Yesterday evening was indeed a bittersweet moment for the Judge, with two of his three acts being eliminated just inches away from the finish line, while his other act made it through to the final stage of the competition.

“I re-watched yesterday’s performances and I find myself very uncomfortable with the result,” the X Factor judge wrote.

“I certainly don’t want to take away from Richard Aquilina making it to the finals because i’m so so proud of him. He’s worked really hard & came from nothing,” Howard stated.

That being said, the Judge had a thing or two to say about the “non-Maltese issue”.

“Unfortunately there’s an alarming number of people who always complain about foreigners living/working in Malta, threatening our jobs etc and yet we equally complain that the Maltese don’t want to do certain jobs such as health carers in old people’s home, housekeeping, cab drivers, construction, and more,” Howard stated. 

“We’re okay with these jobs as their minimal salaries are squeezed to the last cent, but when it comes to a top job, a top place, or a €50,000 prize, we just can’t swallow it,” referring to the sum won by the X Factor victor.

The Judge went on to speculate the reason as to why the only two foreign contestants were eliminated yesterday evening, right before the final, saying that the outcome “was an obvious case of eliminating two top potential winners because, god forbid, it would be won by a non-Maltese national.”

“This is called hypocrisy and nothing to be proud of but rather ashamed of,” he continued, adding that Sean and Mamaclay were a “clear cut above the rest” and in “a league of their own”.

The Judge went on to say that “Maltese is not a style, it’s not a talent, it’s a language. And I’m mentioning this as sometimes, it ends up being a gimmick or a patriotic card to play for votes or TV air time.”

Howard expressed his frustration with what he called an “avalanche of posts and articles highlighting the Maltese patriotic narrative,” mentioning former contestant Marija Bellija’s rendition of L-aħħar Bidwi, which he pointed out was “magical and special” nonetheless.

“There are events, festivals , TV shows made strictly for that and it’s fantastic but there’s no need to shove down everyone’s throat the whole patriotic narrative in an international brand tv show making the non-Maltese contestants as if they’re committing a crime by participating,” he continued. 

“Not to mention, they have waved our Maltese/Gozitan flag for us in their country of origin and thanks to them, thousands more know about our country,” Howard added.

Addressing the eliminated Namibian singer Sean Kamati, the Judge said that “very few mortals” would be able to sing in the manner he did while having bronchitis.

Last week, Sean Kamati revealed that he was dealing with a bout of bronchitis, which restrained his vocal power. That being said, he delivered a stellar performance nonetheless.

This week, the singer was still not fully recovered and according to his mentor, was giving the audience just half of what he could actually deliver.

“There’s no fast recovery for singers with bronchitis so for those isolated idiots who had the audacity to question your talent based on a 50% performance, simply exposes their limited brain power,” Howard wrote in his Facebook post.

Moving on the the Filipina national Mamaclay, the Judge admitted that in his “entire 30 years working professionally in music” he has never worker with a singer as “gifted” as herself.

“You suffered a lot in your life because you wanted to do music, lived in a house for six years with no doors and windows, helped others achieve their goals but your goals were discouraged so many times and yet you risked everything you have to come to Malta with little confidence hoping for a break,” Mamaclay’s mentor wrote.

He also went on to reveal that musical giants Whitney Houston and Clive Davies had called her just a few months before Whitney passed away asking Mamaclay to join her on her Asian tour.

“I can understand Sean’s bronchitis might have contributed to his unfortunate elimination to a certain degree, but Mamaclay’s elimination is certainly unjust and is going to make me re-think my journey,” the veteran X Factor judge stated candidly.

Do you agree with the Judge’s sentiments?