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6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 16 FEBRUARY 2020 NEWS LAURA CALLEJA WELCOME the new face of Malta. On the stage of X Factor Mal- ta, the television powerhouse that has taken the island by storm, the doors to unknown repositories of talent have been unlocked. And although this year's crown has gone to former Jun- ior Eurovision champion Desti- ny Chukunyere, who now goes on to represent Malta at the Eu- rovision Song Contest, there is much to be said about the pow- erful girl band assembled by im- presario Howard Keith. They're all giggles as they pose for the camera, by F.A.I.T.H – Five Are In The House – shook their audiences with their pop version of Freddy Portelli's Vi- va Malta, giving the faux-rock classic of Malta's 'Elvis' an up- tempo beat to suit their harmo- nies. But there's also the fact that F.A.I.T.H. is racially diverse, again a testament to the new Malta that has been revealed on X Factor, whose talent road- show has made stars of sing- ers – young and old, black and white, gay and straight – 'undis- covered' by the usual roll-call of composers and studios. Maya Sesay, 16, of Attard, and Ema Vella, 15, speak easily of the fact that Destiny is Malta's queen at the next Eurovision in Rotterdam – not the first person of colour to do so (Mir- iam Christine, whose adoptive parents were Maltese, repre- sented Malta in 1996), but the first black Maltese born here. "She represents a new type of Maltese not often portrayed in the media," Sesay says. "Destiny represents all of us who are Maltese, but more often than not, we are not seen as Maltese," she says of Maltese people of colour. "Be- cause if I'm being honest that's the truth. There are people who do not see me, Emma, or Desti- ny as Maltese. So, the fact that a person of colour is going to rep- resent Malta is a big step in not only showcasing how mentali- ties in Malta are changing, but could also help open people's minds." Vella says it will be great to see Destiny representing Malta. "She has such a soulful voice, which represent her roots. She represents people like myself and Maya, which isn't something we often see." F.A.I.T.H. is com- prised of Chanelle Zarb, 17, from Borm- la, Demi Galea, 16, from Valletta, Megan Caruana, 17, from Marsa, Ema Vella, 15, from Marsascala and Maya Sesay, 16, from Attard. Coming in at third place in the X Factor Malta contest, the newly-formed five-piece have no intentions of slow- ing down and, as the Fred- dy Portelli tagline goes, "the best is yet to come" one of the girls says. The girls were put togeth- er during the X Factor audi- tions by judge Howard Keith. "There's a mentality in Malta that if you're put into band, it's because you weren't good enough… so it was a shock to the system," Sesay explains as she recounts the flurry of emotions they felt upon learning that rather than going through to the next stage of the competition as solo artists, they would instead be put into a group with girls they didn't know. "When you start your journey as a solo artist, it comes a bit of a shock when you're placed into a band and it's not just you anymore – now there's four people beside you. In certain ways it's easier, there's also a lot of doubt: what happens if we don't get along?" Caruana says. Early on in the competition back in the first season, all three bands had been elim- inated. "Last year the bands were the first to be eliminat- ed, so we were quite worried that the same thing would happen to us," Zarb says. Season 2 proved to be a game-changer. F.A.I.T.H made it to the semi-final, fin- Maltese queen: Destiny Chukunyere 'X Factor blew the door to the music industry wide open' "If I'm being honest that's the truth. There are people who do not see me, Emma, or Destiny as Maltese"