Claudia Faniello beats 15 singers to represent Malta in Eurovision 2017
Performing the song 'Breathlessly', Claudia Faniello is this year's winner of the Malta Eurovision Song Contest
The public has voted singer Claudia Faniello to represent Malta in this year's edition of the Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Ukraine.
Faniello, 28, beat 15 other performers to take home the title of this year's Malta Eurovision Song Contest winner. Faniello's song, Breathlessly, garnered a total of 4,996 votes.
The song was composed by Philip Vella and Sean Vella and written by Gerard James Borg.
A popular favourite of the public, Janice Mangion, came second place with her Maltese song 'Kewkba'. Mangion obtained 4,544 votes.
Former Swedish Idol winner Kevin Borg came in third, with 2,502 votes.
Only one song per artist was shortlisted, meaning that each singer performed one song during the singing contest. The jury has been dropped in favour of 100% televoting.
The 2017 Eurovision Song Contest is being held in Kyiv, in May.
The contestants, in the order of appearance, were:
Performer: Klinsmann Coleiro
Song: Laserlight
Performer: Raquela Dalli Gonzi
Song: Ray of Light
Performers: Deborah C and Josef Tabone
Song: Tonight
Performer: Kevin Borg
Song: Follow
Performer: Jade Vella
Song: Seconds Away
Performer: Crosswalk
Song: So Simple
Performer: Franklin Calleja
Song: Follow Me
Performer: Rhiannon Micallef
Song: Fearless
Performer: Miriana Conte
Song: Don’t Look Down
Performer: Shauna Vassallo
Song: Crazy Games
Performer: Janice Mangion
Song: Kewkba
Performer: Cherton Caruana
Song: Fighting to survive
Performer: Maxine Pace
Song: Bombshell
Performer: Richard Edwards
Song: You
Performer: Unstoppable
Song: Brooke Borg
Performer: Claudia Faniello
Song: Breathlessly