Rachael Tedesco Triccas delivered a tearful performance on last night’s edition of X Factor Malta, but failed to qualify to the next round after being told by her mentor Ray Mercieca that her execution was “way too much drama”.

However, the truth behind her tears was edited out of the final version, leaving the singer to face an altogether different kind of music on social media .

Rachael delivered a rendition of Jorja Smith’s Goodbyes, which she dedicated to her late cousin, who was only 19 when he crashed into a tree in Luqa and died back in 2000. The case made national headlines and was described by police as one of the worst crashes they had seen for many years.

Rachael had auditioned for the X Factor with a burlesque-inspired performance, but was urged by judges Ira Losco and Howard Keith Debono to delve deep into her heart when choosing a song for her six chair challenge. Following their advice, Rachael chose an emotional song and dedicated it to her late cousin.

Some of the newspaper headlines of the tragic crash

Rachael broke into tears midway through her performance after she spotted her aunt sobbing in the audience, clearly realising that the song was dedicated to her dead son. Yet she soldiered on and completed the song to a hall of applause.

Judges Ira Losco and Alex Alden both encouraged Ray Mercieca to grant Rachael a seat, with Ira in particular telling her that her honest performance convinced her of her desire to shine in the X Factor.

When Howard asked Rachael how much of her performance was real, the singer explained the entire situation to him, prompting Howard to praise her for opening her heart and stepping out of her comfort zone and to urge Ray to give her a seat.

However, for some reason, that exchange was edited out of the final version which was broadcast last night, with the edit cutting straight to Ray sending Rachael home.

The six singers from the Overs category who qualified to the judges’ houses last night are Anna Azzopardi, Anna Faniello, Ben Purplle, Petra, Franklin Calleja, and Vanessa Sultana.

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Tim Diacono

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]