Malta was represented at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "Junior Swing", written and performed by Daniel Testa. The Maltese participating broadcaster, Public Broadcasting Services (PBS), selected its entry for the contest through Junior Eurosong 08, a national final consisting of 16 songs.
Before Junior Eurovision
Junior Eurosong 08 Junior Eurosong 2008 was the national final format developed by Public Broadcasting Services (PBS) to select its entry for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2008.
Competing entries Artists and composers were able to submit their entries between 7 and 8 August 2008. Artists were able to submit up to two songs, however, they could only compete with one song in the national final. PBS received 74 entries, and 36 songs were selected to compete in the semi-finals.
Semi-finals Two semi-finals took place on 9 and 11 September 2008, each featuring eighteen entries. Sixteen entries qualified for the final on 13 September 2008. Six juries (consisting of four adults and two kids) evaluated the songs during the shows and each jury had an equal stake in the final result. A seventh set of votes were the results of the public televote, which had a weighing equal to the votes of a single jury. The six members of the jury that evaluated the entries during both the semi-finals consisted of: Jesmond Baldacchino Simon Fenech Mark Andrews Annabelle Debono Michaela Attard (Kids Jury) Whitney Grech (Kids Jury)
Semi-final 1 The first semi-final took place on 9 September 2008 where eighteen songs competed for eight spots in the final. Artist Song Result 1Jade Cini"Do It for Me" 2Antonella Rapa"Cinderella" 3Francesca Zarb"Teenagers" Qualified 4Denise Spiteri"Eastern Breeze" Qualified 5Angelica Portelli"A Dream" Qualified 6Scarlet"Don't Hurt Us" Qualified 7Marisa Galea"Sing" Qualified 8Josmar Cassar"Id-dinja tiegħi" 9Natalia Gili"Magical Shoes" 10Claire Azzopardi"Rainbow Love" 11Jade Cini"Endless Voices" Qualified 12Yazmin Helledie"Let's Have Some Fun" 13Jodie"The Zoo" Qualified 14Daniel Testa"Holiday Express" 15Ana"Shout" 16Marie-Claire"In My Heart" Qualified 17Ylenia Vella"I Can't Live Without You" Qualified 18Whitney & Jody"Believe In You"
Semi-final 2 The second semi-final took place on 11 September 2008 where eighteen songs competed for eight spots in the final. Artist Song Result 1Danica Muscat"Touch of Joy" 2Mariah Mifsud Bonnici"Music of Your Heart" 3Norbert Bondin"Young and Free" 4Naomi Marie Bugeja"Mr. DJ" 5Francesca Sciberras"Fulfill My Dream" Qualified 6Shieradye Micallef"Singing in the Street" Qualified 7Daphne Xuereb"Summer Fun" 8Francesca Zarb"I Dream Awake" 9Daniel Testa"Junior Swing" Qualified 10Danica Muscat"Trust and Believe" Qualified 11Nicole Azzopardi"Good Times" Qualified 12Bernice Ann Mercieca"Pray" 13Denise Spiteri"City of Angels" 14Joseph Refalo"Tonight" 15Yazmin Helledie"Fly" Qualified 16Antonella Abela"The Land of Make Believe" Qualified 17Christian Muscat & Maria Cuschieri"Sing Your Life" 18Nicole Azzopardi"Once Upon a Time"
Final The final took place on 13 September 2008. The votes of an eight-member jury panel (8/9) and the results of public televoting (1/9) determined the winner. Eight juries (consisting of four adults and four kids) evaluated the songs during the shows and each jury had an equal stake in the final result. A seventh set of votes were the results of the public televote, which had a weighing equal to the votes of a single jury. The eight members of the jury that evaluated the entries during the final consisted of: Sigmund Mifsud Moyra Felice Debbie Scerri J. Anvil Yorika Attard (Kids Jury) Jake Cortis (Kids Jury) Deborah Faye Mercieca (Kids Jury) Darren Deneo (Kids Jury)
Artist Song Points Place 1Shieradye Micallef"Singing in the Street"737 2Francesca Zarb"Teenagers" 6311 3Angelica Portelli"A Dream"3516 4Denise Spiteri"Eastern Breeze"737 5Francesca Sciberras"Fulfill My Dream"6410 6Ylenia Vella"I Can't Live Without You"1114 7Marisa Galea"Sing"1065 8Jodie"The Zoo"1192 9Yazmin Helledie"Fly"1183 10Jade Cini"Endless Voices"4214 11Antonella Abela"The Land of Make Believe"6112 12Danica Muscat"Trust and Believe" 856 13Daniel Testa"Junior Swing"1401 14Marie-Claire"In My Heart"3915 15Nicole Azzopardi"Good Times"689 16Scarlet"Don't Hurt Us"5413
At Eurovision On 14 October 2008 the running order for Junior Eurovision took place, and the Maltese song was given the spot to perform in the tenth position; the same as in the 2007 contest. Daniel Testa reached to end up in the fourth place, the best position for Malta in this contest. This was also the best European result for Malta since Chiara's second position placing in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005.
Voting
+ Points awarded to Malta Score Country 12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
+ Points awarded by Malta Score Country 12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
Notes
References