Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/682623
16 TEODOR RELJIC THE Eurovision Song Contest has come and gone, leaving our 'big gun' du jour – Ira Losco – stranded in 12th place despite a highly enthusiastic promotional campaign in the run-up to last weekend's competition, as well as a strong show of support from the competition's judges in Stockholm – with Losco ultimately felled by the pan-European popular vote. As ever, the usual murmurings erupted to the fore upon Losco's fanfare-accompanied descent back to the island. Whose heads should roll for Losco's failure to clinch a favourable result? Should any heads in fact roll? Is Losco to blame in any way at all, or is it all down to – once again – 'politics', and the natural advantage mainland countries have with neighbours? But perhaps the most hard-hitting question – or rather, sug- gestion – hit at the heart of the entire glitzy enterprise. Perhaps spurred on by whispers of particularly outrageous spending from the national broadcaster this time around – six figures were mentioned, only to be summarily denied – some even dared to question whether Malta should continue throwing its hat into the Eurovision ring. So far, so standard. More or less the same complaints emerge from the post-Eurovision woodwork each year with depressing regularity. But what perhaps adds a mournful edge to the pro- ceedings this year is that, well, it's Ira we're talking about here. Our Ira – the one who nearly nabbed us a victory in 2002 with 'Seventh Wonder'... now placing 12th with 'Walk on Water'. There may have been an air of desperation to plucking her out of 'Eurovision retirement' as it were: by all accounts, Losco is perhaps one of the only Maltese Eurovision alumni to establish something resembling a healthy career independent of the festi- val, and so getting her back out there feels like a rushed attempt to capitalise on former glories. Even still, Losco proved she had the vo- cal range, looks and professional attitude to take to the festival with gusto once again... not to mention a trendily anthemic song ready for attack. Which probably only con- tributes to the sting of her unimpressive final placing, and might explain away some of the intense online scrutiny this year's edition has been placed under. No radical departures, please That said, some of Malta's previous Euro- vision representatives were none too keen on the idea of our island pulling out of the race for good. Among them is Ludwig Galea, who had flown the Malta flag in 2004 with partner Julie Zahra. To start off, he offers his own definition of what the Eurovision Song Contest actually is – along with what its potential could be – which leaves no doubts about his confidence in this pan- continental pop culture behemoth. "Eurovision has a special place in the hearts of the Maltese people, it is a platform that puts us on the map in a very positive way year in, year out irrespective of the re- sult. "It is one of the most widely followed mu- sic performances and it offers a good show- case for local talent abroad," Galea said, before rushing to defend the contest from accusations of irrelevance. "Different people think of Eurovision dif- ferently. It's not wise to generalise about entire countries based on how they look at the Eurovision," Galea said, describing the Eurovision as both a one-of-a-kind spectacle that offers entertainment "for those who are into that sort of thing" and also a great opportunity for artists to showcase their music. "There is no reason why it can't be taken seriously as both en- tertainment and a platform for good music. Some very good tal- ents and tunes came out of this contest and each year the festival has a story of its own." Galea is also confident that the festival itself has matured and learned to fall in line with more general pop music trends. According to Galea, gone is the 'Eurovision style' of song that would work wonders on the Eurovision stage but flounder out- side its remit. "Case in point was [Julie & Ludwig's own contribution] 'On Again Off Again!' For the 2004 contest it was great and it worked; but would a song like that work today? Definitely not. Tracks nowadays are more commercial and radio friendly..." This is all the more reason, in Galea's view, that the Eurovi- sion's potentially exorbitant budget could be counted as a worthwhile "investment". "We need to work, share ideas with the best in the field. That's how we can optimise our standards. What identifies us local singers with the rest of the world? What's our sound? What did Bob Marley, The Beach Boys and the Beatles offer the world with their music and sound? Simple…. Jamaica, USA and Liv- maltatoday, SUNDAY, 22 MAY 2016 Feature 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 Ukraine Sweden Austria Denmark Sweden Azerbaijan Germany Norway Russia Serbia Finland Greece Ukraine Turkey Latvia Estonia Denmark Sweden Israel United Kingdom Ireland Norway Ireland Ireland Ireland Eurovision winner 1991 Malta re-enters ESC with Paul Giordimaina and Georgina, placing 6th And our 12 points go to.... AZERBAIJAN ITALY UNITED KINGDOM ICELAND CYPRUS SWEDEN IRELAND SWITZERLAND GREECE ESTONIA RUSSIA ISRAEL SPAIN AUSTRIA CROATIA SLOVAKIA Participants Malta gave 12 points to Ira Losco 12th Amber n/q Firelight 23rd Gianluca 8th Kurt Calleja 21st Glen Vella n/q Thea Garrett n/q Chiara 22nd Morena n/q Olivia Lewis n/q Fabrizio Faniello 24th Chiara 2nd Julie & Ludwig 12th Lynn Chircop 25th Ira Losco 2nd Fabrizio Faniello 9th Claudette Pace 8th Times 3 15th Chiara 3rd Debbie Scerri 9th Miriam Christine 10th Mike Spiteri 10th Moira & Chris 5th William Mangion 8th Mary Spiteri 3rd Maltese entry and placing in order of how many times they got top marks "Different people think of Eurovision differently. It's not wise to generalise about entire countries based on how they look at the Eurovision" – Ludwig Galea High hopes for Ira Losco's second outing at the Eurovision Song Contest ran aground and the national post-mortem carried out on social media once again raised questions on Malta's fixation with the ESC Treading water? Another national post-mortem...