Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011


Malta participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in Düsseldorf, Germany, selecting their entry through the national selection Malta Eurosong 2011, organised by Maltese broadcaster Public Broadcasting Services.

Before Eurovision

Malta Eurosong 2011

Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2011 was the national final format developed by PBS to select the Maltese entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2011. The competition consisted of a semi-final and final held on 11 and 12 February 2011, respectively, at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta. Both shows were broadcast on TVM and hosted by Keith Demicoli and Valerie Vella.

Competing entries

Maltese composers and authors could submit up to four songs but foreign writers could compete with two entries. Meanwhile the new regulations say that the winner of the past three Maltese selections is not allowed to compete in the Malta Eurovision Festival 2011. This means that neither Morena, Chiara Siracusa nor Thea Garrett could submit songs for the next selection. On 26 November 2010, PBS announced that they received 141 entries.
The selection was divided intro three phases. The first phase commenced immediately after the submission deadline. In the first phase all songs submitted were judged by a panel of experts appointed by the national broadcaster. They took place behind closed doors and the jury listened to the songs on CD. 74 songs made it through phase one and performed in front a jury in phase two. In this phase all artists performed the songs live behind closed doors. Twenty-four songs made it through to the semi-final on 11 February 2011. The 24th finalist would be the winner of last year’s L-Isfida. Should the latter not participate, it will be replaced by one of the songs that did not originally advance from the second phase. Singers having submitted multiple interpretations would only be allowed to compete with two songs in the final phases.
On 8 January 2011, PBS announced the 24 songs for the national selection. The list included former Malta Eurovision representatives Fabrizio Faniello, who represented Malta in 2001 and 2006, and Sophie Debattista, who represented Malta in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2006. Two time Maltese Eurovision representative Fabrizio Faniello announced that he would return to the Maltese national selection, marking his eighth attempt to represent Malta in Eurovision. The list also included former MSE contestants; Jessica Muscat, Wayne Micallef, Richard Edwards, Eleanor Cassar, Raquela, Jamie Tonna, Baklava, Claudia Faniello, Ally, Glen Vella, Kurt Calleja, Klinsmann Coleiro, J. Anvil, Petra Zammit and Rosman Pace. Domenique Azzopardi has also previously entered Junior Malta Song for Europe, the preselection for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest.

Semi-final

The 24 songs were televised on a show broadcast by PBS, hosted by Keith Demicoli and Valerie Vella. As in previous years, Radio Malta also transmitted both the semi-final and the final live with a commentary by the seasoned Radio Malta broadcaster Tony Micallef. Sixteen entries qualified to the final based on a combination of jury and public voting. Six judges, led by Riccardo Cocciante, evaluated the songs during the shows and each judge had an equal stake in the final result. The results of the public televote had a weighing equal to the votes of three judges.
DrawArtistSongSongwriterResult
1Amber"Catch 22"Ray Agius, Godwin SantAdvanced
2Kurt Calleja"Over and Over"Johan Jämtberg, Kurt CallejaAdvanced
3Cherise Grixti"Heart of Glass"Philip Vella, Gerard James BorgEliminated
4Wayne Micallef"Everybody Sing"Wayne Micallef, Wayne MicallefAdvanced
5Claudia Faniello"Movie in my Mind"Philip Vella, Gerard James BorgAdvanced
6Klinsmann & Ben"This Love"Klinsmann Coleiro, Jonathan SpiteriAdvanced
7Eleanor Cassar"Hypnotized"Paul Giordimania, Fleur BalzanAdvanced
8Domenique Azzopardi"I'll Follow the Sunshine"Ralph Siegel, Bernd MeinungerEliminated
9Rosman Pace"You'll Never Know"Steven D. Cook, Jordan MilnesEliminated
10Raquela"If I Could Do It All Again"Marc Paelnick, Mathias StrasserAdvanced
11Sophie Debattista"Love to Love You"Elton Zarb, Sophie DebattistaEliminated
12Petra Zammit"Unintentional"Elton Zarb, Rita PaceEliminated
13Baklava"Moondance"Philip Vella, Gerard James BorgAdvanced
14Jamie Tonna"Lost Without You"Marco Debono, Aidan O'ConnorEliminated
15Amber"Touch Wood"Ray Agius, Alfred SantEliminated
16Anna Azzopardi"Unfaithful"Renato Briffa, Keith ZammitEliminated
17Marilena ft. Michael"He's a Demon"Michael Henry, Anthony GrechAdvanced
18Glen Vella"One Life"Paul Giordimaina, Fleur BalzanAdvanced
19J.Anvil"Topsy Turvy"Jonas Gladnikoff, Niall Mooney, Andrew Zahra, Deo Grech, Natasha TurnerAdvanced
20Jessica Muscat"Down Down Down"Philip Vella, Jessica MuscatAdvanced
21Kelly Schembri"Love Me Like Your Money"Sven Lundholm, Gerard James BorgAdvanced
22Fabrizio Faniello"No Surrender"Johan Stentorp, Johan BejerholmAdvanced
23Ally"Numb"AllyAdvanced
24Richard Edwards"Finally"Jan Van Dijck, Richard MicallefAdvanced

Final

The final took place on 12 February 2011 where the sixteen entries that qualified from the semi-final were performed again and the votes of a five-member jury panel and the results of public televoting determined the winner.
After the votes from the jury panel and televote were combined, "One Life" performed by Glen Vella was the winner with 90 points.
DrawArtistSongJuryTelevoteTotalPlace
1Eleanor Cassar"Hypnotized"1231510
2Amber"Catch 22"16713
3Jessica Muscat"Down Down Down"00015
4Ally"Numb"1501510
5Baklava"Moondance"1530456
6Fabrizio Faniello"No Surrender"3621574
7Kurt Calleja"Over and Over"5415693
8Glen Vella"One Life"5436901
9Marilena ft. Michael"He's a Demon"10114
10J.Anvil"Topsy Turvy"3121510
11Claudia Faniello"Movie in my Mind"190199
12Richard Edwards"Finally"6424882
13Raquela"If I Could Do It All Again"2818465
14Kelly Schembri"Love Me Like Your Money"00015
15Wayne Micallef"Everybody Sing"230238
16Klinsmann & Ben"This Love"239327

At Eurovision

Malta competed in eleventh position on the first semi-final of the contest, on 10 May, but didn't qualify to the final, placing eleventh with 54 points. Malta missed the final with a one point gap.

Split results

Semi-final 1

Final

12 points10 points8 points7 points6 points

  • 5 points4 points3 points2 points1 point