Kurt Calleja and his team have just given Malta’s best Eurovision stage performance since 2007. I’m comfortable saying that Malta deserves to the in the final this year. adding Amber to the act was a good move as was the synchronized dance steps.
Judging from the rest of the songs on the second semifinal I think it would have been dumb luck if Malta was not in the semifinal.
Here’s my pick for the 10 countries making it to the final from semifinal 2 (selected live as it happened):
Serbia
Malta
Portugal
Ukraine
Bulgaria
Sweden
Estonia
Slovakia
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Lithuania
This selection is for entertainment purposes only and should be taken with more than a pinch of sodium benzoate.
Well, Macedonia, Turkey and Norway made it through rather than my picks Portugal, Bulgaria and Slovakia.
Oh, and Malta is in the final again for the first time since 2009! That’s obviously national headline news in Malta for the next couple of days.
So it’s time for the Eurovision Song Contest again. I’m not in Baku to watch the contest unfolding as I’ve done in recent years, but I’ve given my comments about what’s ahead to SBS Radio [in Maltese] and I don’t really have much to add just yet. Enjoy the show:
And for what it’s worth here are the 10 countries I think will make it to the final from the first semifinal, in order of appearance.
Iceland
Greece
Albania
Romania
Israel
San Marino
Cyprus
Russia
Austria
Ireland
This selection is for entertainment purposes only and should be taken with more than a pinch of sodium benzoate.
UPDATE: Moldova, Hungary, and Denmark made it though rather than Israel, San Marino, and Austria. So I got 7 out of 10. How well did you do with your own picks?
Let’s see how it goes with semifinal 2 on Thursday.
Norm Rejection – Encounter
Taken from last year’s Belligerent EP, this song is officially billed as Norm Rejection’s single release for 2012. It’s not the sort of thing most radio stations in Malta will play, but it will certainly get some airtime on the various specialized rock shows. They remain one of my favourite Maltese heavy rock bands of all time, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I chose to open my podcast with their sound whenever I can.
Baron Bubblebeef – Jennifer’s Dead
Steve Hili is known for his comedy work by many in Malta, even though he is not exactly a household name. He has now recorded two songs in London as Baron Bubblebeef. The ska beat is enjoyable enough and the video gives a good insight into the lyrics of the song but I doubt that this will reach as wide an audience as Steve deserves. If he keeps at it, I suspect that he may strike gold within the next year or two.
RiSE – Forever
Following up on last year’s debut Stars, this young band returns with this new song called Forever. I’m not sure what to make of the video but it’s certainly better than no video. I’m also particularly impressed by the studio presentation for Black Light Studios, run by band member Conrad Dimech, which is also where the upcoming debut release by Criminal Kiss was recorded. More about this in an upcoming edition of the MMI podcast.
Winter Moods feat. Joseph Calleja – Miss You
It was only a matter of time before Malta’s most popular rock band teamed up with Malta’s high-profile opera export. It’s a good collaboration which will undoubtedly do wonders for Winter Mood’s popularity and gives new audiences a opportunity to listen to the mighty voice of the Maltese tenor. It’s a fitting way to end the first 299 podcast in the MMI series, wouldn’t you agree?
Monobrow Musical Produce – William
One of the most outstanding duos to ever come out of Gozo is all set for the release of their debut album. It will be released with a gig at the Aurora Theatre on the 2nd of June at 8pm. The album is called Carpet Clown and features a number of remarkable songs. The one with which I’ve selected to open this week’s podcast is simply my choice on first listen and they may very well be selecting a different song with which to launch the album to the general public in the coming days. Hopefully this time they’ll receive some much deserved radio (and possibly TV) airplay beyond quasi-underground shows such as my colleague Michael Bugeja’s Rockna. They most certainly deserve it.
Duo Blank feat. Ira Losco – Human Train
The new album by Maltese electronica veterans Edwin Balzan and Frank Cachia was released this evening at Prestige in Paceville, during a live gig featuring Ira Losco, Errol Sammut, the Ophidian Twin and Karen Cachia, who are some of their vocal collaborators on Propulsion. The album follows on from last years successful single Stars on Mars along with the promotional video for it featuring the lovely burlesque performer Undine LaVerve.
Skarlet – My Song
I’m not sure how this band managed to get away from being featured on a previous edition of my podcast. Violinist Simon Vella or percussionist Renzo Spiteri should have been more than enough to attract my attention to Skarlet. The rest of the band blends together quite beautifully as you can see from this live acoustic recording made for television last year.
Renzo Spiteri – Ritual Dance
Speaking of Renzo Spiteri, here he is in a live solo rendition on Schlagwerk log drum and water drum from his soon-to-come-to-the-UK tour to promote his late 2011 CD album Silence Sounds and Spaces. He will be playing at various venues in the UK from late May into early June, most notably at the Bath Fringe Festival on the 3rd of June.
Equipoise – Charambala
Daniel Grech released a new track today under his nom d’arte Equipoise. I had planned to play this one instead for the past couple of weeks but never really had the time to include it. I thought it would contrast nicely with the acoustic sounds of the previous track on today’s podcast, so here it is.
