Tonight the X Factor Malta begins as Malta’s search for their participant in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 gets underway.
The X Factor Malta gets underway this evening with the first show in the contests history airing at 20:50 CET. Tonight’s show will feature the auditions round, which will see singers performing in front of the judges for the first time in the hope that they will progress to the next round.
On the panel of the show are;
- Howard Keith Debono – Music industry professional who is, amongst other things, the manager of two-time Maltese Eurovision representative Ira Losco.
- Ray Mercieca – One of the best known artists in Malta and a pioneer of local music. He is known for his work with the bands The Characters and The Riffs.
- Alexandra Alden – Maltese artist who currently resides in The Netherlands where she recently graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree. Alden has had two number one songs with her first album and has just released her second one on an international label.
- Ira Losco – Finished second at the 2002 Eurovision Song Contest in Tallinn, Estonia performing the song “7th Wonder”, she was just 12 points away from victory. She returned to the competition in 2016 with the song “Walk on Water”, she qualified for the final and went on to finish 12th with a total of 153 points.
The X Factor Malta replaces the existing Malta selection format, Malta Eurovision Song Contest. The Malta Eurovision Song Contest also previously known as the Malta Song Festival had been used to select Malta’s 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 in 2018 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.
Watch the show live from 20:50 CET here.
