Malta: MESC stars pay tribute to songwriter Muxu's dad on "Pray"

Malta’s national final and Junior Eurovision stars have come together to pay tribute to the father of songwriter Matt “Muxu” Mercieca, on the emotional track “Pray: In memory of my Dad”. The song, which includes vocals from Amber, Destiny Chukunyere and Gaia Cauchi, is in the memory of Muxu’s father Godwin, who passed away 10 years ago.

On his Facebook page, Muxu described the story behind the song:

“Exactly 10 years ago today I lost my dad to cancer… it is something that lives with my family and I till this very day. I still feel his presence with me everyday, so I decided to finally release this song that I have been writing for the past 10 years. I dedicate this song to my father and to all the loved ones we have lost.”

“Pray” features guest vocals from Malta’s Junior Eurovision representatives Daniel Testa, Gaia Cauchi, Federica Falzon and Destiny Chukunyere; Malta’s 2015 Eurovision representative Amber; and national final stars Franklin, Raquel, Christabelle, Deborah C and Maxine Pace.

The emotional song doesn’t hold back, with Muxu’s lyrics revealing how devastating it was to lose his father when he was only 15 years old, growing up as a young man without his beloved father around.

But at the same time, Muxu’s father still remains in his thoughts, and he wonders what his dad would think of the grown Matt and his family 10 years on.

The guest vocalists each add their own touch to the song, and Muxu himself joins in near the end, adding a hopeful and uplifting ending to the song.

Muxu is a prolific and successful songwriter, with co-writing both of Malta’s winning songs for Junior Eurovision and writing Amber’s “Warrior” for Eurovision 2015.

He was also responsible for co-writing six of the 14 finalists in the Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2016 national final, including three in the top five, and fan favourite “Kingdom” by Christabelle.

In December, Muxu, Destiny Chukunyere and the rest of the Maltese JESC team were presented with the Midalja ghall-Qadi tar-Repubblika award by the president of Malta in honour of their Junior Eurovision victory.

And with a track record like this, we can’t help think that Muxu’s father would be very proud of his son.