All good things must come to an end! Our Wiwi Jury trip to Malta comes to a close, with the final song of our Malta Eurovision Song Contest reviews. Can our last entry topple Brooke from the top of our rankings?
It’s son-and-father duo, Richard & Joe Micallef who are our last act to be reviewed. They enter with “Song for Dad”. Richard, of course, has Eurovision experience after being part of Firelight in 2014. Can he return with his dad by his side?
Richard & Joe Micallef — “Song for Dad”
“Song for Dad” Reviews:
Barnabas: Some people may call “Song For Dad” dated or cheesy. But how often do you see a father-son duo at Eurovision? The whole package is authentic, they have a very good chemistry and if anything, this would stand out on the big stage as well!
Score: 8.5/10
Natalie: I love these beautiful country-inspired songs that turn up in the Maltese final. Amongst all the on-trend music in the national selection this year, there’s a high chance this might stand out and capture people’s hearts too. It’s so wonderfully touching and candid. By the third verse, when the instruments are all building up, it does seem to lose a little bit of its soft charm, but hey, it’s still wonderful.
Score: 8/10
Sebastian: “Song For Dad” is the remedial rebel to the notion that Eurovision songs are plastic or manufactured. The song is unmistakably dated, but “Song For Dad” is less about the song, more about the chemistry between father Joe and son Richard. It’s real, it’s authentic and it’s adorable. And, most importantly, it provides a point of difference in this national final and in the contest generally.
Score: 7/10
Deban: These two gentlemen have a point of view, and that itself makes this track stand out. Great, in-tune harmonies, and I love the individuality of their voices during the verses. The family connection here is magical, and their style of music warms my heart.
Score: 7.5/10
Angus: Songs between parents and children can be heartwarming, but when the child in question is a fully grown man, it throws things off a touch. Add to that, the folk moment in music happened about five years ago, and that perhaps explains why “Song For Dad” grates so much. It starts with a nostalgic rush, but squanders the anticipation, in favour of humdrum guitar strumming and a one note vocal performance. The flame Firelight lit four years ago isn’t burning anymore.
Score: 2/10
William: So many songs in this selection strive to be modern and contemporary, resulting in Spotify wannabes that all sound the same. Enter Richard & Joe. They buck the trend and deliver something totally authentic to them. It’s tender, vocally on-point and inspiring — and the Maltese soul they carry makes this interesting to foreign ears. Their real-life relationship translates well to this uplifting melody — bravo!
Score: 8.5/10
In our Malta Wiwi Jury, we have 17 jurors but only room for 6 reviews. The rest of our scores can be found below:
Chris:6.5/10
Robyn: 9/10
Antranig: 7/10
Jonathan: 7/10
Luis: 5.5/10
Bernardo: 8.5/10
Rezo: 5/10
Josh: 6/10
Jordi: 7/10
Lukas: 6.5/10
Patrick: 8/10
Before calculating the average score, the highest and lowest scores are dropped. This is to remove outliers and reduce potential bias. We have removed a low of 2 and a high of 9.
WIWI JURY VERDICT: 7.1/10
It’s a good result for Richard & Joe, but not quite enough to move to the top of the rankings. Are they your number one for the contest though? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
I find this song old fashioned. However, I like the message and the father-son collaboration. It’s so sweet!
This is my number one! The only song I like from MESC 2018.
I think I liked Richard’s song last year more and it did not do particularly well. For some reason, the Maltese public vote is always horrible. If they have taste, they will go for this as it is easily the only song that they have that could get them out of their semi-final this year. Potential for some really good staging here, too.
The strongest and the only decent song in this selection, but still not a qualifier.
This is really good. My only feedback is that it doesn’t have the same memorable “hook” that the other songs have, and that the first verse lyrics don’t immediately pull us in like the second verse does. I love the Choruses though, and the extension at the end. This should do well live, and it is very “Malta”. 9/10
Too similar to Firelight and that did awful with televote, 4 years on and the sound is even more dated so I don’t think even juries could save it this time. The father-son thing is nice but it’s a sentimental gimmick and will be stale by the time it’s in Lisbon
I love the song. And once you have a child of your own the song gets an additional emotional feeling. I also think the lyrics are well done. Love the phrase about ‘holding your hand’ which can apply to both, a parent holding a child and a grownup holding his senior parent’a hand. It could melt people’s hearts and go really, really far.
How in the hell does Brooke’s fast food entry with horrid lyrics make it to the top with the Wiwi Jury? Some fast food entries are fine, but her song’s lyric are horrible. It is such a waste of Brooke’s wonderful talent. Joe and Richard have such wonderful sentiment and they deliver it beautifully. Go Joe and Richard!!
Loved this song from the first listen, hope Malta sends it to Lisbon.
I see a lot of support for this. Not a bad song at all but doesn’t have a whole lot happening for me.The emotional connection is there.If it’s the people’s favorite….it should win. But I feel Malta does have better options. This won’t get them a lot of televote points in ESC.
A 6.5/10
By far the best of the Maltese selection. It is a cleverly constructed song which really does warm your heart The vocal arrangement and the harmonies work really well with the father and son team. .Welcome back to the spotlight Richard!
The one to send to Lisbon in my opinion. 10/10 from me.
This is the only act with a chance to do well
I want this to go to Lisbon! I love it. Something very charming about this song.
The ONLY song of this selection that deserves more than 6 Points. It’s a 6.75/10 for me, I’m not as generous as most of you are but it’s indeed the best one 🙂
7/10.
Fly on the wings of love.
i have a feeling this will win
Love this track. If there is only one thing I need to see changed would be changing the tempo towards the end so that “Song for Dad” finishes big after 3 minutes of momentum.
Other than, I hope this one wins.
Pretty much their only chance at qualifying but I was told that the Maltese are still mad at Edward for winning MESC in 2014 with a song that finished 4th in televote.
This is the ONE! This will be Malta’s entry as from tomorrow night! Love it !
This is the most moving song of MESC ’18. Richard and Joe have a good voice harmony and their emotion is honest. The lyrics are actually great, which makes it an exception in their NF. It is a very charming song. My only complaint would be that the chorus is hard to distinct until it’s repeated later on. The tempo could vary a bit, giving it a bigger oomph.
8/10
Hope this will go to Lisbon!! 9/10