Malta: X-Factor Malta kicks off tonight as the country seeks for its next Eurovision act.

The X Factor Malta kicks off tonight as the country begins its quest for the next Eurovision act and entry in Tel Aviv, Israel

The X Factor Malta will be the format through which the country will determine its next Eurovision 2019 representative and will be the first time the specific TV program to be aired in Malta. The first epidose will start tonigh at 20:50 CET and can be watched live  here. In tonight’s episode the acts we will see the candidate acts’ audition before the judges for the first time and they will decide who will pass to the next round of the competition.

Τhe judge’s panel as we have already informed you in a previous post will consist of the following :

• Howard Keith Debono –  Artists’ manager , among them Ira Losco, the two times Maltese Eurovision representative.
• Ray Mercieca –  One of the country’s most popular artists well known from his work with the bands The Characters and The Riffs.
• Alexandra Alden – The Maltese artists is based in present time in The Netherlands where she graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree. She has two No1 hits from her first album and has released a second one under an international label.
• Ira Losco – The almost winner of  Eurovision 2002 in Tallin with her entry 7th Wonder. She came back in the 2016 edition with her song Walk on Water, where she finished 12th in the Grand final.

The X Factor Malta comes this year as the successor of the older national selection process entitled Malta Eurovision Song Contest (MESC). The previous formula of national selection is known too as  Malta Song Festival and had determined the Eurovision acts from the country’s debut in 1971 up to now. The show went through different kind of amendments with the introduction of televoting and the elimination of the semi finals.

In 2018 Christabelle, winner of MESC 2018, represented Malta with her entry Taboo. Despite her energetic performance she failed to reach the final finishing 13rd in the 2nd semi final in Lisbon last May.