Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/680790
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2016 News Ira Losco tempted to give Eurovision a third shot Pop star warns Malta will never win the Eurovision if the jury is eliminated from the voting format, urges local artists not to stick their noses up at competition TIM DIACONO IRA Losco refused to rule out a third bite at the Eurovision cher- ry, but suggested that the public may not welcome such a move. "I think that a great chunk of the Maltese public will tell me to give other singers a chance and I would kind of agree with them," she told the press after a private meeting at Castille with Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and PBS CEO Anton Attard yesterday. "Also, my boyfriend will prob- ably get a heart attack if I decide to compete again. "Never say never though; it was such a fantastic experience that it would be very tempting for me to do it all over again. The organisa- tion and staging of the competi- tion is simply every performer's dream. It's amazing." Ira Losco ranked 12th in Satur- day's Eurovision final, boosted by a strong jury vote – who ranked her in fourth place. However, she was let down by the televote – ranking 21st out of 26 countries. She warned that Malta will nev- er win the Eurovision Song Con- test if the jury is ever eliminated from the voting format, arguing that the televote "benefits the bigger countries". "Singers in the ex Soviet coun- tries, such as [Russian Eurovision singer] Sergei Lazarev, are popu- lar throughout the region. It was obvious that these countries were going to vote for Lazerev, just as Gozo would have voted for me if they were allowed to compete in the Eurovision." She said that she had tried to play down the public's hopes that she had a chance of winning the contest. "A lot of people were expecting me to finish in a higher posi- tion than 12th because I had finished second back in the day in 2002. However, I always said that the competition has changed so much since then. More countries compete nowa- days, with many different gen- res, and it's a very difficult com- petition to be in. Overall 12th is a great result. Fourth from the jury says a lot, but the televot- ing is what it is. We're a very small island, in comparison with the big boys who ranked top. It is a very valid result, and I believe Malta is relevant." She urged local artists not to stick their noses up at the Eu- rovision, insisting that the con- test has become "very relevant to the music industry", which has in turn resulted in fiercer competition. "It's great for an artist to travel to another country and try their luck busking, but this experi- ence [the Eurovision] is also one to which local artists should as- pire." "Never say never": Ira Losco did not exclude having another shot at the Eurovision