Wiwi Jury: Malta’s L-Ahwa, Glen Vella, Karen DeBattista & Corazon!

It’s the final stop for our Wiwi Jury and they’ve gathered in the capital city of Malta, Valletta, to mull over the final four acts in the Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2014-2015. Before they spoke about L-Ahwa, Glen Vella, Karen DeBattista and Corazon though, they stopped in a local restaurant for some Kapunata, a Maltese version of ratatouille. Will one of these four acts steal top spot with the jury at the last gasp? 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.

L-Ahwa – Beautiful to Me

Chris: Let’s face it – this is more or less just the Gianluca show again, except now he’s got his whole family as his backing singers. It’s not as catchy as “Tomorrow” but it’s still charming and there’s a deceptive trap of thinking that Malta could do well with the same formula again. I’m not entirely convinced by L-Ahwa, but it’s an enjoyable three minutes. 8/10

Anthony: First impression of this song immediately screams out “Tomorrow 2.0”, which I know might not go down well. Sending a returning artist who has had a successful Eurovision debut is risky, so think twice Malta before considering sending Gianluca to Vienna. 6/10

Sami: Such a cute song and they sound great together. I loved “Tomorrow” and this isn’t as good as Gianluca’s first attempt, but I think this would be great choice for Malta and it would represent this happy nation very well. 8/10

Patrick: There he is – the smile-face doctor with his family! To be honest I wasnt really a big fan of his song “Tomorrow” so thats why I think “Beautiful to me” is way much better! Great voices, nice lyrics and ood-looking people! Im not sure if Malta sends them again but who knows, maybe they will get the ticket to Austria! 7.5/10

Deban: Great harmonies, beautiful melody. A charming entry that features Eurovision’s 2013 Malta contestant, Dr Bezzina singing lead vocals with members of his family. This would do well in Vienna if chosen. 7/10

WIWI JURY SCORE: 7.3/10

Glen Vella – Breakaway

Sami: I never liked “One Life” that much and “Breakaway” is much better. The song makes me want to dance and Glen sounds great. The song isn’t anything too unique, but it’s nice and very radio friendly. 7/10

Anthony: “One Life” was a guilty pleasure entry of mine from his Eurovision debut in 2011. And in my opinion, Glen might have gone one step better with “Breakaway”. Considering it’s composed by Kevin Borg with his experiences from Sweden, those Swedes certainly know how to produce pop songs! 7.5/10

Chris: On first listen, you find yourself quite drawn in to “Breakaway”. It sounds like something you’d hear on mainstream radio anyway and it has good crossover potential. On repeated listens, it loses some of that initial gloss and the song ultimately ends fairly weakly with no real “oomph” to end it. 7/10

Deban: To all the bad boys, bad girls and all the bad in-betweenies out there, what do I think of “Breakaway”? It is rather similar in genre to Glen Vella’s 2011 entry, “One Life” – and that failed to advance to the finals! Although, the chorus on ‘Breakaway’ pitches much stronger than the former, the verses are considerably weaker. 6/10

Patrick: He is back… Glen Vella a.k.a bad boy is a great singer. The song is catchy, up-temple and nice – but it’s not my type! I think he will do a great perfomance with a lot of good vocals but Im not so sure if Malta will send him again after his 1-point disaster in Dusseldorf 2011. But maybe Im wrong! 5/10

WIWI JURY SCORE: 6.5/10

Karen DeBattista – 12, Baker Street

Deban: Karen leads me to her dreamy spot on 12 Baker Street, and willingly, I follow. Her beautiful storytelling voice keeps me there, but I’m aware that many others haven’t followed. Her composition doesn’t penetrate borders. It appeals to native English speakers, but probably won’t attract those unable to grapple with the language. 7.5/10

Patrick: Karen really surprised me when her song was revealed… such a sweet, lovely song performed by a gorgeous woman! It’s like you lay on the fields of Malta, enjoying the warm sun and the whisteling birds! I really like the song, so all the best to Karen! 7.5/10

Anthony: If there’s one act that would take me out by surprise, it’ll have to be Karen Debattista. “12, Baker Street” is a grower and in a wonderfully pleasant way. However, I fear this might be one of the more underrated entries, but stranger things have happened. 8.5/10

Chris: Love. It. I don’t quite know why I like this song as much as I do, but there’s something incredibly enchanting about both the tune and Karen as a singer. I could do without the saxophone solo in theory, but I’m going to take it as a callback to Gerry Rafferty’s “Baker Street” and enjoy it for that reason! I want this to do well! 9/10

Sami: It sounds bit dated, but I like the feeling in it. The song takes me to warm nights of summer, and it’s not a bad thing. I don’t think it would do too well in the actual contest, but it would easily take Malta to the final once again. 6/10

WIWI JURY SCORE: 7.7/10

Corazon – Secretly

Patrick: Secretly is real mystery for me. Actually I have feelings that she could even win the National Final – In my opinion she is a dark-horse! It is such a lovely, calm, simple and special song that you have to love it! One of my favourites! 8.5/10

Sami: Her accent is really something what you love or you hate. The song is little boring and you don’t really remember any of it after the first listen, which is the most important thing in Eurovision. 4/10

Anthony: Credit to Corazon for going with a self-composed entry, which shows she’s more than just a singer. Now there’s the small matter of trying to get past a sea of ballads without getting lost among them. 6/10

Chris: A ten-a-penny national final song that really does not stand up against other songs in this particular national final. Corazon has a really nice voice but that’s all that “Secretly” has going for it to be honest. Not one for me. 5.5/10

Deban: Corazon has the perfect musical theatre voice, as well as an expressive and engaging personality. In addition to this, she sings with great clarity. “Secretly” is arresting, yet beautiful, and subtle. 9/10

WIWI JURY SCORE: 6.6/10

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