After using the X Factor Malta for the past few years as their Eurovision selection method, in 2022 Malta is going back to their longstanding national final show Malta Eurovision Song Contest or MESC for short. With that comes 22 hopefuls who will all be competing for the ticket to Turin! Over the next two weeks join us for our series of interviews with the artists in the lead up to the show.

Next up its Jessica Grech, who is taking part with her song “Aphrodisiac”!

Welcome to MESC! What made you choose to submit a song and compete in Malta’s selection show this year?

Thank you! I’m a big Eurovision fan, it’s always been my dream to participate in MESC for the chance to represent Malta in Eurovision. So when the announcement that MESC is back was out, I got super excited and I started working on the song the next morning!

This year you’ll be performing “Aphrodisiac” at the contest. Tell us more about the song, working with the team behind it and why you chose this to be your entry?

My song is about an intimate relationship, in which I compare my lover to an aphrodisiac, specifically chocolate!

My initial idea for the song was for it to be a love song with a positive message, and when I saw lyrics, I was pleasantly surprised and I definitely think it suits me and my character.

I am very fond of my song, for which I have to thank the author Gerard James Borg and the composer Philip Vella, who worked very well with me and understood perfectly what I wanted in the song, and style etc. They have been very helpful throughout this journey and I’m very grateful.

I’m also working with southville dancers for the stage performance and I’m beyond grateful to be working with them.

And finally I have to mention my dear husband for his continuous support, none of this would be possible if he weren’t by my side 🙂

Tell us more about your background as a musician and performer. Who are your biggest influences and what inspired you to release music?

I’ve been singing ever since I could talk probably! But I started voice lessons in 2017 and since then I have represented Malta in Eleonora Lavore festival in Sicily, in 2018 as a finalist and as a special guest the following year. In 2018, I made it until the semifinals of Area Sanremo with my original song in Italian, Ricordo di un Re.

I am inspired a lot by Eurovision in general, my favourite Eurovision singers are definitely Maneskin, Mahmood, The Roop and Blas Canto. My favourites outside of Eurovision are Dua Lipa, Lana Del Rey and The Weeknd.

Can you give us any teasers about what to expect from your upcoming performance on stage?

I would like to keep people curious, but as I said earlier I will accompanied by Southville Dancers. The performance will be fun and  energetic and hopefully will make people want to get up and dance with us.

Eurovision is huge in Malta! What would it mean to you personally to represent your nation at the Eurovision Song Contest in Turin?

It is huge for Malta, in fact I’ve been following it my whole life!

It would mean the world to me to go to Eurovision and represent my lovely country! Singing at Eurovision is my ultimate life goal and when that happens, I will be like, okay I’m happy now, I can die peacefully 😂

We like to throw a random question in the mix… how many languages can you speak? Is there a language that you would love to learn?

I speak Maltese, English and Italian and I would love to learn Spanish! Which is also inspired by Eurovision, specifically Blas Canto who represented Spain in 2021, I just adored his song!

Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions. Best of luck in the contest! Did you have any message for your fans?

Thank you for supporting me in this journey, I promise you will see more of me in the future throughout my music career, and I hope you will continue to follow me and my music! Vote for me if you like my song, I can’t do this without your support ❤️

The semi final for Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2022 will be taking place on Thursday 17th February 2022  with the top sixteen performances qualifying for the grand final, which will be taking place on Saturday 19th February 2022.

You can vote for your favourites in our poll here!

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