4 semifinals, 36 tracks – I listened to all the songs vying to represent Malta at ESC 2024 so you don’t have to! Actually, no – listen to every song. There is a national final for you out there, I promise!
That said, this wasn’t it. On balance, I found Semifinal #4 to be exponentially better than the other three (combined), but the whole experience was rather gruesome – dodgy key changes, wayward vocals, a studio so empty it made all the acts look like they were singing while in line for the bathroom at a karaoke bar – but I did find 5 songs I like. And here they are:
It opens with an ambulance siren going off. There’s a key change every 10 seconds. An eagle sound effect gets dropped during the chorus. The production sounds like a rave but with a snake charmer flute. It’s definitely a divisive track, but it’s different and reckless and fun.
A pretty straighforward midtempo ballad with an interesting eletronic tinge to it. I wouldn’t necessarily call this grounbreaking, but the production does set it apart and there’s a level of polish about that felt like a welcome break from everything else in the first semifinal. The vocals are going to need a bit of work, but there’s time.
Moira Stafrace – Feather Flight
I was really into the soundscape of this track and Moira’s overall look – it’s a bit of an ’80s revival with a pulse that feels current and she’s wearing feathers (get it?!). The lyrics make no sense and I had a really hard time understanding her (“fire a blue burn”?) so I’m looking forward to the studio cut to take care of all that. Ideally.
This just sounds like a Eurovision bop. The harmonies are a bit, uh…dubious in places, but I love the code-switching betwen verses and chorus, it’s fun and uptempo and danceable, and they look like they’d be great to grab a drink with. This might realistically win.
This is the best song of the bunch. Just a really good, immersive, modern, well-sung midtempo breakup song with a layered, classy production and hook (Swedes know how to make good pop – periodt). Lisa delivered the best vocals of the bunch, and it’s the one I find myself humming along the most. This should win, and Malta historically loves a good ballad, and then the challenge becomes how to make it pop on stage. One thing at a time, though.
Malta will choose 12 songs to advance to the January final from a combination of popular and music expert votes. We might get a dud or two in there, sure, but I would also expect Banana and Topic (Bla Bla) to advance, which shoud make for quite the live show. We shall see!
ESC Etc. 
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