybe I'm in the modd today but I'm just humming along. Maybe tomorrow I hate this. 
Eliana Gomez Blanco - Guess what **
Nice interval act. She looks a bit uncomfortable styled like that. Also she does her best to avoid any eye contact with the camera. 
Fabrizio Faniello - Try to be better **
And time stood still. And the drummer steals the show.
Geo Debono - The mirror **
He's so much better than the song or non existing staging, the dancer don't help in the last second. 
Giada - I depend on you ***
There's something nice about this one, maybe it's laid back not overproduced  arrangement and she sings well instead of the usual Maltese way aka screaming out all you've got. 
Ian - On my own ***
Michael ben David 30 years later, is it? Prime example how vocals and suitable perfect choreography can lift a song to new heights; he seems comfortable in all he does. DILF power. 
Matt Blxck - Up ***
Ok, now this is something else. I liked him a lot last time, this isn't as strong but still fun to watch. For a couple of times.
Maxine Pace - Alone ***
Why am I thinkin German Lena? Something about her. It's nice, I like the arrangement but then yes, let's scream out all we've got in the end. Huge applause and one of the favorites I understand. Not sure if I want to listen to this several times, or who knows? Maybe it's a grower that clicks with the second or third hearing?
Nathan - Creeping walls *
He needs to grow and gain experience in performing as now it looks very rehearsed and there's no eye contact whatsoever. Theatrical pretentious song.
Ryan Hili- In the silence ***
I'm glad Malta has this year favored these kind of song instead of girly uptempo plastic. This is a bit Duncan Laurence or any American talent show song. He has a beautiful voice, and the song's not so bad either. 
Stefan - Heartbreaker **
Ok, nothing to write home about here either. Generic and heard before a zillion times. Forgotten before it's finished.
The Busker - Dance (Our own party) ***
This is something one would expect from some random Moldova that end up doing surprisingly well. Nice gimmick having Chiara, Renato and Ira on stage with them. Somehow this left me wanting for more.....This gets a bit repetitive. 




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