After almost three months of auditions, the Bootcamp, the Chair Challenge and now Judges Houses, finally the X Factor Malta has decided the 12 acts who will battle it out on the upcoming live shows. The Groups and Overs were the last two categories to head to Judges Houses, and with that the lineup was complete.
Judges Houses – Groups category
First was the Overs category. Judge Howard Keith Debono was joined by the American singer-songwriter Lil’ Eddie — among his many credits, he wrote the lyrics for the Spanish version of “Fuego”. Each of the six remaining acts performed one last time, attempting to win over the two judges. In the end Howard had made up his mind and selected the three acts who will be heading to the live shows.
The first Group to get yes was the duo Yazmin and James. The photogenic pair took to the poolside area with a slowed-down cover of Kylie Minogue’s “Can’t Get You Out of My Head”. The pair turned it into a love duet with sweet harmonies. “They have potential,” said judge Howard.
The next group who’ll be heading to live shows is the newly named girl group FAITH, which stands for Five Are In The House. The last time we saw them, they were a quartet, but Chanelle, Demi, Ema and Megan are now joined by Maya, formerly of the eliminated girl group 6Teen. FAITH performed Christina Aguilera’s “Ain’t No Other Man” and showed off the vocal talents of the individual members and as well as the group dynamic.
Finally, the quirky duo Bloodline had their shot. Julia and Samira delivered their own take on Michael Jackson’s “Bad”, emphasising their close and flawless harmonies while retaining the attitude of the original song. Lil’ Eddie commented, “They have so much fire”. Bloodline will be heading to the live shows.
But sadly it meant we had to say goodbye to three other groups. It was the end of the line for the three-piece girl group Chord (featuring national final stars Miriana Conte and Rhiannon Micallef), four-piece girl group Sweet Chaos and three-piece girl group Reign.
Judges Houses – Overs category
Finally, it was time for the Overs category to find out their fate. The six remaining acts performed one last time for judge Alexandra Alden. She was joined by guest judges The New Victorians — the Maltese sisterly duo and wiwibloggs Wednesday Wishlist pick — but judge Alex alone had the final say on who was going to the live shows.
The first act to get a yes was Paul Anthony. His poolside performance was of Charlie Puth’s “Suffer”. His style impressed the judges, with one of The New Victorians commenting “Everything makes sense and works”. Judge Alex felt the same and gave him a ticket to the live shows.
Next was Ed Abdilla and his ukulele. Accompanying himself on the little stringed instrument, Ed performed a cute, folky performance of Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love”. Judge Alex had reservations about whether the ukulele gimmick would be limiting, but in the end she gave him a place in the live shows.
The final act to heading to the live shows was the unconventional performer Celine. She performed the classic show tune “Summertime”. Celine showed off her gruff but rich vocals and atmospheric vibrato. One of the New Victorians remarked that “She comes to life as soon as she starts singing”.
With those three acts going through to live shows, it meant that three others had to miss out. We farewelled rock chick Jozi, francophile Chantal Catania and bluesman Kersten Graham.
X Factor Malta Series Two – Final 12
With tonight’s episode, the final 12 acts of X Factor Malta have been decided. They will be heading to the live shows in January where they will compete to be the second champion of the X Factor Malta — and represent Malta at Eurovision 2020.
- Girls: Destiny Chukunyere, Jasmine Abela, Justine Shorfid
- Boys: Dav. Jr, Karl Schembri, Kyle Cutajar
- Groups: Bloodline, FAITH, Yazmin and James
- Overs: Celine, Ed Abdilla, Paul Anthony
There will be five live shows this year, one up on the first season. The first show begins on Sunday 12 January 2020 with the next three shows on subsequent Sundays. The grand final will be held on Saturday 8 February.
What do you think of the final 12 of the X Factor Malta? Who should represent Malta at Eurovision 2020? Tell us your thoughts below!
Team F.A.I.T.H PLS!
Destiny would probably win, but who knows? Competition’s seems tougher this year.
and the winner is Destiny, how predictable and malta again going to my bottom 3 of my ranking
Why?
You are negative haha. I dont think she will win that easy
It’s Destiny’s game.
I am fervently hoping Malta will do well next year and I actually do not mind if they will win because a win from this island has long been overdue. Last May, I honestly think Chameleon deserved a higher placement, a Top 10 finish I must say, but well there is really no point in crying over spilled milk. That being said, I know Malta will deliver in Rotterdam judging from their efforts this year. I hope you guys will find the perfect singer-and-song combination as it is always lovely to witness an underdog-nation win it all.
Destiny will win x factor, and not waiting for another plagiarism song from her
Oh, do please be quiet.