Last night Ira Losco won the Malta Eurovision Song Contest with her song “Chameleon”. While she was a popular choice with the Maltese audience, and many of our own bloggers, the broader reaction among Eurovision fans has been a bit more mixed. But it’s not Ira that’s bothering people — it’s her song. Should Ira make like a chameleon and change her song for Stockholm?
Going into the MESC semi-final, Ira was a hot favourite with both the Wiwi Jury and in our readers’ poll loving the studio version of “Chameleon”. But when it came to the live performances, the reaction wasn’t quite as enthusiastic.
It was still a great performance and Ira demonstrated that she’s a strong, confident performer, outclassing the other finalists, and showing she’s even better since her successful 2002 Eurovision appearance. There were a few comments about Ira’s costume, described as an avant-garde wedding dress, but most of the criticism came down to one thing: the song.
Wiwi readers described it as “forgettable”, “overhyped” and predicting it would end up a borderline qualifier.
Wiwi reader Dutchie summed it up with the comment: “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.”
And that seems to be the problem. Ira is a great singer, but “Chameleon” isn’t a great song, according to many Eurovision enthusiasts. It doesn’t seem like the sort of song that could see Malta improve on Ira’s second place from 2002 and earn their much desired first ESC win.
But what can Ira do? Is she stuck with “Chameleon”? Actually, no. Winning MESC only decides the artist, with the Maltese broadcaster reserving the right to change the song. Eurovision.TV explains:
The selection in Malta will decide the artist that will represent Malta in the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest, the song performed may not be the final entry. Should Maltese broadcaster PBS decide to change the song, the original composer and author will be involved in the process.
So the option is there, at least, for Ira and her team to change her song. Malta are known for revamping their songs before Eurovision, but there are other options. Ira could enter her other MESC 2016 entry, “That’s Why I Love You”. She could show up performing another MESC 2016 entry (Brooke’s “Golden”, perhaps?). Or she could enter with a totally new song. The potential is there for “Chameleon” to change for the better.
What do you think? Should Ira stick with her winning song “Chameleon” as it is? Does it need a major revamp? Or should she enter a new song entirely? Share your thoughts below.
Ira did write the song Chameleon herself, so i don’t think she wants to change her own written song to something she didn’t write, so she can’t connect with a crappy song
Chameleon is a good song, they need work out the mid segment of the song, the part where she doesn’t sing, and maybe add some extra vocals, background singers perhaps
Ira has got eurovision experience, so i think she knows what she is doing, and i haven’t heard her say anything about song change, only the maltese music industry said it
Chameleon lacks a strong hook (assuming it has one at all, I don’t hear it) & it’s lyrics are embarrassing bad. I would not send it to Stockholm. Surely there must be a better song available.
BTW, I have not changed my opinion of the song, nor did I vote for it. I didn’t listen to the song until it won. It has no Wow factor. It does not go off with bang. It is just a 3 minute fizzer.
If Malta does not change the song, I would not expect Malta to make it to the final.
Sorry but chameleon to me is a big mash up of several songs put together and totally unmemorable, dark, and boring, no matter how much they will try to revamp it. She should sing something on the lines of Brooke or Jessika, real songs for real artists! As a fan I can only hope but it will never happen. LOL
It’s a good song, maybe a revamp is required but that’s all. And yes, Brooke was great! 🙂
her downfall?
It astonishes me to see how quickly legitimate disappointment in the outcome has deteriorated into a exercise to dissect, if not torch, the winner. It is bordering on pathetic. And this is coming from someone who thought Dario would score the upset before this competition even began.
It astonishes me how Malta seems to overlook the best songs in the selection almost every year. Seriously? Brooke’s Golden 2nd? Maxine’s Young Love 5th? Those were by far the best and they had a good chance of putting Malta in a very good place. I cannot stop listening to Brooke’s Golden. The song is fantastic.
@Kostas: Indeed. But if it’s the STAGE performance that’s the problem, they can always replace that, so long as the song stays. As for the rest, it is all sour grapes, quite frankly. @Alex, Robyn: Amber’s “Warrior” was revamped because of Nina Sublatti’s “Warrior” AND the singing order assigned to them in Vienna (Nina singing last on Tuesday, Amber early on Thursday). Malta gave Amber a more dramatic edge; but then Thomas G:son came in for Nina to make her already-ferocious song even more menacing. Amber missed qualifying, and Nina finished 11th. @uhm: You think maybe that’s why she called… Read more »
I cannot understand all this hate towards this song. I believe she will do very well in Sweden. The only negative point is her vocals. She has to work on them.
NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT!! KEEP THIS SONG, PERIOD! Others who changed their song (like Elhaida Dani), or even the contender (like Germany 2015), were met with disaster, near-disaster, or a non-qualifier. A slight tweak, near the end of the song, might suffice. But by ABSOLUTELY NO MEANS WHATSOEVER perform a major overhaul! Amber’s producers overhauled “Warrior” to no end, and she ended up not only losing the battle of the “Warriors”, but she failed to qualify. Keep this song. You heard the audience chanting her name even before she even took the stage in the MESC final. No question they expect… Read more »
I honestly can’t warm up to this song, I tried to listen few times but still can’t feel anything otherthan screamin and fleshy song polished with Ira Losco’s voice, it seems they are too comfortable with Ira Losca to do well just because she managed to get 2n position about 14 years ago, thats it after 14 years they are sending her to fight for victory they might as well reconsider their decision of choosing “Chameleon” and see if they can come up with better song, they certainly need to do more. Remmember in 2009 Chiara with “What if we”… Read more »
To the ones who think that Chameleon is a winning material – what is wrong with your taste?
This is already overhyped and when it crashes in its Semi, do not blame the judges cause I ain’t seeing any judge putting her past his/her 10th place way to the top on its list when voting. And the public/televote will literally kill it.
she looked way better back then though!
I don’t mean to be rude, but Ira Losco is overhyped as an act herself. 7th Wonder is in my opinion the weakest runner-up of all times. 2002 was a completely weak year, with many silly and bad songs. Countries were sending their least known artists to ESC, quality was a desaster. I have a good song memory, but I cannot recall the melody of 7th wonder. And it looks like the same formular has been applied to Chameleon, with the one exception, that ESC has evolved a lot and is much better than ever before.
If “Chameleon” is not good enough then why on earth did she win? There were many better songs and even performances. Ira did not impress me at all. I do not know what all the fuss about her is about.
If they have a better song, then change it. Otherwise just keep the song, but improve it ever so slightly. Ira is better than the song, so work on that. The song has potential but isn’t catchy enough to stand out. Catchy and powerful choruses is always a good thing in ESC, they could work on that.
Ira’s music is, in my opinion the best in Malta – “What I’d Give” and “Shouldn’t Have to Bother” are absolute TUNES. “Chameleon” however is so bland and unmemorable, and I honestly would be shocked if it qualified. She needs to stick to what she does best if she wants a successful comeback. Or at least just get a good song…
I too am astonished of Ira’s performance of Chameleon. Better if she keeps it. If she wants a projector dress as props for her stage performance to compliment her singing as well as to look like a Chameleon, why not? Though I admit watching her walk with that kind of presence and clothing felt blank for me. What more if she is in the huge Stockholm stage?
If they have a better song, then they should change the song. But given the other Maltese entries, I’m skeptical that they have a better song. It sounded to me like they mostly just have a whole lot more of the same song. (And “Young Love”, but that’s Meghan Trainor, and don’t nobody want that mess at Eurovision unless it really IS Meghan Trainor.) I predict that Ira and her production team are going to do the same thing as everybody else that’s confirmed so far – relax for a few months and let the CGI animators do their stuff.… Read more »
I didn’t see anything wrong on her final performance! I say stick with Chameleon. The only thing that somewhat annoys me is the we are invincible lyric followed by the violin, I find it a bit not fitting. But to change the whole song is not wise; the jury (and the people, 20% only, but they did) wanted Ira and they preferred chameleon. I mean, imagine them deciding to go to eurovision with that’s why I love you, even though everyone preferred chameleon. I also see many say they preferred Brooke ; she did give a great performance but if… Read more »
I don’t understand the frustration at all. I like the song. I remember it very well too. I don’t think her other song is as good as this one so. It’s fine the way it is but they could a little something to it if they wanted…(not too much though). Everybody was so happy for Ira and now nobody likes her song for some reason…..hmmm….
Strange to see Ira back doing Eurovision again, as I was under the impression she was anti-eurovision for a while! Good luck Malta Good luck Ira
Stick as it is, but revamp it to make it look like the studio version. Chameleon goes well with Ira, retain it as the way it is. Maybe the Maltese don’t love the live version than the studio one. These people are so judgmental when it comes to live shows.
Chameleon has to go, it’s her song, why wouldn’t she sent it. “That’s why I love you” it’s pretty bad and she should not take anyone else’s work and perform it as if it was hers.
Chameleon must go with Ira, but a remake must be made.
I think it would be disingenuous to enter two different songs and then send a whole different one, it just needs a good revamp because right now the arrangement just doesn’t achieve what it sets out to do at all. In its current form it has no hope of qualifying though.
There are heavy Loreen vibes going on here. It just needs a little bit of work in the bridge and the final chorus. And they would only need to change a couple notes in the chorus to make the hook catchier. Easily done. That being said, both Ira and the song are being held to impossibly high standards by the esc fan-verse. People want Euphoria 2.0, and that is A. not going to happen and B. just not fair to Ira. I think it would be incredibly unwise for them to change the song, since I do think the song… Read more »
I don t like, when on national final or internal selection , country chose song and singer, and after negative reaction to song or singer, state television change song for singer or song and singer both. EBU must change the rule, change song and singer only if song break rule of EBU published before time or we have plagiarism song. In that situation, on contest to go second place from national final, or if we have internal selection, choose another singer and song.
The big problem is that when a former eurovision representative participates again in a national selections, everyone wants him/her to get back to the eurovision stage but they don’t understand that they should listen to the song not only to the artist… that’s why many artists who got back to the eurovision stage haven’t been so successful as on the first time (should we talk about Bulgaria 2013? Or Malta 2009? Or Ireland 2010?).
Yeah right, complain how Chameleon is bad right after you all gave it 12 pts.
I agree with Callum – even if the rules stipulate that the song can be changed, it would be unwise for anyone in Malta to succumb to negative vibes, premonitions or doom and gloom spells. Any request to change the song should only come from Ira herself, but one finds it hard to believe she’ll turn her back on a song she co-wrote and backed all the way.
I think the fact it won all over the board in Malta is evident enough of the song’s potential. Leave it as it is!! The Maltese stage cannot do the song enough justice and there is so much potential for staging.
I know it has been done before, but changing the song, or even translating it in English, seams like a cheat mode – the people VOTED for certain song, stick with it!
What I hate is that everyone was like: “YASS Ira!” and “She is amazing”, before and then she wins (and I was happy cause I knew everyone was so positive before). And then she wins and 80% is like complaining about everything.
And because most are complaining about the song, I think it would be cool to keep the song but tweak it a bit
A slight revamp is potentially required, such as more emphasis on the strings (because the song, I assume, is supposed to be very atmospheric) and perhaps a heavier beat during the instrumental. I think this would make the song extremely memorable, creating a lasting feel on the first-time listener.
As a whole, don’t change the song – it’s a good base for a great song.
a revamp would be great because the song has to be more powerful in the end i think. bring more power and drama in it !
The song is great! It’s her voice I’m worried about, it was just average at both the finals.
Surprised that she could (in theory) use one of the other MESC songs. That does not seem right.
She should stick with the song that people voted for.
No, don’t change it and flop
I’ve heard the song at least a dozen times now, and I’m trying to sing it in my head, and… I’m singing “Un mundo mas feliz” from Spain instead. Given that that’s my second least favourite in Objetivo Eurovision…. not a good sign.
If Ira is gonna do anything about the song, then she should just do some revamping on it. I still love the song as it is at the moment, but some revamping doesn’t hurt. I’d find it incredibly unfair if she actually changes the whole song, because both the public and the jury wanted her with ”Chameleon”.
Revamp the song is my recommendation.
Change the song? You might as well be asking if Ira Losco should sing “That’s Why I Love You”, which although I prefer, the public did not choose it over Chameleon.
This is a pretty fair article I think – yes, she can sing, no, the song isn’t terrible – but it isn’t even close to what most of us want it to be. It needs a biiiiiig revamp, or she needs a new song.
this song reminds me Conchita when she opened the Eurovision 2015 in pink suit
image taken from Spain in 2015
video series from Malta in 2015
principle a good song but I was struck by the image and video
@Robyn: Nothing is set in stone in any country. Even in Belgium and Belarus, it’s only up to the broadcaster and the singer to change the song (or even the singer and the entire act). They would just need the b*lls to admit that their whole selection process only managed to produce an average act, and that all these weeks and shows were a waste of time. 5 songs have been revealed so far, and the least we can say is that they are all quite mediocre. I don’t think it’s fair that you’re only talking about Malta, therefore opening… Read more »
I don’t really think the song needs to be changed because I’m afraid the new one could fe worse. Chameleon just needs a revamp and find a proper chorus, because the verses are promising but then disappoints a little
I think with a revamp, this could actually be phenomenal.
No she should not change it…. but she could make a more powerful stage act……. i dont know what..but I think we will see major changes in Stockholm..
Ira Losco was the best choice for Stockholm. Congratulations
I think that Chameleon needs a revamp, it needs an explosion that Never comes. I like the song and also Ira but sadly there’s something that reminds me Edurne from last year, there’s so many hype around the song and even her look is similar and you can see how went this… .
@Robyn: The Belarussian song has always been changed in some significant way every year since at least 2008, though… 🙂
I like the song as it is. Unfortunately I feel as though the pop music culture nowadays is all about “the drop” and we always need some sort of overdramatic buildup to something. I think this song actually is pretty cool musically. It messes with the beats to throw you off – on stage, it lent well to Ira strutting on those offbeats as a diva does. I guess another reason I like the song is because they aren’t trying overly hard to be modern, unlike many of the other songs in the Maltese selection. Trying to revise a song… Read more »