In the days after Firelight’s success at the Malta Eurovision Song Contest, critics were quick to point out that “Coming Home” sounds like Gary Barlow’s “Let Me Go”. All the whispers led Malta’s Independent newspaper to run an article reporting on the supposed similarities.
According to the newspaper the band’s lead singer Richard Edward Micallef has said openly that Barlow, James Blunt and Mumford and Sons are his musical inspirations. But he was quick to point out that his song is 100% original. As he said: “The style of our song is in vogue right now, but the songs are not the same.”
What do you think? Is “Coming Home” too similar to “Let Me Go” to be considered original? Or is it just a case of two songs from a similar genre? Let us know in the comments box below! You can also read the lyrics to the song if you scroll past the video.
Firelight – “Coming Home”
Gary Barlow – “Let Me Go”
Coming Home lyrics — Firelight
Freedom of life, I will express my soul
Look me in the eye, and electrify my bones
I ain’t gonna leave until you know my name
Stepping out of the shell, now don’t you step in my way
Roaming through fields, I’m trying to find this new land
It’s only because I”m here, I’m finding gold in my hands
I’m coming home
I’m not holding back, no I ain’t wasting time
If you want me near then you must come for the ride
If your sky will fall, I shelter you from the rain
There’s not a cloud in the sky that can come in the way
I’m coming home
I’m coming home
Trying to build up the words to say what you mean to me
Gonna open your eyes and let you know what I mean
Ohh aaahhh
Ohh aaahhh
Ohh aaahhh
Gonna take on this journey
Feel the light getting warm
Find the strength I’ve been searching
Keep the beat going strong
Keep the gloves on for fighting
Don’t you knock on my door
Yeah the spirit’s alive
I’m on the road coming home
I’m coming home
I’m coming home
I’m coming home
I’m coming home
I agree with most of the comments, I love the song and I can’t truly get enough of it. Perhaps it’s true, the beats might resemble at times Gary Barlow’s song but this is absolutely normal. There are millions of songs out there and It’s impossible not to have perhaps one chord or a beat that remind us somehow of another song. But at the end of the day this is what we “listeners” want. We want catchy music, catchy songs. So let Firelight be, I believe this band have potentials and this song is catchy and just what we… Read more »
The Maltese entry is undoubtedly very original… Its one of the best songs !… The thing is that whoever came up with the idea that ‘its not so original’ .. or perhaps making such comparisons, must be seeing a real treat and strong potential for the Maltese entry ‘ Coming Home’..obviously using the media to derail such a potential success !
The only problem that I could see for the Maltese song is the traditional
international ‘politics’ and the size of this small EU state!
I don’t know what all the fuss is about and I especially don’t appreciate the nasty comments. If you have nothing nice to say then don’t say anything at all. Let Firelight enjoy their moment and let them represent our little island of Malta !!!!! Its not like our little island will ever win this contest anyway….if we are honest with ourselves, we never did and never will stand a chance…even when we do have a Number 1 hit. Similar song or not, there is nothing any of you pessimists can do about it 🙂 Were Modern Talking ever judged… Read more »
Amazing Song! 😮
Surely going to vote for it!
Good luck for tomorrow MALTA!
Firelight song is completely different. Having a rhythm guitar playing the same beat at the same tempo does not make them similar. Jealous-nous and hatred brings year after year the same moaning of the not so experts. Get a life, or got lost…. especially you Jenny !
No Way man!! ,,Coming Home” is totally original! chords are different, Strumming of guitars are different and it was said that Coming Home was written before !! Good song and now with a new version it sounds better!! GOOD LUCK FIRELIGHT!!!!
original !!!!!!!!!!!
I think there is an influence of the genre but I feel the song Coming Home is original.
The same thing was with Sjonni & Friends’ “Coming Home” (ESC 2011 Iceland entry) & Take That’s “Up All Night” (which is more fun considering Gary Barlow involvement)
I’m actually starting to like Malta’s entry. 🙂
Yeah, it’s country (or folkish), yeah, it’s Mumford & Sons (to an interesting extent), yeah, it sounds not poppish or dance, nor any related eurotrash. Someone might like it, others might scream that it’s bad and unoriginal.
I’ll just say that I might vote for this. 🙂
Surprise win for me, however, that said it’s growing on me, as for the accusations firing around about the song, keep it going, the more publicity this song and the beatiful island of Malta gets the better. Malta has been robbed many times of the winning song over the years. 2014 hosts of Junior Eurovision and this song deserves to bring the Eurovision flag back to Malta for 2015…
Viva Malta Eurovision is ‘Coming Home’
If the local newspaper printed out an article about the song, It’s clear enough that many Maltese are not happy with it. I wonder what would happen if actual music industry judges give the points. I greatly doubt the same song would win. No big a fuss was ever made on a song chosen in Malta as this. I do not know if the song is copied or not and it’s true that many songs tend to sound like each other without meaning to at all but I would be lying if I said that the song was the best… Read more »
I’m guessing the similarities are just unintentional and it’s just something that happens with music of a similar genre. The Mumford & Sons influence comes out more.
Mumford & Sons and Avicii.
It is important to note that Firelight wrote COMING HOME two years ago…so there is that.
As much as I enjoy this entry, it is very similar to “I Will Wait.” It’s also quite similar to “Let Me Go,” yes, but the similarity with “I Will Wait” is closer. It’s not terribly original, but such a thing happens occasionally, you know? As far as being of the same level of quality as Barlow and Mumford, I wouldn’t totally agree with that. It’s a little hard to tell what some of the supporting vocalists are saying in the song, even in the studio recording – they could work on enunciation a bit better. But most Eurovision recordings… Read more »
Oops. My post got modifed because I used angle brackets.
Change “all look the same” to “all [race] look the same”
It’s just “all look the same” applied to music; an objective-sounding disguise for subjective taste and limited experience.
Neither familiarity nor novelty are actually complete arguments for any judgement; creation and enjoyment depend on both.
Coming Home sounds way more like I Will Wait by Mumford and Sons to me…
@Fonz: Spot on mate! 🙂 I absolutely love the Maltese entry for actually dwelling in the same universe as Philip Philips or Mumford & Sons … these kind of indie pop folk is stunning and such a great contrast to the annoying overly commercial plastic dance tunes out there so the success the genre has had is a loaf of fresh air in Eurovision more than required. Then I love Gary Barlow …in everything he does. So yes comparing both songs for me means … comparing 2 great songs. If everybody else including the press wants to create the fuzz… Read more »
Well, listing to the song “Coming Home” I never thing of the beautiful Gary’s song but I did thing of “Home” by Phillip Phillips.
Comparing Firelight with these great artists is actually a big complement. It shows how current they are with their music and how they can attract intelligent voters.
The song is still BORING and UNORIGINAL. Book your flight home early from Copenhagen.
@jenny
Well one thing is for certain though that the maltese song is not contain any plagiarism and if it does it’s certainly not from Gary’s song.
‘Let me go’ came out in October and the song ‘Coming home’ had already been submitted to PBS.
Jenny, “blatantly plagiarising” you say? They’re merely both country twinged songs that hold a vocal note in the chorus.
I think Coming Home is fine, but a little boring. The reason I think it’s boring is because I feel like I have heard it many, many times before. I don’t know if that is because of the genre being popular or if it’s really unoriginal. Either way I give it a 5/10. It’ll be lucky to pass through the semi final
And obviously the Maltese media care if they wrote a newspaper article….
I care. I’m sick of Maltese fans saying this song is “original” and “a new type of music” when, in fact, it is blatantly plagiarising a hit….
Who cares?