Local society has somewhat become infatuated with using the English language as a main source of dialogue which is definitely a positive for the upcoming generation as they head into a world which mainly uses the language. Nevertheless, Maltese is a national form of speech and writing and it is stunning that competitions like the Konkors Kanzunetta Indipendenza and L-Għanja tal-Poplu still support music written in Maltese because original tracks are already hard to come by and this is the manner which could still support one of the core elements of a national identity. This years' edition of the Għanja tal-Poplu officially commenced yesterday and escflashmalta.com is in a position to exclusively  reveal that 38 entries have been submitted.

Philip Vella, Janvil, Corazon, Walter Micallef, Ina Robinich, Kaya, Eleanor Cassar and Glen Vella could all list themselves as winners of the renowned competition throughout the years with more recent participants being Grecia Bezzina and Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2012 semi-finalist; Janice Mangion. Last year, L-Għanja tal-Poplu received around 42 entries and therefore, one could denote that despite the drop, the amount of submissions is roughly around the same. Should the quality be somewhat similar, then the people are clearly in for a treat. The finalists are expected to be released within the next couple of days whilst the competition is set to take place on the 20th April 2013 at the Sir Temi Zammit Hall. Stay tuned to escflashmalta.com and ghanjafest.com for all of the latest news. 

Source: YTC, Għanja tal-Poplu Committee, escflashmalta.com

On the 10th of December, former Malta Eurovision Song Contest finalist and second runner-up Kaya, together with four of her students : Aiden Jay Drakard, Anhelica Pace, Naolene Borg and Dorcas Debono travelled to Rumania to take part in the renowned Carpathian Star International Festival. In this showcase, artists from a vast amount of countries took part including Estonia, Serbia, Moldova, Italy, Romania and of course, Malta.

Once again, Malta's success was evident during this competition since all four (4) contestants managed to come within the top three (3) in at least one category. Aidan Jay Drakard came third (3rd) in the 7-9 age category with his excellent performance of the song Profeta Non Sare originally by Demis Roussos. It is important to note that this was Aidan’s first experience in an international competition and therefore was very pleased with such a promising result. 

Another very successful Maltese contestant was Anhelica Pace who not only came first in two (2) categories but also finishing the first runner-up position in the 10-12 age category with her breath-taking performance of the track E Poi originally performed by Giorgia. Anhelica won both the folklore song category and also the group category were together with Aiden, they performed the song Save Rock n roll written by Kaya and her brother Dorian Psaila. This was not her first success in foreign waters, noting that she has managed second runner-up finishes in prestigious competitions both in Italy and Poland. Later on this month, Anhelica will be heading to Italy to take part in the competition known as Eurokids in the town of Salerno.

In this same competition, Malta obtained third place in the adult category, having been represented by Dorcas Debono with the track Stupid. As a matter of fact, it seems that things are looking bright for her noting that she was also chosen a couple of weeks back as one of the finalists for Passport 2 Indifest where she is hoping to make it through to the Konkors Kanzunetta Indipendenza. The judging panel was made up of representatives from each of the competing countries and Malta was represented by Kaya but a pivotal rule stated that no judge could vote for acts within their own country to be precise and accurate. Stay tuned to escflashmalta.com for more news about upcoming young performers.

Source: Press Release

Several individuals are currently extremely curious over what entries will ultimately make up next years' edition of the Malta Eurovision Song Contest which for the past two years has taken a turn for the better, both in terms of song and presentation quality. Submissions for the competition will be accepted this coming Tuesday and Wednesday in allocated timeslots which will be divulged once more closer to the actual days when escflashmalta.com will be present outside of the offices of the Public Broadcasting Services to note the artists who did not want to reveal their submission. Following the earlier announcements of Corazon, Domenique, Danica Muscat, Marilena Gauci, Stefan Gauci and Gloriana Arpa Belli, we are now pleased to confirm that the latest act to exclusively confirm to our web portal is none other than Kaya whose rich history in the local music scene surely has to be acknowledged noting that it has been evolving especially in recent times with a brand new image and genre representing the artist in the most impressive manner.

One has to recall that Kaya also known as Priscilla Psaila originally showed her true colours way back in the millennium with the year 2000 seeing her qualify to the Malta Song for Europe with the track Our Love composed by Alfred Zammit and penned by Cynthia Sammut which finished in third place. This was a huge coup so to speak because Priscilla back then was a complete newcomer. A couple of months later, she made it through to the finals of the Għanja tal-Poplu competition with the track Tisimgħu Tissaħħar featuring the vocal talented of the late Frans Baldacchino. The original composition which was written by the artists themselves finished at the top position for a stunning rendition of an extremely beautiful track which remains pinned down in the history of the local music scene. During the years, Priscilla did not manage to reach the stage of the Malta Song on another occasion actually but she did mark her foot down on the competition at the Konkors Kanzunetta Indipendenza reaching a second place position in 2006 with the track Se Nkun Viċin composed by Ray Agius to the lyrics of Godwin Sant and also in 2009 with Lilek Biss composed by Mark Spiteri Lucas and penned by Joe Chircop whilst also being named the winner of the same competition in 2007 entitled Dan Hu L-Mument featuring the vocals of Ivan Borg with music by Mark Spiteri Lucas and lyrics by Joe Chircop.

Ultimately she returned to the stage of the Malta Eurosong competition in 2010 in another duet with Kurt Calleja performing the song Waterfall composed by Marco Debono and penned by Rita Pace. The entry received a lot of praise from a number of critics including some of the most prominent producers in the foreign music industry. It was revealed that she entered a couple of songs in the Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2011 but nevertheless, she did not make it through to the final stages of the competition. A sigh of relief came forward from Priscilla or rather Kaya when she was revealed as a semi-final with the track First Time written by the Greek Gorgi. The outstanding typical ballad has a place in any Maltese national selection and therefore, it was well received, so much so that it even translated into a number of points by the public which counted for a total of one judge in the last selection round. Kaya is pleased to return this time round coming up with entries which she deems fit and excitable. This is the first former runner-up who has come forward and confirmed her participation in the 2013 Malta Eurovision Song Contest. She has reached and scaled success in a number of countries including the United States having performed the original song Timeless during New York Fashion Week, the same year she adopted her current stage name of Kaya. Stay tuned to escflashmalta.com for more exclusive news in the coming hours, days and weeks.

Source: escflashmalta.com

Reassurance of success is key in everything and whenever local artists head into a foreign competition, they should always do so with their heads help up high especially being Maltese because that is a trump card which locals tend to hold in such events. In the past couple of years, Kaya has been carefully teaching upcoming individuals the art of voice and then even more importantly selecting which crop of people should represent the country abroad. Two of the starlets who have always honoured the nation are none other than Enya Magri and Loredana Agius and this time round, their success has come in the Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia. 

Just last year, Enya represented Malta in a competition in Hollywood were she was awarded with two gold medals, three silver medals and ultimately a world championship. This competition known as the Tra La La Festival was split up into three categories, and Malta was well represented by Enya Magri, Chanelle Galea, Loredana Agius and Pippa Buhagiar. Amongst the countries that were competing against Malta, there were; Serbia, Montenegro, Spain, Kosovo, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, India, Bosnia & Herzegovina and the Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia. Enya performed the song United written by Dorian Psaila as well as Kaya and received a huge applause from the public present.

This was well deserved especially when she was announced as the overall winner of the competition from all of the categories of the evening. It showed that the 2009 Zecchino D'Oro representative is set to have a pretty bright future. On the other hand though, Loredana emerged victorious in her respective category with the track Sopriża composed by Christopher Azzopardi and penned by Kaya. Once more, it was another prestigious night for Malta and for the upcoming talent of the future. On behalf of the editorial team at escflashmalta.com, I would like to congratulate the girls and also ask our readers to stay in touch for more of the latest news.

Source: Press Release

Italy has acquired great prestige through the art of music throughout the years especially due to the prestigious Sanremo festival which brings together some of the most prominent names in the Italian music industry. It is a competition in the end but several artists use it also as a platform to launch their most recent material noting that the rules imply that all of the tracks entered have to be of original material. Due to the overwhelming success of such a music competition, several towns across Italy organize smaller competitions such as the Canzoni Del Mondo in Maiori. There has also been a lot of local interest in this competition especially due to the fact that seven years ago, Kaya was the winner of two awards, being the only artist ever to succeed in doing so and this has somewhat prompted the organizers to invite her as a special guest for this years' edition which will be happening in a couple of days time. 

We learned that Kaya will be a special guest within the past couple of hours having been the only recipient of best interpretation of an original song as well as the best voice of the competition. She is expected to be performing her most recent single entitled Touched By Angel written by Knut-Oyvind Hagen as well as a brand new track entitled Crazy for You written by Gorgi Kalpakidis who also wrote her entry for the Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2012. This competition first came to prominence a couple of days ago due to the fact, that Malta will be represented by none other than Grecia Bezzina following her runner-up finish at the Għanja Tal-Poplu competition earlier this year. On that occasion, she had performed the song Tal-Komma Twila composed by Dario Bezzina and penned by Emil Calleja Bayliss but this time round, she will be performing a brand new track. The delegation abroad includes her brother as well as Noel D'Amato on behalf of the Għanja Tal-Poplu Committee. On behalf of the editorial board at escflashmalta.com, we would like to wish Grecia and Kaya the very best of luck as they continue to put their country first thanks to their stunning talents.

Source: Press Release

Throughout the years, the Konkors Kanzunetta Indipendenza has paved the way for the beginning of a multitude of careers noting that most of the well known individuals in the local music industry have all put their name forward and competed within the showcase which has seen a number of notable winners including Claudette Pace, Miriam Christine, Annabelle Debono, Ira Losco, Amber, Claudia Faniello, Lawrence Gray, Eleanor Cassar and most recently Mike Spiteri. Last year marked the twentieth anniversary of the Konkors Kanzunetta Indipendenza noting that it officially inaugurated back in 1983, only to stop in 1987 returning in 1997. Nevertheless, each edition was a huge success and therefore, Media.Link Communications made sure to support it each time it was organized. The committee of the Konkors Kanzunetta Indipendenza led by television producer and host, Mark Azzopardi has worked hard in taking the competition to a brand new era hoping that each of the entries receives the same amount of exposure, working toward the recording of preview videos which could be access through viral website, YouTube. Exposure is key to any competition and thus with the videos along the weekly programme, Indifest, the local audience would get the chance to support local talent in the best possible way.

 

Last 13th June, Kaya together with her students Anhelica Pace, Nicole Agius, Rutger Scicluna Galea and Chantelle Abela, represented Malta in the Eurokifs Festival in Maiori, Italy. 

This festival was split over 3 days and in the first semi-final, held on the 15th June, the participants were obliged to sing in their native language. The second semi-final was held the day after, and the participants, sung a song they personally chose. From the semi-finals, only 6 finalists were chosen for the final night. The participants were judged by 13 internationl juries from Lithuania, Italy, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia, Russia, Croatia, Poland, Estonia, Turkey, Georgia, Malta and Ukraine. None of the countries could vote for its respective participant/s. Kaya was infact the Maltese judge. Vincenzo Colossanto invited her to sing the song “First Time” on the final night. The song was infact a semi-finalist in this year’s Malta Song For Europe.

The festival was divided into 4 categories. Anhelica Pace and Nicole Agius competed in the first category (from 6 to 9 years). This was the fourth international experience for Anhelica, who managed to place third once again. Anhelica interpreted the song “Minn statwa ghal tifla”, composed and written by Kaya and Christopher Azzopardi and “Tu vuo fa l’Americano”. For Nicole Agius, this was her first international experience, and she managed to place first! Nicole interpreted the song “Wuff Wuff Baw Baw, composed and written by Kaya and Christopher Azzopardi and “Tintarella di Luna”. Daria Birzu, from Romania obtained the second position in this category. 

In the second category (from 10 to 12 years), Rutger Scicluna Galea was the youngest participant who managed to reach the final. Rutger obtained the third position and the best interpretation award. Rutger interpreted the song “Lehen it-tfal”, composed and written by Kaya and Christopher Azzopardi and “Adagio”. This was Rutger’s second international experience after last May, he obtained the same position in an international festival in Poland. The Romanian Andreea Oprisan obtained second place whilst another Romanian, Viorela Storian placed first. 

Chantelle Abela participated in the third and last category (between 13 and 16 years) Chantelle obtained a prestigious certificate to sing in Russia in February 2013. She interpreted the song “Semmghali Għanja ħelwa” written and composed by Kaya and Joe Chircop and “Just walk away”. The “Gran Prix” winner was Presiyana Dimitrova from Bulgaria. 

On behalf of our editorial team, we would like to congratulate all the mentioned participants and wish them all the best of luck in their musical career and moreover, we encourage other participants to seek for such international opportunities, which surely boost their musical career and also strengthen their characters and personality. 

Source: escflashmalta.com, Kaya (Press Release)