The history of Malta at the Eurovision Song Contest has been questioned time and time again in recent years due to the fact that the results have not improved and that the country is failing to make an impact on the rest of the continent by not failing to amass the necessary points to reach the final stages of the competition. There been an issue of cutting it close on more than one occasion noting that for example, Glen Vella with the song ‘One Life’ composed by Paul Giordimaina and penned by Fleur Balzan only finished one point behind the tenth placed Switzerland. You will be the one taking up the honour this time round but when looking back at the great artists to have represented Malta, what do you feel and have you had a chat with any of them in recent weeks?

I don’t know how to answer this question really I mean – for me the fact that we haven’t made it through in the past is not a reflection on the artist, but also what songs were competing against him/her and what strategy was put in tact. Personally I am in the contest together with PBS and my team: band, composers and sponsors to give a good show and we let Europe judge. I spoke to a number of representatives, namely: Fabrizio Faniello, Claudette Pace, Thea Garrett, Glen Vella, William Mangion and Mary Spiteri and they all had encouraging words. For me, being the 25th representative of Malta is already a big honour for me.

The song that you will be presenting at the Eurovision Song Contest is the first international effort that the country is sending in three years noting that ‘What If We’ by Chiara was written by the Belgian pairing made up of Marc Paelinck and Gregory Bilsen. Apart from that, there was no other song which had foreign songwriters in the team therefore making your song ‘This Is the Night’ the second one with such a song writing team although you are a co-writer alongside the likes of Johan Jämtberg and Mikael Gunnerås. There has been a lot of controversy in recent years about the inclusion of foreigners in the selection process but nevertheless, the quality of songs has improved as the local song writers feel threatened. What is your take on the issue and do you believe that the format, one which is open to all remain open in the years to come?

There a lot of excellent song writers who are Maltese. I know that the Maltese are as capable as any foreigner. I don’t appreciate it when I hear a Maltese artist say: The Maltese composers aren’t good enough. That is not true. The only reason I participated with Johan and Mikael is I loved their song. If I had like a song by an English, French, Swedish, Australian or Maltese composer I would have done their song without a moment’s hesitation. Nonetheless, yes I do believe that since we have opened our market to foreign composers once again, the level has been raised because there is a vaster choice of songs and styles.

In the past couple of months, it was revealed that Malta would be competing in the first part of the second semi-final by virtue of a special allocation draw that took place in Baku, Azerbaijan. In the past couple of days, this decision was further evolved through the actual draw for the running order which has now pit the song to compete from position number four. Unfortunately, this has not been a very good draw when it comes to hopes of qualification with only two out of eight in the past four years making it through to the final stages of the competition. What is your opinion on the draw that you have been given and will you be doing anything special to elevate the performance with the hopes of taking Malta to the final for the third time since the semi-final system was introduced?

Draws, running numbers and past results do not affect me or my band. We are there to give a good show and if the audience and judges deem us worthy or making it through then we surely will. If they don’t think so, then it will be our turn as competitors to be a sport and accept the result. I always had a theory, if you don’t like how a system works – do not try to be a part of it. I knew all of these things beforehand and yet I entered – therefore no I will not be doing anything special other than go on that stage, have a good time and with hopes that the audience will sing with us and try to do the Apple Jacks (Inverted W).

In the past couple of weeks, you have been quite busy alongside your team with regards to the preparations for the music event by promoting the song in Azerbaijan, Bulgaria and Lithuania although it is somewhat expected that you will be going to more countries in the coming weeks. A promotional tour is somewhat important whilst still remaining connected with the Maltese public in general, something which has been somewhat questionable in recent weeks because you were quite busy with preparing the final version of the track and also finalizing your team for Baku. Do you believe that a promotional tour is necessary in present days and apart from that, would you tell us about the team you will be presenting in Azerbaijan?

It is a fact, that a good number of singers enter this Song Contest not simply to win, but to perform on this huge platform. When you are on a stage that has so many followers and viewers, the chances of you getting noticed are a lot bigger. So from personal experience, yes touring is important because you get make new friends, meet new people and widen your fan base. Since this tour, I have had people from Azerbaijan, Bulgaria and Lithuania sign up to my fan page and view/share my music and music videos. Does it help with the votes? I like to think so, because if you really connect with your audiences then, they will remember you. Having said that, it is not enough, you need a proper internet strategy too otherwise you will fall behind. This is something we are still new to in Malta but we are currently seeking council about this as none of us know this art properly. With regards to the performance in Baku, we are keeping the performance quite similar to the one we did in Malta – with some tweaks here and there done by my good friend Warren Bonello (DJ/dancer) in alliance with Peter Carbonaro, PBS and myself, to give it a more world class approach I guess.

Would you like to say anything to your fans and our readers at www.escflashmalta.com?

I would like to give my fondest regards and best wishes to ALL the readers of escflashmalta.com – you can achieve anything you set your mind to if you believe (Believe and Achieve)… Listen to what people have to say, measure their advice and then – if it still feels right, take action. Lots and lots of love from Malta – yours truly K.