Review: Michela - Chameleon - Malta

TellyStats Rating:

1 Day YouTube Views: 301,821
1 Day YouTube Likes: 11,613

Failing to qualify last year, Malta return with Michela Pace singing "Chameleon", a contemporary dance track that appears to be taking the same tactical approach as other entries this year.

Malta tend to punch above their weight at Eurovision, they've certainly thrown some money at their entry this year, the music video for "Chameleon" is likely the slickest production of the all entries in 2019. In terms of song, they've made the right move in going for a contemporary track with a strong hook - but there are serious problems that need to be addressed.

The first major issue is that Malta is very much drinking from the same well as Cyprus, and in my view, Cyprus does it better. Both tracks seem to have been influenced by last year's "Fuego" and it shows - "Chameleon"'s "We are technicolour" lyric sounds very similar to the "Cos I'm burnin' up" section from "Fuego". Cyprus is a full-scale rip-off, but even so, it's still more enjoyable than Malta's entry.

The other, even more significant issue - that I can't believe has been allowed to slip through the net - is the absolutely terrible drop. The verses promise so much, the beat builds and then...not a lot, it falls flat on it's face and then moves onto the next verse as if nothing happened. Where's the chorus? Maybe the lyrics save it? No, it's just a lazy "Chama-chamelon" repeated a few times. What a waste.

Malta perform in the second half of the competitive second semi-final. They perform in the middle of a fairly dull spell of the semi between Croatia and Lithuania - both of whom I have down as non-qualifiers. Despite my misgivings about the track, it's probably contemporary enough to see them through to the finals.

The market currently has Malta as 6th favourite to win the entire competition, this feels way off in my estimation and stinks to me of Malta perhaps using dirty tactics to make it seem like more of a runner than it is. Saying that though, the YouTube hits for the official video are impressive, breaking the 300k mark with a decent Views to Likes ratio. Strangely, we don't seem to have "Chameleon" charting in any country on the iTunes charts. Something about this isn't right, we'll be watching Malta's rehearsal stats with interest.

Let us know what you think in the comments below.