With just a week to go before Malta begins the process of selecting their artist for Eurovision 2023, PBS have revealed the first 13 acts who will take to the stage as part of the first quarter-final.
MESC Quarter Final 1
The participants competing next Friday are:
| Artist | Entry (Translation) | Composer(s) | Author(s) |
| Haley | “Tik Tok” | Philip Vella | Gerard James Borg |
| Stefan Xuereb | “What Do You Want?” | Richard Micallef | Aidan O’ Connor |
| Clintess | “Lura Qatt “(Never Back) | Dominic Cini | Etienne Micallef |
| Fabrizio Daniello | “Try To Be Better” | Johan Bejerholm | Johan Bejerholm |
| Eliana Gomez Blanco | “Guess What” | Ray Agius | Alfred C. Sant |
| Christian Arding | “Eku Ċar” (Clear Echo) | Jan van Dijck | Emil Calleja Bayliss |
| Jason Scerri | “Anything Can Happen” | Jason Scerri | Jason Scerri |
| Maria Debono | “X’Allegrija” | Cyprian, Muxu | Cyprian, Muxu |
| Geo Debono | “The Mirror” | Daniele Moretti | Naill Mooney / Natasha Turner |
| Mikhail Attard | “Leħen Fiċ-ċpar” (Voice In The Mist) | Cyprian Cassar | Cliff Casha |
| Aidan | “Reġina” | Aidan Cassar & Boban Apostolov | Aidan Cassar |
| Nathan Psaila | “Creeping Walls” | Dominic Cini, Jonas Gladinikoff | Emil Calleja Bayliss |
| Klinsmann | “Piranha” | Mats Ygfors, Robin Svensson, Magdalena Ohlin, Gerard James Borg | Mats Ygfors, Robin Svensson, Magdalena Ohlin, Gerard James Borg |
The full list of participants for MESC 2023 can be found here, and you can listen to snippets of each of their songs here!
MESC 2023
The Malta Eurovision Song Contest is set to take place throughout January and February 2023. Four quarter-finals will be held on January 13th, 20th, 27th and February 3rd respectively. Of the forty artists competing, only 24 will make it to the semi-final on February 9th. Eight songs will be knocked out of contention and the remaining 16 songs will advance to the final. At the final, broadcast on February 11th, a combination of a jury and the public vote will help to determine the winner.
Malta’s Eurovision journey
Malta made its Eurovision debut in 1971, with Joe Grech performing “Marija I-Maltija” (Maria the Maltese Lass), finishing 18th with 52 points. Malta did not participate in Eurovision from 1975 until 1991. That year they returned with the song “Could It Be” by Paul Giordimaina and Georgina, finishing 12th with 32 points.
Since then, Malta has been at every Eurovision and finished in the top 10 an impressive 12 times. Their best result so far is second place, which they’ve achieved twice. The first time was in 2002, when Ira Losco sang “7th Wonder,” and the second time in 2005 with Chiara’s “Angel.” Malta’s most recent Eurovision entry was Emma Muscat, who scored 47 points in the semi-final, earning 16th place and therefore not qualifying for the final with the song “I Am What I Am”.
What do you make of the first quarter-finalists? Are there any artists you will be hoping that will make it to the semi-finals? Will you be watching the Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2023? As always, let us know what you think by commenting below. Also, be sure to follow “That Eurovision Site” on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tiktok as we prepare for Eurovision 2023!
News Source: PBS
Photo Credit: PBS
Tim J 
Rory Gannon
[…] is hosted throughout by hosting couple Ryan Borg and Josmar. This quarterfinal saw the likes of Aidan, Fabrizio Faniello and Eliana Gomez Blanco take to the stage, with both having previous experience at Eurovision […]