Life after Helsinki 2007 Eurovision

Claudia is another lady in white but at least she's covering herself up. She's trying out her secon dress and hairdo that goes with it, not very different from the first one though, minor details. Classy and elegant while the whole performance is simple and graceful and her vocals are flawless. The hge "chandelier" adds to the scene. And Claudia looks just like Finnish gipsy star Anneli Sari !  I'm so hoping this one qualifies just like Slovenia to the horror of euroboys. 

  Claudia is a true Mediterranean woman, ageless. I'm talking about her look of course. I'm sure underneath all that hairspray, false eyelashes and make up is a girl in her late 20s. But then again she's aiming for the old time glamour look and this beauty pageant gown is the first look. They have done Finland, or kept their national final staging just adapting it to the bigger stage adding the images of Claudia singing in the backdrop which can be a bit tricky at times - don't eat yourself! A classy ballad that comes alive on stage, and Claudia's voice is memorable and makes the difference. If only she sung this in Italian... she would be in my Top-5! I'm so enjoying myself when this sails to the final to the horror of fanboys. Just like Slovenia. I hope. 

Not only Estonians, but also Claudia Faniello from Malta has released her Eurovision entry in Italian, titled Perdersi, even in two different versions! And unlike Koit and Laura Claudia has no problem with Italian pronunciation being of Italian origins..... Listen to the ballad and the more rhythmic radio version here

Pictured is Malta's national flower, Maltese centaury Eurovision in Malta is as popular as ever and 156 songs were submitted this year. First they were cut to 60, and then directly to 16 cutting the usual semifinals this time. In the end it was a close run with two songs: Maltese language Kewkba by Janice Mangion and Breathlessly by veteran Claudia Faniello who won in the end with 4.996 calls against 4.544. This was Claudia's 11th song and 9th year she participated. She must have been whispering breathlessly finally ! The song is written by Philip Vella, Sean Vella and Gerard James Borg. They have too many songs in the competition already to even mention them..... Claudia Faniello (29) was known for years only as Fabrizio Faniello's little sister but she has grown over the years a star of her own right with a very original sound. She's been a familiar figure in Maltese television, competitions and festivals since she was 12. She won Festival Kanzunetta Indipe...

Claudia Faniello was... err... 9th time lucky when she finally won the ticket to Eurovision with Breathlessly , following her brother Fabrizio's footsteps, but this blogger thinks she will outshadow his performances in the contest and finally step out to the spotlight big time! It's also a return to the contest for songwriting team Philip Vella and Gerard James Borg, with added Sean Vella.  Claudia (29) needs no presentation. This was already her 9th Malta Eurovision entry and 8th year she was taking part. Previously she has scored two second places and one third so it was about the time, too! She has released one album so far and a string of singles since 2006, when she won Festival Kanzunetta Indipendenza.  Just for the fun here's Claudia's Eurovision journey to this point: 2007 L-imhabba ghamja (7th) 2008 Caravaggio (2nd)           Sunrise (3rd) 2009 Blue sonata (4th) 2010 Samsara (8th) 2011 Movie in my mind (9th) ...