Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006
Malta’s entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was "I Do" by Fabrizio Faniello. "I Do" has been described as a very up-tempo pop song that contains Swedish sounds. The song is written and composed by Aldo Spiteri and Fabrizio Faniello.
Fabrizio Faniello is a popular Maltese pop singer, who was born on 27 April 1981 and showed an interest in music at a young age by performing at festivals. His incredible talent and determination brought him to the Malta Song For Europe Festival in 1998 where he placed 2nd with the song “More Than Just A Game.” One of his biggest career highlights was when he reached 9th place at the Eurovision Song Contest 2001 with his hit “Another Summer Night.” Since then Fabrizio has had many successful albums and singles in Malta and internationally. Fabrizio’s current release is entitled “Believe” which contains the successful single, “Love On The Radio.”
Before Eurovision
Malta Song for Europe 2006
TVM announced that 213 entries were submitted for Malta Song for Europe 2006. On 17 December 2005, TVM announced that 50 entries were long-listed for the second phase of the selection. 16 finalists were selected, with an additional 2 finalists coming from the TVM show Opportunity 2.Final
The final was held at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta on 4 February 2006, hosted by Eileen Montesin, Josef Bonello and Lou Bondi. The winner was chosen solely by public televoting.During the show, controversy was caused due to the fact that the songs "Only till the Morning" performed by Ali and Lis and "I Do" by Fabrizio Faniello had sound problems. One of the performers of "Only till the Morning" had a microphone switched off and the other singer covered all lines for her. Fabrizio Faniello's microphone had been going on and off during the performance. Both songs were guaranteed a second performance during the night which turned out fine.
Well aware of the technical problems which haunted the previous year's televoting system, the organisers had a backup jury ready to cast its vote. Eventually it was revealed that the winning entry of the backup jury's vote was "Echoes of Gaia" by Charlene & Natasha.
Draw | Artist | Song | Songwriter | Televote | Place |
1 | J. Anvil | "You Too" | Augusto Cardinali, Giovanni Attard | 4,933 | 4 |
2 | Anabelle Debono | "Amazing" | Philip Vella, Gerard James Borg | 2,107 | 14 |
3 | Ali & Lis | "Only Till The Morning" | John David Zammit, Paul Callus | 3,907 | 6 |
4 | Lara Azzopardi | "Stay With Me" | Chan Vella, Paul Callus | 1,637 | 17 |
5 | Charlene & Natasha | "Echoes Of Gaia" | Charlene Grima, Natasha Grima, Deo Grech | 2,836 | 10 |
6 | Manuel Xuereb | "I Promise You" | Miriam Christine Warner | 3,782 | 7 |
7 | Fabrizio Faniello | "I Do" | Aldo Spiteri, Fabrizio Faniello | 7,729 | 1 |
8 | Eleanor Cassar | "Tell Me" | Paul Giordimaina, Fleur Balzan | 2,646 | 11 |
9 | Trilogy | "This Heart Of Mine" | Paul Abela, Joe Julian Farrugia | 4,954 | 3 |
10 | Andreana | "So Good" | Alfred Zammit | 635 | 18 |
11 | Paul Giordimaina & Morena | "Time" | Paul Giordimaina, Fleur Balzan | 3,046 | 9 |
12 | Pamela | "Reachin' Out" | Paul Giordimaina, Fleur Balzan | 2,371 | 13 |
13 | Christian Arding | "Stronger" | Charlene Grima, Deo Grech | 4,075 | 5 |
14 | Nadine Axisa | "Waves" | Vinny Vella, Ray Tabone | 1,680 | 16 |
15 | Josef Tabone & Amanda Farrugia | "It Just Comes Natural" | Clinton Paul | 1,980 | 15 |
16 | Kevin Borg | "You're My Dream" | Jason Cassar, Sunny Aquilina | 3,590 | 8 |
17 | Claudia Faniello | "High Alert" | Ray Agius, Godwin Sant | 2,416 | 12 |
18 | Olivia Lewis | "Spare A Moment" | Ray Agius, Godwin Sant | 7,623 | 2 |