Sephora Bonsfield is a promising model, actress and singer from Malta. She also likes to dance and tries to incorporate this in to her singing activities.
Sephora earlier this year performed One Step Away (a song that finished third in the Malta Song For Europe for Ira Losco in 2002). She performed it on her mission in a special charity show Maratona B’Risq Il-Missjoni 2016.
Sephora has also performed many pop songs including Valerie, Someone’s Watching Over Me, Man I Feel Like A Woman, Warwick Avenue and others.
Gaia Cauchi won the 2013 Junior Eurovision Song Contest for Malta with The Start. Her stunning vocals and charming performance was admired all around Europe and the world. Gaia is maturing all the time as an artist and top vocalist and has since appeared on tv and festivals around Europe including Russia.
Gaia has just recorded her interpretation of the Lana Del Ray song, Young and Beautiful. She has filmed a beautiful video that also features the dancing of Victoria Pavlova. Victoria is 15 year old girl from Russia who visited Malta for a vacation. She met Gaia and wanted Gaia to sing for her whilst she danced.
The production of the video is by Three Wise Men Media with choreography by Dorian Mallia. The sound engineer is Cyprian Cassar. Credit for makeup is to Marygrace Scicluna and hair is by Clinton Attard.
Gaia Cauchi {copyright: Three Wise Men Media}
You can see the video for Young and Beautiful below.
Source: Three Wise Men Media; Facebook.com/Gaia Cauchi; ESC Covers
1994 – KEEP ME IN MIND – MIKE SPITERI = 1 CD
1995 – MORE THAN LOVE – CHRIS & MOIRA = 1 CD
1996 – IN A WOMAN’S HEART – MIRIAM CHRISTINE = 1 CD
1997 – LET ME FLY – DEBBIE SCERRI = 1 CD
1998 – THE ONE THAT I LOVE – CHIARA = 2 CD’S
1999 – BELIEVE ‘N PEACE – TIMES THREE = 1 CD
2000 – DESIRE – CLAUDETTE = 1 CD
2001 – ANOTHER SATURDAY NIGHT – FABRIZIO FANIELLO = 1 CD
2002 – 7TH WONDER – IRA LOSCO = 1 CD
2003 – TO DREAM AGAIN – LYNN = 1 CD
2004 – ON AGAIN … OFF AGAIN – JULIE & LUDWIG = 2 CD’S
2005 – ANGEL – CHIARA = 1 CD
2006 – I DO – FABRIZIO FANIELLO = 1 CD
2007 – VERTIGO – OLIVIA LEWIS = 1 CD
2008 – VODKA – MORENA = 1 CD
2009 – WHAT IF WE – CHIARA = 1 CD
2010 – MY DREAM – THEA GARRETT = 2 CD’S
2011 – ONE LIFE – GLEN VELLA = 1 CD
2012 – THIS IS THE NIGHT – KURT CALLEJA = 1 CD
2013 – TOMORROW – GIANLUCA = 1 CD
2014 – COMING HOME – FIRELIGHT = 1 CD
2015 – WARRIOR – AMBER = 1 CD
2016 – WALK ON WATER – IRA LOSCO = 1 CD
Sebastian Calleja {copyright: facebook.com/sebastian.calleja}
Sebastian Calleja is a promising young singer from Malta and he recently won the 2016 OGAEvision Song Contest in Berlin, Germany. Here he talks to ESC Covers about that experience and his music.
Hello Sebastian. Congratulations on winning the OGAEvision Song Contest. Could you tell us how you got involved in this contest and what song you performed?
First of all thanks for this interview and for your praise I really appreciate. Well I got involved in this contest since the organizers contacted my mentor Glen Vella and told him about this contest and the organizers suggested me to represent Malta. I accepted this challenge and we really worked hard as a team. The song that I had represented my country Malta with was ‘Golden Boy’ originally sang by Nadav Guedj. We had chosen this song as my entry since it is an energetic song and we were looking for something different and the best song was ‘Golden Boy’.
Can you tell us a little about yourself and about any songs you have recorded?
I am 18 years old from the village of Hal Qormi in Malta. Currently I am a student of the Financial Services within MCAST college. Back in 2014 I had the privilege to represent my country in Sanremo Junior with the song ‘If Tomorrow Never Comes’ by Ronan Keating and also in the same year I had took part in Microfono D’Oro in Italy which I placed 2nd, one point away from of the first place, with another Eurovision entry ‘Era Stupendo’.
This year I was a resident singer on one of the most popular Maltese game shows called Hadd Ghalik presented by the talented Angie Laus, where I had record a lot of songs like ‘Karma Chameleon’, ‘Shake It’ and ‘Chasing The Sun’ performed with Glen Vella. Maybe those who would like to see and listen to some of my songs they are all uploaded on YouTube.
Are you a fan of Eurovision music? If so, what are your favourite Eurovision songs from the past?
Yes, I am a big Eurovision music fan There are a lot of songs which are my favourites but if I had to choose three songs;
Nadav Guedj – Golden Boy (ESC 2015 Israel)
Il Volo – Grande Amore (ESC 2015 Italy)
Loreen – Euphoria (ESC 2012 Sweden)
Do you have plans to submit a song for the Maltese Eurovision selection in the future?
Yes, currently there are plans for the future for me to submit a song for the Maltese selection but we are still discussing it, so yes in the nearby future I will be submitting songs and hopefully they will pass for the Maltese Selection.
What do think of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest? Did you ever consider entering this when you were younger? Junior Eurovision helps a lot of children to establish their talents on stage and this will help them for the future and to get more professional in their career.
If I had the chance yes I wanted to take part but unfortunately when I was younger and when I started my career Malta had stopped taking part for two years and then PBS had started to choose our entry by Internal Selection.
Have you participated in any other song festivals either in Malta or abroad?
Yes, as mentioned before I represented my country twice more abroad apart from the OGAEvision Song Contest in Germany.
I took part in Sanremo Junior where I had the privilege to perform with the live orchestra of Sanremo which was an unforgettable experience. I had performed the song originally sung by my idol Roan Keating where I had placed in fourth place among all the countries taking part.
Also in the same year 2014 I had been chosen to represent my country in Microfono d’oro in Mirandola Italy. Where I placed in second place with the song ‘Era stupendo’ one of the Eurovision entries back in 2008 which had represented Switzerland by the famous singer Paolo Meneguzzi.
Who are your musical influences?
So, my individual preferences which had left an impact on me in my singing career are Whitney Houston and Ronan Keating.
Anyway we wish you good luck with your career. Keep ESC Covers informed of your news about singing.
You can see Sebastian perform the OGAEvision Song contest song, Golden Boy, on Hadd Ghalik show in Malta below.
Malta recently held a national selection to find their competitor for the 2016 Junior Eurovision Song Contest on their home ground on 20 November. 20 finalists took part performing a cover version song. The winning act was 13 years old, Christina Magrin, who performed a marvellous version of the Donna Summer & Barbra Streisand hit, No More Tears. Voting was 75% jury and 25% televoting.
The 20 finalists and cover songs were –
Miguel Bonello – Fifth Element, Diva Dance Kira Copperstone – Listen Dylan Curmi – See You Again Francesca Dimech – Dear Future Husband Layla Fitouri – And I Am Telling You Fusion – In Love With A Monster Francesca Grima – Titanium Krista Hili – Glitter And Gold Rachel Lowell – I Surrender Kaylie Magri – When We Were Young Christina Magrin – No More Tears Eila Mangion – Listen Cledia Micallef – Bring Him Home Alexia Micallef – The Silence Luana Mifsud – Wrecking Ball Veronica Rotin – I Will Always Love You Justine Shorfid – I’d Rather Go Blind Lisa-Marie Tabone – At Last Mariah-Nicola Vella – All I Ask Chanelle Zarb – Hollow
The song for Christina for the 2016 JESC will be announced at a later date. In the meantime you can see her perform No More Tears below.
Matt Muxu Mercieca has dedicated a special song to his late father who passed away 10 years ago and it is also poignant to anyone who last someone special. The song is called Pray and features a lot of familiar Maltese singers with Muxu. He thanks Cyprian Cassar & Elton Zarb, who helped with the production, and also Rodney and Alexia from Three Wise Media for the filming and editing.
Some of the artists featured include Gaia Cauchi, Federica Falzon, Destiny Chukunyere, Amber, Maxine Pace, Christabelle, Deborah C, Franklin and other fine performers. Lots of these artists are familiar to the Malta Eurosong or Maltese Junior Eurovision singers.
Muxu is a singer/songwriter and has been involved in writing the winning Junior Eurovision songs for Gaia Cauchi (2013 – The Start) and Destiny (2015 – Not My Soul). He also wrote Warrior for Amber (2015 ESC Malta) and has written many songs for other singers.
My heart sank as I read the email from SAS. With just three weeks to go before Eurovision week in Stockholm, my flight from Malta to Stockholm (via Rome) had been changed, so that instead of a 6 hour flight, we would end up with a 13 hour flight via Copenhagen.
Given that we had booked the flights already seven months earlier, I lost my cool because this 13 hour connection meant that we would miss the first Jury show as our flight wouldn’t arrive until after 10pm. I forwarded the email to Niall, my friend in Australia, assuming he had the same issue because we were meeting up in Malta and then travelling Stockholm together.
It emerged he had the same issue, and that’s when I started to worry: would we get there? Would we have to buy more flights? How much would they cost with just three weeks to go? After some whatsapp chat, we agreed that it was best that I called SAS from London so I’m patiently waiting to be put through to an SAS Agent.
Sven finally comes on the line, speaking perfect English. There’s me on the line, blubbering, hollering, begging Sven to check the connections, to see if there’s an alternative to the 13 hour total journey time. No, explained Sven. The problem is due to an aircraft being taken out of service from Malta to Rome, therefore missing your connection to Stockholm. I understood this, I told him, but then I started to explain that I had booked these flights so long ago and to get this information so late in the day was so bad.
In the meantime, Niall was looking at alternative flights with other airlines: the cost was too high, the connection was too bad, or even worse than what SAS were coming back with. It was only at this time I realised how isolated Malta clearly was.
Sven provided an alternative route, which was only 15 minutes shorter than the 13 hour route. This is when I lost my temper. “Sven,” I said. “I didn’t want to have to tell you this, but the reason why I must get to Stockholm earlier is because I am part of the Maltese delegation for this year’s Eurovision.”
I heard tapping in the background, and Sven finally spoke: “Can I call you back? I may be able to do something, Mr. Stuart.” Hmph, I thought. My name isn’t Mr. Stuart, but let’s focus on the issue here: getting to Eurovision. I gave him my mobile number and, about an hour later, I get a call from a Danish number. I answer the call and it’s good and bad news: we still won’t get there in time for the jury show, but our flight time has been reduce to six hours with a flight via Frankfurt.
I was relieved, and thanked Sven. While the show had to go on, we would be arriving fashionably late, as members of the so-called Maltese delegation.
Federica Falzon represented Malta the 2014 Junior Eurovision Song Contest with her pop/opera style song Diamonds. She mesmerized audiences with her astonishing and mature vocals. Now Federica returns with a new song entitled O Madonna tal-Gilju Hanina.
The song is a prayer tribute for the feast of Our Lady of Lilies, in Mqabba in Malta, where the patron saint is the Assumption of St Mary. It is an upbeat pop song that once again showcases Federica’s unique and charming vocals. O Madonna tal-Gilju Hanina is composed by Elton Zarb, who wrote Diamonds for Federica, and Sunny Aquilina, who wrote The One That I Love for Chiara (1998 ESC Malta) and My Dream for Thea Garrett (2010 ESC Malta).d
O Madonna tal-Gilju Hanina was written especially to celebrate the 140 year anniversary of the band club in Mqabba and Federica was happy to give a special performance of the song at the village feast.
The OGAE Second Chance Contest 2016 kicked off on 1st of June and members of OGAE Rest of the World can still vote! We are now at the halftime – the deadline for send your vote is 30/06/2016 midnight CET.
To vote, you have to rate all the entries, giving them a point between 0 and 5, except the song No. 9 which represents Rest of the World (and of course, Hungary), so if you rate it, it doesn’t count…
We ask you to send your votes to escvotes@gmail.com until the deadline. If you vote, you’ll earn 10 points for 2017 Ticket List.
Here’s the playlist of this year’s 23 competitors:
01 Belgium I’m not lost Tom Frantzis 02 Belarus My universe NAPOLI 03 Ukraine Helpless The Hardkiss 04 Albania Liroje Zemrën Besa Krasniqi 05 Malta Golden Brooke 06 UK Shine a little light Bianca 07 Lithuania Leading me home Erica Jennings 08 Italy Cieli immensi Patty Pravo 09 Rest Of the World (Hungary) Who we are Kállay Saunders Band 10 Sweden Save me Wiktoria 11 Denmark Never Alone Anja Nissen 12 Austria I’ll be around Elly V 13 Latvia We will be stars MyRadiantU 14 Switzerland Half a smile Vincent Gross 15 Norway Laika The Hungry Hearts 16 Slovenia Črno bel Raiven 17 Estonia Supersonic Laura 18 Finland On it goes Mikael Saari 19 Israel Somebody out there Ella Daniel 20 Romania Behind the shadows Florena 21 Poland Cool me down Margaret 22 Germany Mystery of a blood red rose Avantasia 23 Spain La vida sólo es una María Isabel
