Now several months on from Eurovision 2024 we’ve all had a chance to mull over the results of the contest. The Eurovision 2024 final saw some very dramatic results, but 11 acts did not get a chance to see that. We thought we’d have a deep dive into these acts and give you our opinion on What Went Wrong. Today we’re going to discuss Malta’s Sarah Bonnici.
The second part in our series sees Kittens, Jazzi, and Angus discuss Malta’s Sarah Bonnici.
Who is Sarah Bonnici?
Sarah Bonnici is a 25 year old singer from Gozo in Malta. Since 2009, from a young age Sarah has been involved in the music industry. Sarah has been trying to get to Eurovision since 2009, when she entered the “Malta Junior Eurovision Song Contest” with “The Mambo Song”. In the competition, Sarah finished fourth. Later in 2010, Sarah tried to represent her nation in Junior Eurovision again, and while again she did not win the national final, she did win a chance to become a backing dancer for the eventual entry.
As Sarah entered her teenage years, she participated in singing competitions all over Europe in countries such as Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary. Sarah was also successful in a lot of these competitions. In 2018 Sarah also participated in the Maltese version of The X Factor. A few years later in 2022, Sarah competed in the adult version of the Malta Eurovision Song Contest, with her song “Heaven”. “Heaven” finished twelfth in the final.
Her Eurovision song for 2024, “Loop”, is written by John Emil Johansson, Kevin Lee, Sebastian Pritchard-James, Leire Gotxi Angel, Matthew James Borg, Michael Joe Cini, Joy Deb, Linnea Deb, Ale Zabala, as well as input from Sarah herself.
What are the issues with the selection?
Kittens – I think there’s much improved in this years selection actually, and while Malta do have a way to go for sure, they are definitely on a better road than they were. I’d love to see a bit more variety in the selection than just mostly pop songs, and I’d love to see more in Maltese (shout out to ERBA’ on this one!) but I feel like they did much better than anticipated.
Jazzi – The selection often feels like quantity over quality, the selection is often full of songs that are not even bad, they are just very middle of the road, and never really songs that Televoters will pick up the phone and vote for. At the time of writing Eurovision semi-finals are decided by televoting only, which is a recipe for disaster with Malta’s current format and song selection.
Angus – MESC has a reputation that is not entirely undeserved, but I will say this for Malta’s PBS: they are trying new things. Formats have been played around with, and while I don’t really get what their vision is, I do feel that they have one and are working their way towards it. More musical and linguistic variety would be nice, but I also know that Malta is a small country and that can lead to limited options.
Was the song and act good enough to be in Eurovision?
Kittens – Yes. I had initial misgivings but “Loop” was genuinely so catchy and fun, and had lots of room for Sarah to display her vocal talent as well as dancing/staging. I think the song was a lot of fun and while I don’t think it should have won, it definitely should have qualified.
Jazzi – Despite my criticisms of the selection process, I do have some praise for Sarah Bonnici and her song “Loop”, it was better than we have heard from Malta in the last two years. The staging, stage presence and vocals gave this everything it needed to qualify. However the song still felt very 2016/2017 girlbop, and while all put together it was a personal qualifier of mine, I can see why it didn’t quite make the cut.
Angus – This song was never going to work for me personally, but it is a solidly produced song that checks a lot of boxes. It was, however, a little dated and definitely something that has been done at Eurovision before to diminishing returns. Sarah Bonnici is a true performer however, really selling every element of the choreography and vocals. Was it one of my personal qualifiers? No, but for those 3 minutes that she stood on that stage I truly thought she might, regardless of the song.
Did the staging compliment the song and stand out?
Kittens – I love that the dance routine was just READY to go. She has such great stage presence. I feel like a problem with a stage physically that size, it can be really hard to fill it on a smaller budget, and several artists fell victim to this same issue. I wish they had been able to give a bit more of a visual identity to the song to make it stand out though.
Jazzi – I think the staging did compliment the song, and I think they really threw everything at this, in order to make it stand out in it’s semi-final. I think a big part of what made this staging successful was also Sarah’s stage presence which was on point. The staging should have made this standout but for some reason, going first in field of stronger songs wasn’t enough to make this good stage show reach the final.
Angus – The choreo was so strong I almost wonder if it came first and then the song was made. Some of the camera cuts needed to be snappier to sell the energy of the song even more, but that is a fairly minor gripe in what was overall a very strong staging.
Could this song have qualified if changes were made?
Kittens – I feel like unfortunately “Loop” was mostly a victim of circumstance, and going in first in the semi didn’t help. Do I think it could have qualified in a less banger-heavy year? Yes. While I do think changes could have been made to maybe brand the song more effectively, I suspect that the lineup of other tracks/artists grabbing attention was simply the main reason this didn’t qualify.
Jazzi – I don’t think it could’ve, I think everything was put into this to help it get through and it still wasn’t enough. While this is my favourite song from Malta since the reintroduction of their national final, it really does feel like something is broken. The staging and stage show stood out and Sarah performed well, however the song just left a lot to be desired and it showed on the night.
Angus – While the performance was stellar, the song and therefore overall package definitely needed a boost to get into the final. But instead of that boost, everything seemingly went wrong for Malta. First in the running order, other pop tracks that fans call bops or bangers, and in general a semi with a number of highly competitive songs, to the point that the eventual winner of the contest only finished 4th. If most or none of these things had happened, would Malta have qualified? Maybe, but it is tough to say.
What are our outlooks for future contests?
Kittens – The selection needs work, but I don’t think it’s as dire as people think it is. If Malta want to specialise in sending quality pop bops, then I’m all here for it. Clearly they are on a path and are trying to put more work into it. I’ve loved seeing what Malta have had to offer in MESC this year and honestly, I feel like it mostly just needs refining. But equally, I’d love to see more of what the real Maltese music scene has to offer, instead of importing songwriters and artists. It seems the Maltese music scene suffers a little from lack of budget, so I do feel for them, but they shouldn’t feel so bad about what they served up this year.
Jazzi – I do worry for Malta’s outlook if they keep their selection methods, since the return of the national final in 2022, Malta have been nowhere near qualifying. I think going back to a somewhat internal selection or an artist selection would be better for Malta, with this they can really go towards finding the right song for the artist, instead of giving an artist a lacklustre song from a song writing camp. If things continue the way they are with the televoting only semi-finals the future for Malta in Eurovision looks very bleak.
Angus – As I said, I geuinely think that PBS has a clear vision for MESC and Eurovision, even if I don’t quite see it. The format needs further work, and we need a broader selection of genres and energies being selected for the Maltese national final. Until that happens, I personally consider Malta as slight underdogs to qualify any random year, but I will very gladly be surprised and see them go on an absolute qualifying streak from here.
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, when 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 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.”
Sarah Bonnici represented Malta in 2024 with her song “Loop”. When all was said and done, Sarah placed 16th in the second semifinal, garnering 13 points.
What do think about our thoughts? Do you think Malta could have qualified? Let us know in the comments or on social media! Be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Threads and Bluesky as we prepare for Eurovision 2024!
Source: That Eurovision Site
Image Credit: Corinne Cumming / EBU
Tim J