[WATCH] ‘Never say never’ – Ira Losco tempted to give Eurovision a third shot

Ira Losco says Malta will never win Eurovision if jury is eliminated from voting format

Ira Losco refused to rule out a third bite at the Eurovision cherry, but suggested that the public may not welcome such a move.

“I think that a great chunk of the Maltese public will tell me to give other singers a chance and I would kind of agree with them,” she told the press after a private meeting at Castille with Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and PBS CEO Anton Attard. “Also, my boyfriend will probably get a heart attack if I decide to compete again.

"Never say never though; it was such a fantastic experience that it would be very tempting for me to do it all over again. The organisation and staging of the competition is simply every performer’s dream. It’s amazing.”

Ira Losco ranked 12th in Saturday’s Eurovision final with her song Walk on Water, boosted by a strong jury vote – who ranked her in fourth place. However, she was let down by the televote – ranking 21st out of 26 countries.

She warned that Malta will never win the Eurovision Song Contest if the jury is ever eliminated from the voting format, arguing that the televote “benefits the bigger countries”.

“Singers in the ex Soviet countries, such as [Russian Eurovision singer] Sergei Lazarev, are popular throughout the region. It was obvious that these countries were going to vote for Lazerev, just as Gozo would have voted for me if they were allowed to compete in the Eurovision.”

She said that she had tried to play down the public’s hopes that she had a chance of winning the contest.

“A lot of people were expecting me to finish in a higher position than 12th because I had finished second back in the day in 2002. However, I always said that the competition has changed so much since then. More countries compete nowadays, with many different genres, and it’s a very difficult competition to be in. Overall 12th is a great result. Fourth from the jury says a lot, but the televoting is what it is. We are a very small island, in comparison with the big boys who ranked top. It is a very valid result, and I believe Malta is relevant.”
She urged local artists not to stick their noses up at the Eurovision, insisting that the contest has become “very relevant to the music industry”, which has in turn resulted in fiercer competition.

“It’s great for an artist to travel to another country and try their luck busking, but this experience [the Eurovision] is also one to which local artists should aspire.”