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people
Fabriziomania
As
he gears up for his Eurovision performance, Fabrizio Faniello
is already discovering that his popularity is soaring. NADINE
BRINCAT finds out how the 19-year-old is dealing with a bevy of
adoring fans…
He has been compared to Ricky Martin and with the exciting chance
to represent Malta at the Eurovision song contest in May, he may
well be set to emulate the Latin American singer's success.
But the 19-year-old, who gets his moment of glory on 12 May in
Copenhagen in front of an estimated audience of 500 million, has
already built up a strong fan base in Malta, and is even finding
that female fans have begun throwing their underwear at him.
"Now I know how Tom Jones feels!" he says with a smile.
Fabrizio's singing career started at a very young age, as he recounts.
"When I was eight years old I took part in a carol singing
concert at school, which started out as a joke, to tell you the
truth," he says with a smile.
But his teacher saw a spark in him, and suggested to his parents
that he should think about training his voice seriously.
So Fabrizio's mother took him for singing lessons with Phylisianne
Brincat, where his singing career began to flourish.
During the next few years, he took part in various contests and
shows, as well as in a few musicals, even finding time to take
piano lessons.
But music is not his only love, as Fabrizio explains, he put his
singing career on hold for three years, to play football with
Sliema Wanderers and later with the National team in the under
16 and 17s.
"It was a completely different experience, but very enjoyable,"
he says. "I was lucky enough to take part in two UEFA football
matches against Israel and Cyprus and even had the chance in 1997
to play for Torino for a year on trial."
As was inevitable, Fabrizio arrived at a crossroads when he had
to make a decision about his career.
"Paul Abela asked my mother whether I was still singing,
because he and Georgina wanted to write some songs for me, so
my mother persuaded me to come back to Malta," he explains.
It was one of Paul and Georgina's songs that won Fabrizio a place
in the final of the Song for Europe contest in 1998 – a big
boost for him, which encouraged him to take part in an international
festival in Bratislava, which he won in the same year. Hot on
the heels of this success was a top spot as best male singer at
the Malta Music Awards.
His win at this year's Song for Europe competition marked the
fourth time Fabrizio participated and gave him great satisfaction
after he was pipped at the post last year.
He admits that he was pleased with his performance musically during
the contest, adding that he now realises his recent work in television
has helped provide him with more confidence.
"With hindsight I realise that I was not sufficiently experienced
before and perhaps was not ready to deal with success," he
concedes.
So how does Fabrizio view his chances in the Eurovision?
The enthusiastic singer's reaction is immediate.
"I believe in the song, I liked it as soon as I heard it,
even though it is different from my usual style, which is not
so up-tempo," he says, animatedly. "I was also very
pleased to receive such great support from the public."
Of course, I couldn't resist asking Fabrizio about his bevy of
screaming fans, at which point he laughs.
"Yes, of course I'm aware of them and I believe their ages
range from young to middle aged and even elderly!" he says
with a smile. In fact, ‘Fabriziomania' reached a peak on
Valentine's night when, before he performed live to a crowded
bar at the Black Bull Pub, Paceville, a mob of screaming girls
surrounded his car, forcing security to escort the young heart-throb
into the bar.
"It's true that some girls were throwing their underwear
at me, but joking apart, what is most important is the fans' appreciation,"
he says.
So now he is gearing up for the Eurovision, I am interested to
know what Fabrizio believes to be the ideal formula for a winning
song.
"I do not think that there is one formula," he answers.
"If you look back, ballads were more popular before, but
more recently, there has been a change in style, with songs moving
towards a more youthful beat. We have to remember that over 500
million viewers worldwide follow the Eurovision song contest and
a large part of the audience is made up of youngsters, who are
enjoying the recent comeback of Latin American music. I believe
that there is bound to be some influence from this style at this
year's contest."
Fabrizio has words of praise for his songwriters, pointing out
that Paul Abela's style is popular among the audience, and, since
they have the ultimate vote, this was instrumental in his victory.
The young singer has now recorded his winning song, Another Summer
Night in Germany, where it was modified, with the beat made more
powerful, and improvements made to the general packaging of the
song.
Fabrizio, who also did a photo session for the CD cover and other
promotional material, explains that the video for the song is
being shot by a German director, who has directed over 70 music
videos, many of which have appeared regularly on MTV.
And now, he is channelling his energy into getting his act as
polished as possible, with plans to attend a number of workshops,
although he stresses that although it is a performer's dream to
win the Eurovision, for now, he is taking things one step at a
time.
"I am not thinking about the finals," Fabrizio stresses.
"I just want to give a good performance."
Fabrizio's
song, Another Summer Night, composed by Paul Abela, with lyrics
by Georgina Abela, won the Song for Europe Festival with 154 points.
Photo by Paul Blandford
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