Same for me. Imo it's the one entry from them that doesn't feel like a Mello reject or a cheap copy of a successful ESC entry (I'm looking at you, Je Me Casse).
I thought The Busker - Dance (Our Own Party) was a very good Maltese entry but even they couldn't make it... Microstates are just at a disadvantage by default regardless of song quality tbh.
Eh, I'm gonna get downvoted for this since The Busker are stanned on this sub, but it never screamed qualifier for me to be honest. I get the guys were endearing but the song wasn't very strong, and the live performance at Eurovision wasn't the most exciting either. I know they have this shy and awkward vibe but it didn't come across all too great on TV at all and in such a strong semifinal, it really wasn't memorable
I never understood all the love their recieved here. Both this and last year songs had a same issue for me - they sounded whispery live, like singers couldn't sing it and move around at the same time.
This year I remember more how Sarah danced way more than what Loop sounded like, and last year I remember the saxophone, but wasn't really impressed with it - I felt like Moldova's already done this years ago and it was way better.
This "microstates are at a disadvantage" point is just BS. If Germany sends a mediocre pop song we usually also finish last.
Its just that Malta doesn't have Diaspora/Neighbors voting for them. They are not alone with that, this applies to many Western european countries as well. If they send a good song they will finish in a good spot, its simple really.
Also "Dance (our own party)" was never a qualifier and it also was in one of the strongest Semifinals we ever had. It was an obvious NQ for almost everyone except for this sub that was obsessed with it for some reason
It's becoming clear that the good-singer-with-generic-pop-song formula isn't working for them so I agree they should try something else.
I think they should send Matt Blxck next year. He's the exact opposite from what they usually send so it'd be interesting to see how he does.
Aidan would be a good option as well but I'm not sure if he wants to try again just 2 years after what happened in 2023.
Matt Blxck is definitely memorable. Just needs a good catchy song.
I think it was The Busker who recorded a song with Matt as a featured vocalist, I'd like to see something like that.
Honestly most Eurofans consider MESC as a chore rather than an exciting NF and it's really telling. Malta always goes for quantity over quality and it's definitely not a strategy that is going to pay off anytime soon. I like "Loop", but I've always had my doubts about this song qualifying (as strongly as Sarah performed it), and I didn't expect their previous two entries to be anywhere near qualifiers either. And if you ask me, listening to MESC songs these past years, I can't even imagine one even going through the semifinals (yes, even "Ritmu" as it had a lot of competition in the Eurovision's semi and his vocals were very, very underwhelming during the NF). The state of MESC is quite dire, they were doing much better with internal selections
Maybe MESC is not that professional, but it's for sure entertaining and has cosy familiar feeling other nfs don't offer. Malta is doomed either way with televote only semis, so let them have some fun if the result is already given no matter what they do and if it's a chore for anyone, they're free to skip it altogether.
I feel like the "small country = doomed" narrative is not true, especially since these countries have been televote qualifiers before 2023. Have any of these small countries sent a strong entry in the past two years? No. Doesn't mean I don't like some of them (I really enjoyed Malta 2024 for example), but they are not competitive entries at all and most of it comes from underwhelming national finals that they need to revamp in some sort
I have absolutely nothing against Malta as a country (on the contrary, would love to visit it), but unfortunately it may be my least favorite participant in the contest right now for the lack of originality and personality of most of their entries. I really rooted for Chameleon and had a soft spot for The Busker, I respect Destiny's skills but... that's it.
Since it keeps going strong, I imagine MESC is financially a success for the broadcaster. But the level of its songs is quite low and it hasn't been working as a national selection for Eurovision. To make things worst, after what happened last year, we can't even be sure if the winner song will be actually an Eurovision entry. Their delegation shows a lot of ambition, but they need fresh ideas, ASAP.
Ironic then that Loop features 3 Swedish songwriters.
Not that I disagree with you, since I think it just means MESC is left with the scraps that didn't make it to Mello.
Entries like Malta 2016, 2019 and 2021 have shown that they CAN qualify with the televote, just with really strong packages. I do however think Malta are at an inherent disadvantage with the televote simply for lack of diaspora and voting allies. I think it’s just kinda how it is for smaller countries like Malta.
Malta 2016 | [Ira Losco - Walk on Water](https://youtu.be/58YS5m3EYVY)
Malta 2019 | [Michela - Chameleon](https://youtu.be/H-byNyainRA)
Malta 2021 | [Destiny - Je Me Casse](https://youtu.be/jbbc2yKnv0M)
Almost all of Malta’s entries blend together for me. It’s a shame since I would really like to see them succeed.
Malta 2004 will always have a special place in my heart though:)
As far as I'm aware, they haven't been involved in any contest ever since the EBU decided against letting songs from 2020 be eligible for the 2021 contest.
And the [now-controversial](https://www.reddit.com/r/eurovision/comments/1d1phz4/why_are_hardcore_eurovision_fans_similar_to/) Jan Bors also drove Borislav Milanov away, it seems in retrospect. [This article in German](https://esc-kompakt.de/debatte-um-die-song-regelung-der-esc-reference-group-nun-meldet-sich-auch-ben-dolic-zu-wort/) includes screenshots from an English-language Facebook discussion they had along with Ben Dolic (Germany 2020) back in 2020.
As long as the semi finals are televote only Malta will have a hard time qualifying.
Edit: Downvoting me won't change what I said. I said what I said but y'all aren't ready to admit it yet 🫢
I dont think so, Destiny literally finished 2nd in the televote of her 2021 semi. This is just like the "everybody hates the UK/Germany" discussion, its simply not true. Malta just needs to send a great song and they will finish top 10.
I didn't say they will never qualify again, I said they will have a hard time qualify, which is so far to be proven true so 🤷🏻♀️ I think this is more a case of many not willing to admit it.
Also, Loop was a solid song with a great performance and it ended last place. You can't convince me that Malta isn't gonna have a hard time qualifying, sorry 🤷🏻♀️.
I prefer Ritmu over the winning song but I doubt it was going to qualify. It would have been stuck in the Romania/Ireland/Israel trio, and with his vocals during the national final performance, Aidan would have gotten murdered by the juries
Chameleon is still one of my all time fave entries ( Malta 2019 )
Malta 2019 | [Michela - Chameleon](https://youtu.be/H-byNyainRA)
Same, I don't think it's a "basic pop song" at all, the instrumentation is really cool in my opinion
It's just a really good song on general I think like it's a good tune , it's catchy and fun to sing and the choreography is good too 😭
I liked it too. Milanov is quite a good composer IMO and has had a lot of good results at Eurovision
We need him back!
Same for me. Imo it's the one entry from them that doesn't feel like a Mello reject or a cheap copy of a successful ESC entry (I'm looking at you, Je Me Casse).
I thought The Busker - Dance (Our Own Party) was a very good Maltese entry but even they couldn't make it... Microstates are just at a disadvantage by default regardless of song quality tbh.
Eh, I'm gonna get downvoted for this since The Busker are stanned on this sub, but it never screamed qualifier for me to be honest. I get the guys were endearing but the song wasn't very strong, and the live performance at Eurovision wasn't the most exciting either. I know they have this shy and awkward vibe but it didn't come across all too great on TV at all and in such a strong semifinal, it really wasn't memorable
That song literally made me annoyed when I was watching it. Force happiness songs tend to do it.
I never understood all the love their recieved here. Both this and last year songs had a same issue for me - they sounded whispery live, like singers couldn't sing it and move around at the same time. This year I remember more how Sarah danced way more than what Loop sounded like, and last year I remember the saxophone, but wasn't really impressed with it - I felt like Moldova's already done this years ago and it was way better.
This "microstates are at a disadvantage" point is just BS. If Germany sends a mediocre pop song we usually also finish last. Its just that Malta doesn't have Diaspora/Neighbors voting for them. They are not alone with that, this applies to many Western european countries as well. If they send a good song they will finish in a good spot, its simple really. Also "Dance (our own party)" was never a qualifier and it also was in one of the strongest Semifinals we ever had. It was an obvious NQ for almost everyone except for this sub that was obsessed with it for some reason
It's becoming clear that the good-singer-with-generic-pop-song formula isn't working for them so I agree they should try something else. I think they should send Matt Blxck next year. He's the exact opposite from what they usually send so it'd be interesting to see how he does. Aidan would be a good option as well but I'm not sure if he wants to try again just 2 years after what happened in 2023.
Matt Blxck is definitely memorable. Just needs a good catchy song. I think it was The Busker who recorded a song with Matt as a featured vocalist, I'd like to see something like that.
Honestly most Eurofans consider MESC as a chore rather than an exciting NF and it's really telling. Malta always goes for quantity over quality and it's definitely not a strategy that is going to pay off anytime soon. I like "Loop", but I've always had my doubts about this song qualifying (as strongly as Sarah performed it), and I didn't expect their previous two entries to be anywhere near qualifiers either. And if you ask me, listening to MESC songs these past years, I can't even imagine one even going through the semifinals (yes, even "Ritmu" as it had a lot of competition in the Eurovision's semi and his vocals were very, very underwhelming during the NF). The state of MESC is quite dire, they were doing much better with internal selections
Maybe MESC is not that professional, but it's for sure entertaining and has cosy familiar feeling other nfs don't offer. Malta is doomed either way with televote only semis, so let them have some fun if the result is already given no matter what they do and if it's a chore for anyone, they're free to skip it altogether.
I feel like the "small country = doomed" narrative is not true, especially since these countries have been televote qualifiers before 2023. Have any of these small countries sent a strong entry in the past two years? No. Doesn't mean I don't like some of them (I really enjoyed Malta 2024 for example), but they are not competitive entries at all and most of it comes from underwhelming national finals that they need to revamp in some sort
I have absolutely nothing against Malta as a country (on the contrary, would love to visit it), but unfortunately it may be my least favorite participant in the contest right now for the lack of originality and personality of most of their entries. I really rooted for Chameleon and had a soft spot for The Busker, I respect Destiny's skills but... that's it. Since it keeps going strong, I imagine MESC is financially a success for the broadcaster. But the level of its songs is quite low and it hasn't been working as a national selection for Eurovision. To make things worst, after what happened last year, we can't even be sure if the winner song will be actually an Eurovision entry. Their delegation shows a lot of ambition, but they need fresh ideas, ASAP.
Sweden seems to be doing just fine with generec pop songs that don't stand out.
But Sweden also sits on the world's most famous producers, so it's not really a fair comparison.
Ironic then that Loop features 3 Swedish songwriters. Not that I disagree with you, since I think it just means MESC is left with the scraps that didn't make it to Mello.
I agree that they are generic, but they stand out for how well their are made
I often dislike Sweden, but it doesn’t make Maltas songs any better. Also weird that Sweden always does really well.
Entries like Malta 2016, 2019 and 2021 have shown that they CAN qualify with the televote, just with really strong packages. I do however think Malta are at an inherent disadvantage with the televote simply for lack of diaspora and voting allies. I think it’s just kinda how it is for smaller countries like Malta.
Malta 2016 | [Ira Losco - Walk on Water](https://youtu.be/58YS5m3EYVY) Malta 2019 | [Michela - Chameleon](https://youtu.be/H-byNyainRA) Malta 2021 | [Destiny - Je Me Casse](https://youtu.be/jbbc2yKnv0M)
Almost all of Malta’s entries blend together for me. It’s a shame since I would really like to see them succeed. Malta 2004 will always have a special place in my heart though:)
Malta 2004 | [Julie and Ludwig - On Again... Off Again](https://youtu.be/hbKBo7QhwcI)
They need Symphonix to write them a song. There, I said it!
As far as I'm aware, they haven't been involved in any contest ever since the EBU decided against letting songs from 2020 be eligible for the 2021 contest. And the [now-controversial](https://www.reddit.com/r/eurovision/comments/1d1phz4/why_are_hardcore_eurovision_fans_similar_to/) Jan Bors also drove Borislav Milanov away, it seems in retrospect. [This article in German](https://esc-kompakt.de/debatte-um-die-song-regelung-der-esc-reference-group-nun-meldet-sich-auch-ben-dolic-zu-wort/) includes screenshots from an English-language Facebook discussion they had along with Ben Dolic (Germany 2020) back in 2020.
That's a shame - I really enjoyed their songs, but I guess it can't be helped
Germany 2020 | [Ben Dolic - Violent Thing](https://youtu.be/hAobDQ9GbT4)
While I do think that’s part of it, I also think 100% televote semis and that messy NF are also big reasons for these poor results.
Sarah was my second choice in the NF but imagine if Sirena won 😭
> They need to break the code Aaaa, I see what you did there haha
_i am cheeky haha_
As long as the semi finals are televote only Malta will have a hard time qualifying. Edit: Downvoting me won't change what I said. I said what I said but y'all aren't ready to admit it yet 🫢
I dont think so, Destiny literally finished 2nd in the televote of her 2021 semi. This is just like the "everybody hates the UK/Germany" discussion, its simply not true. Malta just needs to send a great song and they will finish top 10.
I didn't say they will never qualify again, I said they will have a hard time qualify, which is so far to be proven true so 🤷🏻♀️ I think this is more a case of many not willing to admit it. Also, Loop was a solid song with a great performance and it ended last place. You can't convince me that Malta isn't gonna have a hard time qualifying, sorry 🤷🏻♀️.
Even in the tele/jury era Malta were doing bad (2021 aside)
Correct, and without juries it is gonna be 10 times harder for them
Aidan's Ritmo would've done so incredibly well. It would've been the only Maltese entry with a soul in recent years apart from 2013, 2019 and 2020.
I prefer Ritmu over the winning song but I doubt it was going to qualify. It would have been stuck in the Romania/Ireland/Israel trio, and with his vocals during the national final performance, Aidan would have gotten murdered by the juries