All opinions expressed in this article are those of the person quoted and do not necessarily represent the opinions of other team members or ESC United as a whole.

There are 4 days left until Junior Eurovision 2022, and we are counting down the 16 nations participating in Yerevan, Armenia on Sunday, December 11, 2022.

Each day we will do an overview of a participating nation in alphabetical order, summarizing how they got to Junior Eurovision, a brief history of the nation’s participation, a brief biography of the artist, and finally, our “expert” panel of ‘ editors give the entries a score out of 10 and a short review.

Next, we look at Malta, a country that has developed a reputation for excellence in this contest despite its small size and relatively average performance in the adult version.

Malta’s history in the Junior Eurovision:

The history of Malta can be neatly divided into two periods: before the withdrawal and after the withdrawal. Malta was one of the nations in the first contest and went all the way without incident – 4th place in Daniel Testa’s “place”.Junior Swing” apart – in the lower levels until they retired in 2011 and 2012.

But when Malta returned, they came back with a vengeance. Gaia Cauchi’s “The Start” was a fitting name for their return in 2013, as it was the start of six straight top half finishes, including two wins, with “The Start” being the first .

Most importantly for Malta, Cauchi is one of the two Junior Eurovision winners for her country who seems best set for a musical career as an adult. Cauchi exemplifies what you want from this contest – a platform to help launch a future star.

The other winners for Malta, however, can eclipse it. Destiny Chukunyere not only raised the profile of Malta in the Eurovision contest, she also raised the profile of the Junior Eurovision itself with her stunning performance in “Not my soul.” Destiny will then continue to represent Malta in Eurovision 2021, giving the best result of the Mediterranean nation since 2005 by coming in 7th place.

Ela Mangion came in 5th place in 2018, but discovered that televoters can be as harsh to the Mediterranean nation as they are to Australia. “Marchin’ On” was second in the jury voting with 138 points, but only got 43 points from televotes.

Unfortunately, it got worse for Malta in 2019 as Eliana Gomez Blanco came in 19th and last place with “We Are More”, a cruel result for an artist who many experts predict will continue to have a successful career once it hits adults. “Chasing Sunsets” by Chanel Monseigneur did a little better, coming 8th out of 12 in Junior Eurovision 2020. Ike and Kaya then came 12th in Junior Eurovision 2021.

Before Junior Eurovision 2022:

Once again, the Maltese broadcaster PBS has again chosen a national final, this time choosing 16 acts and songs to compete in Malta Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2022.

The final took place on 2 October 2022 at the Rediffusion House in Gwardamanġa. The split of the jury/online vote was 75% / 25%, with the jury made up of the Maltese singer Mary Rose Mallia, the former Maltese Eurovision representatives Debbie Scerri (Eurovision 1997) and Ludwig Galea (Eurovision 2004 ), and presenter Roderick Azzopardi Custo.

Gaia Gambuzza won with “Diamonds in the Skies” which beat “Spark” by Andrea Camilleri and “Bounce” by Emma Kate Formosa.

The Artist:

Gaia Gambuzza is 13 years old and lives in Mosta, Malta.

Besides being a singer, Gambuzza is fascinated by speech pathology and wants to start a career in that field.

The disc:

“Diamonds in the Skies” was written by Red-Electrick frontman Matthew James Borg.

With that background, here’s what we at ESC United think about Malta’s entry for Junior Eurovision 2022.

Providing their thoughts on Junior Eurovision this season: Alice Christine (Washington, DC), Boris Meersman (Belgium), Gianluca D’Elia (New York City, New York), James Maude (Los Angeles, California), Roy Postema (The Netherlands), William Carter (Dallas, Texas), and Zephaniah Gabriel (The Philippines).

The Verdict:

Alice – 6 – “I like the catchy beat of this song, although I’m not sure if it will be memorable for the audience.”

Boris – 6 – “I may be embracing my new identity as a Eurotrash Himbo here but I feel like Malta makes the UK a lot better? While I feel that the UK is WAY too competent and sexual to really be considered good for JESC, “Diamonds in the sky” is silly and amateurish enough to accept it as canon. For a MOMENT I do not believe that Malta will give a genuinely good show, but it is good. “Diamonds in the sky” is a precious trash baby and I’m here for her journey.”

Gianluca – 6 – “At first I thought this was going to be a fun song, but it ended up feeling weak for me. When I heard the instrumental at the beginning, I was expecting a little more, but it fell flat. Visually, I found the music video to be really vibrant and fun, but the song itself didn’t match that. I hope that Malta maintains a similar vibe in the presentation. Gaia is an amazing artist, and I enjoyed the quirky choreography featured in the music video.”

James – 5 – “This could be speeded up a bit, more bass, and Gaia’s vocals could be more emphatic. Malta is trying to sell us energy with (dated) synths but Gaia itself is costing. It is certainly not being pushed to its limits like a certain Central Asian rival. There are elements of a potentially great song here, but for some reason Malta is refusing to get out of second gear here.”

Roy – 3 – “The revamp definitely made the song better, but the song still feels very dated and rather seedy. There is a lot of energy missing in the beat and backing track. Her voice is not full and rich either and overall the song feels very empty. The BPM is also awkwardly paced which makes the song which is probably meant to be danced to, quite difficult to dance to. Standing still on stage is not an option with this song either and we kind of left a touch awkward and clumsy in my opinion. I hope it doesn’t discourage Gaia from pursuing a future in music, but I fear this could be one of the backmarkers of the year.”

William – 6 – “This is a really strong year for JESC. So when I say this is probably my least favorite song of the lot, just know that I still think it’s pretty good. On a songwriting level, it’s just a little… indistinct and suffers from the same type of lyrics that often plague the entries in Malta’s national finals. Gaia will sell it, however, and I can easily be won over.”

Zephaniah – 6.5 – “I thought the beginning of the song came from something like a League of Legends soundtrack. It’s upbeat again however, I don’t find the vocals to match very well. He can be a producer for me in the long run.”

Total: 38.5 points (Average = 5.5)

With a high individual score of 6.5, it is no surprise that Malta sits in the middle of our points table. Unfortunately most reviewers expressed indifference, which is a greater danger to a Eurovision entry than a divisive one with a small group of supporters and a large group of haters. Could that indifference, if our panel is representative of Europe in general, translate into a low placement for Malta this year?

1.) Ireland – 56 points (Average = 8.0)

2.) Italy – 55.5 points (Average = 7.926)

3.) Armenia – 54.5 points (Average = 7.786)

4.) Georgia – 52.5 points (Average = 7.5)

5.) France – 52 points (Average = 7.428)

6.) Kazakhstan – 45 points (Average = 6.429)

7.) Albania – 42.5 points (Average = 6.071)

8.) MALTA – 38.5 points (Average = 5.5)

What do you think about Malta’s entry? Do you think #INTI Malta will be hot or cool this year? Let us know in the comments below, on social media, or in our forum.