Firelight’s Michelle Mifsud and Richard Edward Micallef are ready to wow Eurovision fans with their entry “Coming Home”. But these artists have a lot of other songs in their repetoire too. When we caught up with them at the London Eurovision Party recently they BLEW US AWAY with the Maltese-language song “Xemx”. That means “sun” and it’s really appropriate. Michelle and Richard shine bright. We really think that Miss Mifsud should enter Malta Eurovision Song Contest on her own in the coming years! We will listen to her sing all day.
What do you think? Isn’t Maltese a beautiful language? Don’t Richard and Michelle’s voices blend nicely?
Willy Lee Adams contributed this report from London. You can keep up-to-date on the latest Eurovision news and gossip by following the team on Twitter @wiwibloggs and by liking our Facebook page.
@ Joseph – Thanks a lot for your explanation! I’d sort of figured that out by listening to the Maltese speaking and going back in history (you know, the Crusades, etc.). From what I’ve heard [Maltese national finals, of course] I love it when there’s a long stretch of speech sounding “Arabic” throughout without much interference of “Latin”, though that is rare given the lexical incorporation from other sources.
As a professional teacher of languages and freelance writer, so to say, I always pay attention to variants and incorporations –I can’t help it!
Thank you very much again 🙂
Marcelo N – Maltese is a largely Semitic language (practically an arabic dialect) but with about 40% of its lexical content of Latin origin (mainly Italian or Sicilian) and a small percentage of English words integrated in it as well (apart from loan words). So that explains why Xemx (pronounced Shemsh) is so similar to Hebrew. It is actually closer to arabic!
@Honkeyponkey Marj Thank you brother ! We are the best ,Azebaijan will win brother .I hope you will be back next year!!
Finally these fcking Europeans will understand it!!! Fck Armenia and Stupid Europe.
VIVA AZERBAIJAN AND TURKEY !!<3<3
@Marcelo N wow seriously? I say what I want. Everybody talk clear here.That’s what I feel about their entry -.- We get many votes because we have cool songs.So if people in Malta have taste and if they are fair they will vote .
@ Javid – It would be nice if a few Maltese fans told the general voting population (that is, if votes are real, erm…) what Azeris like you think of them. I mean, if you intend to use them, that’s your choice. But you could keep it to yourself…
More hate spread. Shame on you.
Malta always has a Loser song Yuck .
But yea good that you are in the contest .You will give high points to AZERBAIJAAN as always.
AZERBAIJAAN 2015<3
@ Jonathan – I was surprised to learn that “xemx” means “sun” in Maltese… “sun” is “shemesh” in Hebrew! (I know very, very little Hebrew, but I rushed to ask a friend).
BTW in this style, Richard the singer does not remind me of a mash-up of the two male members of Army of Lovers, which is good 😉
Wow! Impressive
And again, this is why the language rule should be enforced again.
(Yes, I know Malta would still be allowed to sing in English, but maybe this would be motivation for Malta and Ireland to sing in Maltese and Irish, and maybe the UK can send a Welsh song even.)
Wow. Her voice sounds so different here than in Coming Home, where she sounds angry in the bridge. I really like this! It’s great.
“Xemx” is possibly the best word I have ever seen.
Why “Undo” is so bad? Bad lyrics, slow song without power and bad presentation. Only darkness, without istruments, dancers, images, gestures and interesting effects such as fire or lightnings. People like it only because this is Sweden.?