“When I start singing, I’m a different person.” Those were the words of a 13-year-old Destiny Chukunyere, fresh off of her Junior Eurovision 2015 victory. And more than five years later, as she gears up to sing “Je Me Casse” for Malta at Eurovision 2021 in Rotterdam, that feeling still rings true for Malta’s shining star.
Indeed, it would be difficult to detect Destiny’s timid nature beneath the powerful pop persona we see on stage and in her music videos. But in a recent interview with wiwibloggs, the 18-year-old songstress revealed that she’s shyer than she seems. “When I’m off stage, I’m quite shy, actually. I’m shy but no-one knows it”, Destiny told our William. “When I’m on stage, it’s my time to shine.”
And shine she will. At Eurovision 2021 in Rotterdam, Destiny is set to sing “Je Me Casse”. An electro-swing pop jam, Destiny says it was love at first listen. “I started believing in the song from day one. I was like, ‘I need to have this song.’ It literally describes me as a person, everything about me, it fits perfectly to Destiny,” she said. “If there’s true love in music, I fell in love once again.”
Many others are loving it, too. “Je Me Casse” is currently the bookmakers favourite to win the song contest and bring Malta its first Eurovision victory. But Destiny isn’t letting that pressure get to her. In fact, the buzz inspires her give it her all. “These things keep me going. Knowing that I have a nation supporting me and waiting for the day to arrive, I can’t wait to perform,” Destiny explained. “The positive reactions are helping me to work harder and deliver the best performance ever.”
Malta’s Destiny on “Je Me Casse”
Though it’s certainly a dance floor filler, “Je Me Casse” has a deeper meaning. Its lyrics channel female empowerment and encourage women to pursue their dreams. “It’s not about the fact that men aren’t important in our lives,” she says. “I want to put it out there as a fact — men are important in our lives because they help us a lot. It’s more about women not needing men to be successful, to be strong, to be powerful and to be legendary. We can be powerful and we can be independent without a man.”
And, of course, Destiny is looking to bring a strong, powerful and legendary performance to Rotterdam. The singer recently revealed that she’s working with Swedish choreographer Sacha Jean-Baptise on the “Je Me Casse” staging — and also shared some snaps from inside the Stockholm dance studio, working hard at perfecting her performance. “Stockholm was all about making sure that my moves are perfect”, Destiny said in our interview. “There’s still a lot of work to do. But I really enjoyed it with Sacha and her team. They are amazing, and I’m so happy to have this amazing team behind me.”
As for the staging itself? Well, Destiny’s keeping her cards close to her chest. “Secrets are made to be secrets,” she said, gesturing to seal her lips as William quizzed her about her live-on-tape recording.
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At Eurovision 2019, Destiny provided backing vocals for Malta’s Michela on “Chameleon”. In our interview, she dished about her experience in Tel Aviv and how it compares to the junior edition. “It’s the same as Junior Eurovision because you meet a lot of new people,” she said. “Obviously, it’s a bit more stressful and harsh, I think.” But she’s ready to hit the stage and slay no matter what. “I really enjoyed being Michela’s backing vocalist. It taught me a lot because I saw what happened at Eurovision, so I think I’m more prepared now.”
Before our interview ended, Destiny also taught us a very important Maltese phrase — the local equivalent of her song title, “Mur Ħalini!”, which means “leave me alone!”
So now, as Destiny gears up for Rotterdam, many fans have their sights set on Valletta 2022. But no matter the result at Eurovision, one thing is certain — Destiny is #DestinedForGreatness and we can’t wait to see what the future holds for Malta’s new queen.
What do you think? Are you loving her laugh and smile as much as we are? What staging concept do you envision? Let us know in the comments below.
My worry that this song will be hard to pull off live. I have every faith that Destiny can sing, I just find it uneasy on the ear when she slips from vocal diva to tesco value rap and then into that vocoder for the key line in the chorus. I think the whole thing could come across as cringe tv if she’s not careful.
It will qualify but not as high as people think. I feel sf1 is slightly heavier on the Eastern block voting countries which will tilt the results to those region of songs.
The way she acts in the video and the lyrical content of the song is so mature. But when you listen her interviews you realized she is still a child, which is totally fine. I have never liked mismatches between the song and the artist, but okay, my views on this particular case might be wrong.
I don’t think Destiny is Netta wannabe…it’s just similar story but there is huge difference between both…I don’t see Destiny flying high on scoreboard as much as Netta though..but somewhere on the left hand side of scoreboard why not..that depends on the night as this is competition…I wouldn’t want to say about Destiny but the song as this is song contest not contestant contest
Can’t wait for the flop that even Gabbani’s 2017 hype will look legit.
Why is Destiny a Netta-wannabe because her song is about female empowerment that is a cheap argument there has been female empowerment songs in ESC before Netta.Then is Tamara North Macedonia 2019 also a Netta-wannabe because her song is also about female empowerment.Also she did not write en produce the song.
Apologizers, apologizers everywhere!
see you in Valleta next year for ESC 2022
So true. That’s what I’m explaining to every people posting this unvalid comment.
One precious tip. Don’t waste your time with Im so fab. It’s just an obstinate and frustrated troll. It already posted a negative comment about Destiny and her song earlier yet it’s adding another negative comment to force people to know that it’s not keen on Malta entry and Destiny. This user is not relevant anymore.
What do you expect her to say? That shes hates the song? That it’s a terrible fit for her? That Malta have no idea how to present her clear talent?
Nah. She loves the song. Of course she does. 😉
Ha ha ,lol
Why is nobody talking about the fact that she literally bought YouTube views? She jumped from 1.8 million views to 3.4 million in one day…
They did the same in 2019 with Michela
That’s why I’m skeptical of the odds , it’s likely not “people” betting.
Yeahh that Chameleon ad before every YouTube video
False. It didn’t happen in one day. I followed the number of views. And this is not something relevant.
Plus, where are your evidences proving that Destiny ‘literally bought views’ ? The number of views on a YT video won’t boost any chances of success before Eurovision begins. Michela can tell you that. And that could also happen to Hurricane, Go-A, Manizha, Efendi or Gjon too
No, you clearly didn’t.
Dude, stop your hating thing. I know what I’m talking about cause that song is my winner and I’m listening to it frequently via Youtube. I’ve followed the evolution of the MV views since its release 3 or so weeks ago. On the contrary, you clearly hate it and I’m sure you don’t listen to ‘Je Me Casse’ on Youtube as much as I am these last weeks. So stop with your hypocrisy and your fake comments you’re just being ridiculous.
Haha, actually the song is one of my favorites and I listend to it at least 20 times until now. Don’t get me wrong, I love the song, but it’s not fair play at all what Malta did.
Just don’t lie. If you’ve really done it, you would know that there wasn’t any significant jump in the number of view two days ago. It’s incredible to see that you’re claiming that Malta is your favourite entry just to make your comment valid to the ones who would read it. I’m not a liar. There wasn’t any jump from 1,8 million views to 3,5 million views 2 days ago. You’re the kind of hater that really is going far to make Malta and Destiny looking like unfair competitors. But they’re not all of that, read that well. You should… Read more »
Omg, you live in a bubble :)))). Good luck!
Omg thx, I didn’t know that. Good luck to you too <3
More seriously, you know I’m right. Trying to make fun of me just proves that you have nothing else to defend your lies. So pathetic…
Come on Ellen, don’t be naive.. For me it’s suspicious too.. I noticed this also and it feels not right.., same happened with Michaela 2 years ago, it gained almost 2 million views too in two days, that’s not credible and appears very fraudulent. I don’t say Destiny did this herself, but probably the Maltese broadcaster, her Record company or her management.. i don’t know.
You’re not relevant anymore too.
My dear Ellen.. aren’t you tired of attacking everybody here who doesn’t have the same opinion as you? please chill Siss.. go bake a cake or something.
I’m not attacking everybody, I’m attacking the ones that have invalid, delusional — and in your case and Escfan one — false arguments.
And no, I’m not tired in any way. I’m a person that never give up on defending a cause that has to be defended when it is being attacked for wrong reasons.
And stop saying that you followed the evolution of the views, because you didn’t. I can tell you for sure that 2 days ago it had 1.8 million views. Also, you can see that the number of views is fake from the number of likes.
One more thing, cause I’m done yet with you. What about that part of your comment ?
‘Also, you can see that the number of views is fake from the number of likes’.
Are you for real or you’re just stupid ? The number of views on a Youtube video never follows the number of likes.
Again you’re making a pointless claim Ellen which you know is false. Why do you want to come across as a “troll” ?
Yup , the number of likes on Malta’s video is abysmally small compared to the number of views( in terms of likes/view Malta is in 34th position out of 39 songs ).Either people don’t like the video much or the views are fake.
I’m pretty sure many views are fake but also I calculated the likes/view for all songs on 1st April and Malta had 2.38 million views then . Maybe you misread a 2.8 as 1.8 ?
Still , the number of likes to views ratio is another “proof” that Malta is back to shady ways of PR.
That’s ironic to tell me I could have misread something when the first comment of Escfan clearly states that ‘Why is nobody talking about the fact that she literally bought YouTube views? She jumped from 1.8 million views to 3.4 million in one day…’ Escfan wrote ‘1.8 million’ not 2.8 million. So, instead of trying to make my comment invalid, read the comments of the others too. You would see that I’m not coming at Escfan for no reasons. That person is lying
Actually, Kris, you’re just confirming that Escfan was lying. You wrote that on 1st of April, Malta entry had 2 million view on YT while that liar said that it jumped from 1.8m to 3.4. views in one day. Yet you’re still on its side to defend it ? Come on. You’re smarter than that Kris
I’m still waiting for a reaction from you, Kris.
Am I right to call Escfan one of the worst liars on this website or not ? Am I wrong to refute what it is stating on its comments ? I already know the answers, but I wanna read them from you.
You’re right in saying his numbers are wrong. You’re not right in saying his claims of Malta buying views is wrong cause there is evidence and precidence . And you not accepting both evidence and precidence and still going on a rant about it makes you appear as a troll.
I could considerate that option but that error is too big to believe Escfan was just wrong and not lying. Especially when he/she is confirming twice what he/she was stating and telling me I was wrong when I was actually 100% right. After reading such wrong comments still defended by the one that made them, how could you expect me and other people to believe that person and not considerate it as a troll and a liar ? Cause honestly, I will never trust that person anymore. Once someone lies to me, that person appears to me as irrelevant and… Read more »
*I could consider
That self-correcting thing is annoying me
Ofcourse . His numbers were wrong . His comment isn’t.
It’s like : Assume yesterday you wasted food. You threw 3 bananas.
I come here on this website claiming ellen wasted food yesterday , she threw 4 bananas. Now you saying the number ‘4’ bananas is wrong doesn’t mean that my claim of you wasting food is wrong. Hope this was easy enough for you to understand.
Thank you so much for finally writing it, Escfan numbers were wrong. ‘1.8m to 3.4 in one day’ was totally wrong.
I’m not dumb and I didn’t avoided that part of the original comment. I asked Escfan to show evidences to views buying by Destiny or Malta.
Lol . I meant to write ” Maybe wrong”.
In my country , this artist bought fake views for his video and youtube reduced the view count a few days later. I haven’t seen the view count of Malta 2 days back. I can see a possibility of its view count being reduced as a result of them being fake but the view count was higher than 1.8 M on 1st April is something I can confirm .
Ellen your comment ” YouTube views and likes don’t follow each other was a pointless claim ” I replied to Escfan that maybe he misread the views on YouTube a day before. Everything that the original comment of Escfan said I agreed with except for the mistaken numbers which I didn’t notice. In my country the views are mentioned in lakhs rather than millions. I didn’t make the conversion when I made my first response. Still the point he raised of views being fake is valid and that’s what I showed my support for and the lack of logic you’re… Read more »
Then show me the evidences to views buying. Show me something now that I could not refute in any way. And it better be solid.
I have responded to this in the 2020 vs 2021 poll of Malta.
You will find it difficult to refute but you may also find it difficult to grasp if you are not well versed with statistics
‘Ellen your comment ” YouTube views and likes don’t follow each other was a pointless claim ”
I replied to Escfan that maybe he misread the views on YouTube a day before’
Yes, I realized that a few moments ago. You weren’t replying to me actually.
Stop imposing your opinions as facts ellen. When people see that , some people who may have liked the entry which you are supporting will actually be put off just cause of your condescension and lack of insight.
This is not my opinion, I’m trying to impose facts Kris. That person is lying on the YT views. I’m not trying to impose Escfan to like Malta’s entry, I don’t care if it likes it or not. On the contrary,I hate it when people are stating fake things. I’m not gonna let it happen. If you’re supporting those kind of people Kristian, that’s really unfortunate
You’re trying to impose that since his numbers were inaccurate , his comment becomes a lie. His comment was inaccurate , not a lie.
@Eacfan Just to let you know that you’re talking BS. Azerbaijan’s MV was released 3 weeks ago as well and has more than 3.1 million views.
And look at its number of likes.
Hey there, Escfan. Malta’s views on youtube since 15th March 2021 were as follows: 21st March 1million views, 27th March 1.7million views, 29th March 2million views, 7th April 3million views and 11th April 3.5million views. If you have some spare time, you can confirm that I am telling the truth by going trough the comments under the music video or by doing a quick search on twitter.
The views didn’t jump from 1.8m to 3.4m in one day as you are claiming.
Peace out 🙂
Omg, thank you for your answer KOTSH !
Escfan, your comments aren’t relevant anymore here. You’re biased, a hater and one of the worst liars on this website.
I can lend you my bubble if you want to live in and exile yourself.
And a day without you complaining about it is too much to asked ?
Like it or not, Malta is coming in the top 2 this year. Everything about the entry seems ‘perfect’, and thankfully Destiny’s charisma and personality is enough to offset any qualms that the song or the performance seems to ‘plastic’. As much as eurofans hate it, the audience will love it, and it really just comes down to whose opinion ends up meaning more.
So I can definitely tell that people are playing the “hate the favourite” game. Trying to nit-pick at tiny things that won’t even matter that much. So what if there’s no local songwriters, so what if it supposedly sounds like a recent winner (it doesn’t by the way). This is a credible song with an empowering message sung by an incredibly capable vocalist. This is the type of entry than an average viewer and juror will really respond to. I personally think Malta is deserving of the bookie’s favourite and wish Destiny and Malta the very best of luck in… Read more »
Since when is trashing on men empowering?
@Vanilla since you are apparently the expert here – where do you project Destiny’s song that you don’t like to finish in the final. And where you do project your favorite Tix to finish in the final (assuming you project it to qualify)? Serious question.
Last time I checked this is a song competition. Malta is competing against Norway directly. I asked a simple question – where do you think these songs will place and do you believe Malta will place higher than Norway?
You criticize Destiny’s song, but the point of the entry is to do well at the competition. This isn’t a song she’s releasing on some album. You are so opinionated, posting on every article, but you’re afraid to provide an opinion on the actual competition part of Eurovision. That says it all.
For sure the song is weak and I’m pretty certain it has been passed around other countries. Agree Top 10 finish for Norway. Ana will more than likely be my number one (when I submit my votes). I really hope Belgium qualify. Sweden likely to occupy my 39th position. Looks like we are roughly on the same page!
I don’t disagree with the odds as they are based on what is likely to happen. They are no reflection of merit or quality. I backed Malta to win before the song came out but it does not make me feel any better. I won quite a lot of money on “Running Scared” though I really disliked it. But that’s what betting is all about! I’m starting to think Switzerland is the most likely winner will keep eye on odds as it may be game over when the rehearsals start.
I think it’s pretty hilarious that the person who poses as the biggest expert here, voices his opinion 100x a day, puts down other opinions, calls people names who disagree with him – then is a big scaredy cat to make a simple projection of how a song will do in the actual competition. Ohhh you are such an expert but you are unable to make any projections unless you see all the rehearsals? You are too scared to be proven wrong, that’s the real reason.
Wow the most vocal person who trolls this site all day suddenly became scared to provide a simple opinion. Hilarious!
The truth in that statement made me LOL so much.
I really want malta to win one day but i feel they are trying way too hard. I dont know exactly what they are doing wrong but i guess everything seems very….calculated
It’s true, I’d love Malta to win too and especially with Destiny. But this year they are throwing everything but the kitchen sink at it.
There comes a point where less is more, everything just overproduced, calculated and robotic. There is an expression that two many chefs spoil the soup.
They will win when they go Back to Basics
What does that mean ?
Why are you personally insulting other posters on here for expressing their opinion?
Calling out someone by name and saying they are going to have a nervous breakdown is insulting and bullying.
Laughing at someone for having a “nervous breakdown” is beyond the pale and trivializing mental health issues of people that really do have anxiety. It’s beyond insulting and shouldn’t be tolerated.
theirs so many eurovision sites. if you have such a problem with wiwi content go look at a different one smh and ya no need to be rude it’s not that deep
You’re kind of just a prick for no good reason here dude
It’s an expression Euro, it’s used all of the time.
C’mon your not that precious and delicate.
I’m so glad I’m from a different generation. Some twerp accused me of “stanning Greece” I had to Google what it meant
I dont think malta will win eventhough destiny is a great singer, its too early to repeat the same theme as nettas toy, usually the winners are unique in their concept
‘Arcade’ theme was love in general, same with ‘Amar Pelos Dois’ and ‘Running Scared’. They had the same theme, yet, they won the contest. Many previous winners had songs that dealt with love too like ‘Fairytale’ or ‘Fly On The Wings Of Love’. We can’t have winners winning with unique concept all the time. There aren’t a lot of subjects to deal with in music.
In this case, destiny shows her self as little kid with dreams, just as nettas did in the eurovision in tel aviv, again, same women empowerment song, instead of im not your toy, now its im not your baby/honey…its way more coping the idea than arcade…i really think that in the money time people will notice that, we just had this theme as winning song, so once again? Personally, swiss Romania and lithuania are better winners, they are more original
Oh god, another one here. I’m gonna start a counter of every eurofan that are uselessly criticizing Malta in order to make their favourite entries — which are also contenders to win ESC, what a coincidence — sound better.
If you’re loving original entries,what about the fact that ‘Tout L’Univers’ has been written or composed — i dont really remember — by one of the same artist that collab on Duncan winning song ? Isn’t a proof that there’s a lack of originality with Swiss entry to use the same songwriter/producer than the one of ‘Arcade’ ?
Let me tell you my clear thoughts on it. No, I don’t think that the Swiss entry sounds like ‘Arcade’ and that it lacks originality. Cause it is really original to me despite the fact that one of its creators composed Duncan’s song. But I will never say that and try to troll and make angry ‘Tout L’Univers’ stans about that fact because I’m not that kind of person. I praise all entries this year and I would never bash some of them only to make my personnal favourites sound better. That’s what the eurofan community should do every year… Read more »
No, cause swiss entry sounds totally different, and the text as well. Im sorry if you are from malta, but this is the truth about the song
There is another comment following the one I wrote that isn’t posted yet cause the Wiwi team has to validate it. I’m stating in it this ‘Let me tell you my clear thoughts on it. No, I don’t think that the Swiss entry sounds like ‘Arcade’ and that it lacks originality. Cause it is really original to me despite the fact that one of its creators composed Duncan’s song. But I will never say that and try to troll and make angry ‘Tout L’Univers’ stans about that fact because I’m not that kind of person. I praise all entries this… Read more »
And no, I’m not from Malta. I’m here to defend the song I love the most.
A lot of people are in the same case as me.
Plus I can also use the same invalid argument you’re using against you too. ‘If you’re defending Switzerland, you must be from that country’. That’s a stupid comment to make.
And finally, If you’re seeing differences in both ‘Arcade’ and ‘Tout L’Univers’ songs, you’re clearly capable of seeing the differences between both ‘Toy’ and ‘Je Me Casse’. So stop the hypocrisy.
The amount of negativity against Destiny is crazy lately. And it’s not even like the song is so provocative or something. I seriously don’t get people. If you hate it, just don’t comment,
It’s really only one person who takes pleasure in bullying other people and criticizing destiny. I don’t understand why this forum tolerates such bullying and insulting comments.
There is a difference between bullying and criticism.
Stop trying to censor people by labelling them as a bully for giving an honest opinion. I don’t see anything bullying there.
I don’t think there is any negativity against destiny ! It’s all about the song and the in your face PR
Of course fans are loving a Melfest reject. Literally cannot stand “Je me Casse”.
Like “,Higher Ground”?
Hoping for a better song when this is the favorite to win? The fact that you like Norway’s song better than this one shows that you are out of touch with the majority of people. You are entitled to your opinions and to be out of touch of course, but your taste doesn’t reflect how things will go in the contest.
As if the bets are to decide our taste of the song. We are free to dislike a song and hope that the much talented singer got a much better song than something that was manufactured for a different singer and passed on to her. The betting odds at best are dubious.Look at the pattern of the bets. And the Excessive PR game that the delegation is playing , making my favourite ESC site appear prejudiced which i know they are not doing out of free will is something that I’m absolutely allowed to “hate “. The song I don’t… Read more »
I think they got it wrong with Michela last year. They deliberately avoided all the preview shows which would have given her much-needed experience. The boy from Belgium also looked all over the shop even though he had a good song.
Yup , she had a better song but she lacked in confidence. You’re absolutely right in both your assessments of young artists not being given the opportunity to overcome their nerves.
It must also have been intimidating to be told Destiny is your backing vocalist. I would feel like I was being told to mark Cristiano Ronaldo. And who can forget poor Blanche who looked petrified.
You are free to like or dislike whatever you want. But this is a song competition and these songs are competing against each other. The purpose of entering a song is to do as well as possible in the competition.
Exactly . So if we want a country to win or an artist to do good , we would definitely hope they had a “better” song . When someone will get all 12 points from all televotes and Jury , only then they would have run out of scope to have done better.
Even if a country wins , Portugal 2017 , I am allowed to wish that they had a better song for my taste so that I could enjoy the winner. That doesn’t diminish their win , that doesn’t diminish my opinion.
She’s basically saying she didn’t like last year’s song at all.
A better song? Why all the negativity? When I heard the song I instantly sad this can be a winner…
Exactly. He’s hating on a song that is projected to win.
Stop bullying people for expressing their opinion. Calling someone’s opinion “pointless” is straight up bullying.
Well a better song is not entirely negative and from Mr Vanilla Bean that’s like a compliment:P
Lol , I don’t think Vanilla is a “negative” person lol. He/she is opinionated like me and doesn’t try to be “love love, peace peace “.I appreciate that.
It’s bad now to wish for a better song ? He’s literally giving a positive message !!
Complacence is not what destiny wants for herself either
Im quite sad she didn’t participe in the song making at all 🙁
That’s what happens with recycled songs. And that’s why the song doesn’t suit her personality !
lol actually it suits her like a glove. have you seen her JESC entry?
I have and it had R and B influences which suited her. This doesn’t . Like a glove now ?
“Dark Side” might be more suitable
Lol
She literally created the bridge
Unpopular opinion: I think the quote “Mur ?alini” would have worked better as a verse in the song and as title than “Je me casse”.
I have the exact same feeling but I want to believe what she says and to think that she fell in love without being forced to 😛
The song is not the best but she succeeds to make it enjoyable.