From Zero To Hero: 11 Ways To Make The Malta Eurovision Song Contest Bearable Again

1. We need actual songs

Let’s address the elephant in the room. We heard 40 songs this year, and many agreed that few of them were worth a listen.

2. Organise songwriting camps

Many Maltese artists resort to songwriting camps abroad with foreign composers to create their music. In recent years, this has proven to be an unnecessary hassle.

So why not organise a local concept and invite local artists, composers and lyricists to it? This will not only provide Eurovision candidate songs, but could supply artists with commercial releases as well.

3. Quality over quantity

This year we had endless weeks of preview shows dubbed as quarter-finals. The producers should consider narrowing things down to a few songs and even fewer finalists. This would improve the overall quality of the selection and put Malta back on the map of Eurovision selections for foreign fans and press to cover.

4. No more snippets, let’s start streaming on Spotify straight away

The public gets its first introduction to the songs with 30-second teaser snippets. But why stick with snippets instead of upload the have the songs to streaming platforms like everyone else? Won’t an expansion of the songs’ potential audience increase the likelihood that people across Europe will fall in love with them before the Eurovision and vote for them on the night?

It is embarrassing that in this day and age, you can listen to every country’s options on Spotify but have to resort to YouTube to listen to Malta’s songs prior to the contest. No wonder interest in the songs is declining.

6. Get reactors and critics more involved

Artists here have little direction when it comes to Eurovision. Just because a song sounds nice and is well-produced does not necessarily mean it is good enough for the big stage.

Singers who want to represent Malta should be given the opportunity to benefit from the guidance of professionals in the field of Eurovision like reactors, critics and independent press. This will give our artists an exterior perspective on whether a product is competitive or not.

7. Revisit the rule book, or throw it away

The producers must remove regulations that discourage artistic integrity and freedom. If excessive control is maintained over the artists and their team, no one will want to subject themselves to such conditions eventually.

Abroad, it is unheard of that artists need to have their social media posts approved by the broadcaster. It is even more unheard of that ignoring these rules could lead to disqualification.

8. A new name for the selection

The Malta Eurovision Song Contest is the most uninspiring, lazy and unoriginal name for a Eurovision national final. Other selections are called Festival da Cançao (the festival of song), Benidorm Fest (the festival of Benidorm) and Eesti Laul (Estonian song) among others.

Let’s get this contest a new name, it’s easy.

9. A diversified voting system

Most critics agree that five ‘experts’ jurors should not have the same say as thousands of people. One idea, which is implemented in countries like Croatia and Spain and would get people involved, is a regional demoscopic.

This works by bringing people from all walks of life into a 300-person jury and combining their votes. This would certainly diversify the voting and create a result that is more representative of people’s tastes and preferences.

10. Let the intervals be sung live

It was nice to see Olivia Lewis and Claudia Faniello singing their timeless Eurovision hits on stage after so many years. But why weren’t they singing live?

Have we swapped the beauty and joy of live vocal performances for the assurance that everything will run boringly smooth on stage?

11. Normalise having hosts as good as Amber and Glen

This is one of the positives of this year. We had great hosts, and we should keep having duos or trios with excellent chemistry and authentic personalities.

If we can’t find them, we can always bring back Amber Bondin and Glen Vella. They were excellent.

What do you think needs to be improved in Malta’s Eurovision selection show?