Earlier today, five members of the Wiwi Jury – our in-house panel of music unprofessionals – jetted off for a whistlestop tour of all Malta has to offer. We’ve gathered in the city of Siggiewi in the southwest of the country and visited the scenic Buskett Gardens. We then moved on to discuss four of the acts performing in the Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2015: the Ekklesia Sisters, Chris Grech, Deborah C & Iona Dalli. Did any of the acts stand out to us, or did this group just not make the grade? Read on to find out…
Please be aware that due to the smaller number of jurors, the highest and lowest scores have been included in the average scores, unlike other Wiwi Juries.
Ekklesia Sisters – Love and Let Go
Anthony: This could go either way. They’d either follow in the footsteps of the Russian grannies from 2012, or it’ll all end up as a complete flop. Gut instinct points me to the latter scenario, and then brace myself for countless The Sound of Music gags if they win. 1/10
Sami: It’s so lame and they will get loads of votes just because they are nuns. The song is extremely dated, very boring and they can’t sing at all. Malta will make a big mistake, if they send this to Vienna. All the clichés in the lyrics, synchronized movements, it’s all just too much for me. 1/10
Deban: Too saccharine to be palatable. This is the Russian grannies reinvented as the Maltese nuns. However, unlike Sister Act, this is really a yawnfest. Tactical voting in a religious country could see it clinch victory, but this would struggle to qualify in Vienna. 3/10
Chris: Let’s temporarily ignore the “gimmick” factor of the Ekklesia Sisters and get to the main issue with the song: the lyrics really are diabolical. It’s “story”-singing at its very worst and feels incredibly forced. Unlike some of my fellow jurors I’m not too fussed about the novelty of singing nuns, as I think Sister Cristina has already milked that market – I don’t think (and hope) the public will be so easily led by this. 4/10
Patrick: The sisters are really lovley, thats for sure! Everybody in Malta talks about them and personally I see a big chance for them to represent their country in Eurovision. The song is adorable and the story is touching. However, I think that Malta would do better if they send somebody else. 6/10
WIWI JURY SCORE: 3/10
Chris Grech – Closed Doors
Sami: It’s not for Eurovision, but as a song it’s very beautiful. I like Chris’ voice and the song is a very nice rock ballad. The guitar solo is unnecessary, but as a whole it’s a nice song, just not for Eurovision. 7/10
Deban: A one man Styx, Chris Grech commands the stage with a voice that grips you from the first beat. If you’re looking for a power ballad with personality, look no further. This is near perfect. 9.5/10
Anthony: A power ballad with a rock edge, Chris’s vocals ooze like a hot knife through butter. The guitar solo simply adds that extra pizzazz to the entry. One to watch. 8/10
Patrick: This man can sing – he has proven it in recent years! The song is really great, his voice fits the song perfectly and the chorus is powerful, energetic and amazing! If Chris wins, I really can live with that! 8.5/10
Chris: This is actually my dark horse for the competition. I don’t think it’s really suited to Malta, who do tend to prefer sending the “safer” option, but this is a powerful rock song that really suits Chris. If he performs it well on stage then who knows – but I would worry how this would do at Eurovision if it did make it there. 8.5/10
WIWI JURY SCORE: 8.3/10
Deborah C – It’s OK
Deban: Light, airy acoustic guitar pop. This track shares the same title with Atomic Kitten’s 2002 smash hit single, but unlike the former, Deborah C’s version struggles to stand out in this year’s field of talent. Still, Deborah exudes a quiet confidence, and she’s remarkably telegenic. 7/10
Patrick: Deborah C. is a great singer and a beautiful woman! Her song is really calm, nice and happy and thats what I really like! Probably she will have problems in Vienna to qualify to the final but maybe I’m wrong! 6/10
Sami: Seem that country music invasion reached Malta too. I like the chorus and it’s very positive song. Even “Tomorrow” did well in Eurovision, being a little happy song, I don’t think “It’s OK” would be the most suitable song for the contest. 6/10
Anthony: After the success of The Common Linnets from The Netherlands, it looks like Deborah has jumped on the country music bandwagon. The song title pretty much sums it all up. Not bad, but I can’t see her replicating the success of the former Dutch duo for Malta. 6/10
Chris: There’s something about this song that means it feels like it leeches off a lot of former Eurovision songs – but I think this sense of familiarity actually helps Deborah here. I can’t help but feel happy listening to this song, albeit I think the chorus is a bit too weak. Still, a nice and easy listen. 7.5/10
WIWI JURY SCORE: 6.5/10
Iona Dalli – Could Have Been Me
Sami: It sounds very familiar and I think it’s nothing I would vote for in Eurovision. There’s not much to say about the song really, you might remember the chorus but nothing more. Nothing makes me want to listen it many times again. 4/10
Chris: This song, if nothing else, is the first time in quite a while that I’ve heard the term “smooching” used – though I wouldn’t say that’s to it’s advantage. It feels like a case in how not to write a song and generally this just feels very amateurish; it’s a shame as I think Iona has quite a nice voice, but it really doesn’t shine through at all. I wonder if the fact she didn’t initially want to enter might also be showing in this performance… 4/10
Anthony: Aside from the fairly catchy chorus, this lacks serious wow factor for a generic pop song. The song title suggests it “Could have been me”, but it’s definitely not your year Iona. Sorry! 4/10
Patrick: If you want to hear my opinion, this is a really nice song! Of course she would have problems to qualify to the final but the song is happy and she can sing very well! I dont know if I would vote for her, cause the NF is really hard but She can do well! 6/10
Deban: Yes, it may be easy listening but this is dated and boring. Sounds like a Vanessa Carlton demo tape for a scrapped single. This won’t set Malta ablaze, let alone Europe. 4/10
Could Have Been Me is just so..out of place.
nuns no 1
@Kamil and Thiefo – thanks for feedback. When I say “not for Eurovision”, I mean, with my experience, the song wouldn’t do well in the contest. Of course, I can be wrong and in some cases I am, I never predicted The Common Linnets doing so well in the contest.
No song is “not for Eurovision”, I simply don’t get why people keep saying that, we have had ALL kind of songs throughout the soon to be 60 years of Eurovision, with results that range from nul points to winners and PEOPLE KEEP SAYING THAT. But oh well… rant aside, I do love Chris’ song, it’s one of my favourites if not my top fav, however I do admit the song lacks… something, and I can’t point exactly what, it’s good, but not great as it is now, but I think it has potential. I want to trust the maltese… Read more »
Chris has the best song, no doubt, in whole maltese competition.
Somebody who uses opinion like ” it’s a nice song, just not for Eurovision” is totally out of fair attitude to making a judgemant of music. Eurovision is music contest and all good composition have rights to achieve there good result.
CHRIS the best!
This is a site about the Eurovision, therefore it needs experts of Eurovision, not experts of “real music” and the like. Here you have to evaluate opportunities. Who in their right mind can say that Chris Grech has better chance than Ekklesia Sisters?
Here were my evaluations (based upon 5 criteria) of the 4 you have presented here:
Ekklesia Sisters: 9.26 (8th)
Chris Grech: 9.42 (3rd)*
Deborah C.: 9.04 (13th)
Iona Dalli: 8.98 (15th)
Don’t let the scores fool you. Though they may look high, my methodology still has a way of sorting out the best from the worst. If Chris qualifies, I expect him to make the ESC final.