Howard Keith Debono has been named as the first member of the judging panel for the debut series of the X Factor Malta.
X Factor Malta has revealed the first of the judges in the first series of the X Factor Malta. Howard Keith Debono will be taking one of the judges chairs for this series of the competition. Mr Debono has been working in the local and international music industry for over 20 years and has worked with pushing Maltese artists internationally.
Howard Keith Debono is no stranger to the Eurovision Song Contest, as he is currently the manager of two time Eurovision participant, Ira Losco. He has also been a member of the professional jury during the previous Maltese selection process, Malta Eurovision Song Contest.
The broadcaster will use the X Factor Malta to select their participant for the Eurovision Song Contest, replacing the nations long term selection process Malta Eurovision Song Contest.
The Malta Eurovision Song Contest also previously known as the Malta Song Festival had been used to select the nations Eurovision entry since their debut in 1971. The selection had undergone a number of revamps in recent years including the introduction of televoting and cutting out the semi-final stages.
Christabelle represented Malta in Lisbon with the song “Taboo”. She finished 13th in the second semi-final, having finished 5th with the juries on 93 points, but last with the public with 8 points.
Source: X Factor Malta
Malta debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1971 and was represented by Joe Grech and the song “Marija L-Maltija”, which finished last. Malta competed again in 1972 and 1975 but then withdrew until their return in 1991. During the 1990s Malta only once finished outside of the top 10, and in 1998 they came within just 7 points of victory. It was Chiara who brought the country their 3rd place finish in 1998, and who went on to finish in 2nd at the 2005 contest in Kyiv. The only other artist to finish 2nd for Malta is Ira Losco, who was 12 points away from victory in 2002. They are the longest participating country never to have won the Eurovision Song Contest.
