For months hype has surrounded her bid to return to Eurovision in 2016. And earlier this evening Ira Losco lived up to all of it by winning the Malta Eurovision Song Contest with her song “Chameleon”.
Dressed in all-white, the 34-year-old star looked angelic and ethereal in a pair of white pants covered with a translucent white cape and veil. At times her LED screen featured digital artwork of her own face — a testament to how strong her brand is on the island. In the moments before she stepped on the stage, the audience was already chanting her name — and they did so long after she exited.
Vocally on-point and feeding off the energy of the crowd, she upped her game tonight, singing with more vigour and drive than in the semi-final. The song could use some tweaks ahead of Stockholm — to me it needs a bigger climax — but the fact is she has a solid foundation for a song that could climb the scoreboard at Eurovision. After tonight, let there be no doubt: she won because she gave an amazing performance and has a strong song, not because she carries a big name.
Ira Losco — Chameleon (Malta national final)
Our reaction to Ira’s win
MESC 2016: Full Results
Ira Losco interview after the semi-final
What did you think of Ira’s performance and her win? Do you think she has what it takes to win Eurovision 2016 in Stockholm? Let us know in the comments box below!
D’OH!! Another grammatical faux-pas. There’s a passage in my response to Bronson that should have read, “Had she brought a song that didn’t measure up to what the people expected of her…, she would have lost.
Again, the expectations in Malta were very high for her, higher than for the rest of the contenders. Either she went above and beyond what they usually expect from their contenders, or the people would have voted for Brooke, Franklin or Christabelle, and so would the other 3 jurors. And did I read right, that the public gave Ira 40% of the televote?
An afterthought (probably one of many): Does Brooke’s “Golden” remind anyone of Kim Carnes’ 1981 hit “Bette Davis Eyes”? I remember that song very well, as when I first heard it back then; and the opening of Brooke’s song is quite reminiscent of that song.
I’m gonna be honest here, the song is average at best, has nothing special, is dated and doesn’t have a climax, I can see this strugling to make it to the final. They need to really change the song if they want to have a chance
@Bronson: There have been other popular former ESC contenders–even WINNERS–who came back years later, and lost in a national final (I’m sure Helena Paparizou rings a bell, and a lot of people wanted her to win MF 2014). Had she not brought a song that didn’t measure up to what the people expected of her (which is why Sanna and Ace were the odds-on favorites in MF 2014), she would have lost. If the MESC didn’t think her other song was good enough to be selected for the show, they would have given that spot to someone else. No question… Read more »
My ESC Top:
1. Malta
2. Belgium
3. Ireland
4. Albania
——————————————
42. Belarus (if navi sent, 1st place, but nope.)
43. UK (if they sent Peanuts Master with Background being snoopy holding a candle)
My top changed a little bit… So here it is:
1-Belgium
2-Ireland
3-Albania
4-Malta
———————————————————-
43-Belarus (My last :p)
Can’t really complain about this choice, their selection was full of the same bland, forgettable pop songs Malta always seems to send… While this falls into the same category, it’s still better than Ireland, at least…
I like girl and her voice, but not the song.
@Bronson: Like Paula Seling and Ovi in 2014? She may end up like in the middle of the semi-final and grand final voting if that’s the case…
@CookyMontza The Maltese public did not vote for the song. They voted for Ira Losco. It was quite obvious that this was just going to be a glorified internal selection because Ira couldn’t make up her mind over her two songs.
I don’t like it when people vote for songs because of the name, not because of the song. Karma will come swinging at Malta because this song is mildly pleasing but it’s instantly forgettable and the song goes nowhere.
And it should be mentioned, if no one noticed, that the Maltese public voted for this song. If the voting system had been 50-50 (instead of 16.7-83.3), no one would have stood a chance against Ira. She finished 1st on 3 judges’ cards and 2nd on 2 others.
Much better song than the crap they sent last year and much better performer. Not the most memorable song perhaps, but her performance and vocals should carry her to the final. The best of the five that were chosen so far.
Warrior was way much better… but who cares? It’s Malta, it can qualify only with terrible songs so…
@mawnck: “This is a NOTHING song – It’s just background music for an LED screen light show”. I totally agree with you, but that was to be expected after Mans’ win. A shallow song that serves as a filler for a LED show, that’s like the definition of “Heroes”. So of course we’ll have tons of Heroes doppelgangers this year. The game would be different had Il Volo won like it should have. 😉
Like it , however it just sounds like other Eurovision Songs
Its very positief that Ira’s song is being liked and disliked so much! You won’t do well at eurovision when you’re song is ”ok” but no one’s favorite. Brooke’s performance was just simply the best of them all! Kinda shocked that ”you’re beautifull” qualified, but congratulations to him.
Its sad that my favorites are born to get 2nd place this year
(Napoli, Brooke) probably Saara Aalto will become 2nd aswell and attention2 will win or something? All we then need is Dolly Style for Sweden ;’)
@Adam: You have an excellent point there. Many of these commenters were absolutely beside themselves last year (actually, November 2014), gushing over Amber’s unanimous MESC victory, and thought she could win the whole thing. But I heard trouble coming the sooner I heard Nina Sublatti’s ferocious “Warrior”; and then to watch the singing order announced in Vienna, I knew Amber was in more trouble. It is not lost on me that one or more future national entries could complicate Ira Losco’s potential to finish in the top 10. That’s why some producers tweak their songs to grab attention. But there’s… Read more »
My top 5:
1. Ireland
2. Albania
3. Belgium
4. Malta
5. Belarus
It is the usual crap from ESC fans.. any modern song that wins is “weak” etc… while we all know that comes ESC Ira will place higher than Albania, ireland, etc..
Chameleon will be a front-runner…for sure
3:42 A.M. In New York City (9:42 CET), and I just got finished watching the MESC. And I must say Destiny handled herself exceptionally well with her 4 songs. As for the songs that Amber sang on stage, she ought to bring one to the next MESC she decides to compete in. Those are the types of songs she might do well with, if she qualifies for another Eurovision. Now, without having ANY prior access to the results whatsoever before viewing this competition, here is how I graded the performances (based upon 8 criteria) for this year’s MESC: 9.575 Ira… Read more »
If you ask me Jessika or Brooke should have won to make Malta’s song one of the best songs of ESC 2016. That said, Chameleon is probably the best song in the competition so far.
1. Malta
2. Belgium
3. Ireland
4. Albania
………………………
5. Belarus
Good choice Malta !!
1. Belgium ( I love Laura <3)
2. Malta (Ira is amazing <3)
3. Albania
4. Ireland
5. Belarus (I hate it)
I had fun watching the Malta eurovision song contest last night. Chameleon was one of the songs i was rooting for to win. However, when it won, and my own feelings astonishingly surprised me… I wasn’t happy… and i know it’s a good song but i guess the real fear that i have is that it won’t do well in the ESC. When Warrior won last year, i did think it was a good song, but was afraid that it wouldn’t stand out at all. The point is to send a song that is different, original and never seen before… Read more »
No uh i wanted Kingdom to win so bad !! SHAME on you Malta 🙁
Top 5 for now:
1-Belgium
2-Albania
3-Malta
4-Ireland
5-Belarus
After her live version,i really wanted “Golden” or “Young Love” to win…
1.Belgium 8/10
2.Malta 8/10
3.Ireland 6.5/10
4.Albania 5/10
5.Belarus 3/10
The lack of a climax isn’t that worrying, the lack of a hook is. There is nothing you will remember this song by, as some others have observed. It’s about being an invincible chameleon… I think.
So far the only song that grabs my attention is the Irish one. Maybe Albanian song would be better after a revamp. The other songs are worthless.
Chameleon is really forgettable song. i have heard it many times, but still can’t remember it. Ira could do better. Sad, that she had to come back with a worse song than the first one. Her performance was meh. She just walked around the stage and it felt really empty, where is the energy? She didn’t even smile and i think she looked scary with the make-up.
without a doubt golden should have won.. it was a powerful ballad that everyone loved. you want to know why ira won ? she won because of how famous she is in malta.. and she already went for the eurovision shouldn’t we give space for new talent ? but besides that ciara went 3 times but she truly had amazing songs to compete with, this isn’t ! people wanted ira because she’s ira.. if she wasn’t famous she wouldn’t even have qualifed with the top5. golden by Brooke is a true winner her first time in the eurovision and she… Read more »
This was the best option, congratulations Malta. I like this song. 🙂
1. Malta 8/12
2. Albania 8/12
3. Ireland 6/12
4. Belgium 6/12
5. Belarus 2/12
So forgettable.
My top 5
1. Ireland
2. Albania
3. Belarus
4. Belgium
5. Malta
Five songs selected out of 43 and all these commenters act like its the end of the world and the worst eurovision ever. Shut up, theres still 38 more songs to be selected and just cause you don’t like Ira’s doesn’t mean the rest of the yet to be selected songs are gonna suck. The commenters here have knack for getting their predictions wrong anyway and their opinions tend to be inverse of what actually happens lol
Borderline qualifier; this year isn’t shaping up all that well so far so could make it but won’t do any damage. 6/10
She might lead the polls now.
I’ve listened to Chameleon a few times and I still can’t remember the song. I remember liking it but couldn’t remember it.
MAXINE stood out for me. “Young love, lovey love love. We got dat young, young love. Meh lovely louh love!”
Honestly, why are some of yall hating? Yall shouldn’t left her alone during the Wiwi vote.
I’ve listened to Chameleon a few times and I still can’t remember the song. I remember liking it but couldn’t remember it.
MAXINE stood out for me. “Young love, lovey love love. We got dat young, young love. Meh lovely louh love!”
Nope. I listened to it again not fifteen minutes ago and I have once again forgotten all about it. This is worthless. I know the word “chameleon” is in there, somewhere, and I know there’s something like “you are invincible”, or “we are invincible”, but if you’d ask me at gunpoint right now to hum this song, I would be shot.
The hype surrounding this entry does not justify its power. On top of everything needing to be worked on, the song is in need of a revamp. I still don’t think it’s strong enough to captivate the rest of Europe (and Australia).
Dude… I don’t even get any hypes from this song. This one is overrated. And oh yeah, 2016 will be full of returning artists.
NOW SHE IS THE LEADER IN THE PREFERENCES https://youtu.be/4xy9IHqsflM
#WelcomeBackIra 🙂
Loreen & pink cheap copy
Old fashioned and wannabe
No thanks.
FINALLY we have a good song for 2016!
I was starting to worry. I had mixed-to-positive thoughts about Albania, Ireland was solidly average, Belgium was annoying, and Belarus was kind of shocking. But Malta has a great song! Not the most original in style, but it has a great instrumental buildup and I like its modulations in character. This could be in my Top 3 after all the other songs come out.
Don’t like the song
I expected a MUCH stronger performance from her. Awkward when your name is the strongest thing you have to offer hah
@mawnck – well, they let Mans win over Il Volo or Polina (both musically light years ahead of him), so expect this to be the norm this year.
@Österrike – I love “Dias de la Alegria”, but I think that the average gay ESC supporter in Spain goes for a different song and later on overhype it and at the end it burns and crashesh (see Edurne for details 😛 )
I’m becoming increasingly alarmed about the state of Eurovision itself. This is a NOTHING song – It’s just background music for an LED screen light show. (Most of the Maltese entries were.) It’s like everyone is shooting for 5th place in their respective Eurovision semifinal.
I’d like to think it has no chance of qualifying, but it doesn’t have much competition so far.
Lets be honest now, MESC is just an internal selection made-for-TV.
“After tonight, let there be no doubt: she won because she gave an amazing performance and has a strong song, not because she carries a big name.” – please do not kid yourself and like a man that doesn’t know how everything works. If you don’t knew by now, your reporter skills suck. No offense. Hahaha… Your attitude is fan-boyish.
As per the song itself – it is so bland and lifeless that it hurts. Sorry Malta. Goodbye Malta.