The Konkors Kanzunetta Indipendenza has been well adapted not only to promote the best in local talent but also the language with the competition remaining the only particular background for Maltese, one of the main items which many can identify to be heritage. The pace of the festival went smoothly except for a small minor glitch during one of the latter entries which prompted an immediate restart and ultimately a great response from the audience. The Established Category featured performances from twenty acts in total with a variety of genres well represented whilst the Teenage Category features a total of four entries this time round because of a tie in third place in the second phase of competition which was televised through the programme Indifest as hosted by Ronald Briffa and Christine Haber who were also the comperes for the evening. In the end, the winners of each respective category were agreed upon by the jury panel made up of Mike Spiteri, Ludwig Galea, Mandy Micallef Grimaud and Matthew Calleja.
It is important to point out that the introduction of the mychoice.pn award was a welcome addition with the online voting racking in multitude of votes from all over the country whilst the tele-voting has always kept things on edge. The top three results were resoundingly met with applause especially as Domenique with the track Tama u Kuraġġ composed by Philip Vella and penned by Cher Vella was the first announced in third place, followed by Marilena Gauci and her song Bl-Ikbar Serjetà composed by Philip Vella and penned by Joe Chircop and then finally a content and surprised Deborah C with the anthemic Jekk Nużaw Moħħna penned by Joe Chircop to the music of Mark Spiteri Lucas. In the meantime, when it comes to the teenage category, the jury played a pivotal role in selecting the track Bil-Bnadar F'Idejna composed by Miriam Christine and penned by Joe Chircop therefore making Joe Chircop, one of the most decorated men in the competition alongside Mark Spiteri Lucas who together also went onto tele-voting with Deborah C and the aforementioned Jekk Nużaw Moħħna as well as the mychoice.pn award which went to Roseanne Cordina with the track Id-Demm ta' Raymond composed by Mark Spiteri Lucas and penned by Paul Ellul. Below you can note the full result, an escflashmalta.com exclusive.
Teenage Category
01. Bil-Bnadar F'Idejna - Sarah Bonnici (Miriam Christine / Joe Chircop) - 208 points
02. Ħbieb ta' Veru - Maria u Justine (Kaya / Christopher Azzopardi) - 192 points
03. Il-Libertà - Antoine u Kayleigh (Ray Agius / Michael Vella Haber / Evelyn Saliba La Rosa) - 176 points
04. X'Qaltli L-Arzella - Antonella Rapa (Mark Spiteri Lucas / Joe Friggieri) - 164 points
Established Category
01. Jekk Nużaw Moħħna - Deborah C (Mark Spiteri Lucas / Joe Chircop) - 388 points
02. Bl-Ikbar Serjetà - Marilena Gauci (Philip Vella / Joe Chircop) - 368 points
03. Tama u Kuraġġ - Domenique (Philip Vella / Cher Vella) - 337 points
04. Id-Demm ta' Raymond - Roseann Cordina (Mark Spiteri Lucas / Paul Ellul) - 314 points
05. Mhux L-Ewwel Darba - Neville, Ivan u Claire (Augusto Cardinali / Giovann Attard) - 304 points
06. Indipendenti - Danica Muscat (Philip Vella / Cher Vella) - 294 points
07. Kemm Xtaqt - Laura Bruno (Frederick Camilleri) - 292 points
08. Dell L-Istilel - Rachel Verzin (Dominic Cini / Stephen Baldacchino) - 282 points
09. Ħalluni - Kylie Coleiro (Philip Vella / Joe Chircop) - 275 points
10. Għidli Int - Julie Pomorski (Augusto Cardinali) - 274 points
11. Missjoni Impossibli? - Ishmael Grech (Philip Vella / Rita Pace) - 271 points
12. Se Nibda Jien - Dario u Grecia (Dario Bezzina / Rita Pace) - 256 points
13. Mill-Bidu Nett - Francesca Scerri (Elton Zarb / Rita Pace) - 237 points
14. Tagħna L-Isbaħ Żmien - Esilana (Ray Agius / Alfred C Sant) - 229 points
15. Dan Mhux Tmiem - Corinne Caruana (Mark Scicluna / Rita Pace) - 225 points
16. Id F'Id - Simone Gauci (Renato Briffa / Keith Zammit) - 221 points
17. Rebbiħin - Francesca Sciberras (Miriam Christine / Celestina Sciberras) - 205 points
18. Abjad u Iswed - Stephanie Zammit (Philip Vella / Gerard James Borg) - 189 points
19. Kburin Bik - Christian Azzopardi (Philip Vella / Joe Chircop) - 177 points
20. Flimkien - Kristen Camilleri (Philip Vella / Cher Vella) - 176 points
escflashmalta.com and Music News Malta had the opportunity like in the past two years to speak to the winning artist and composer of the track, this year being none other than Deborah C and Mark Spiteri Lucas respectively. The Gozitan singer who is currently reading for a Bachelor of Arts Degree at the University of Malta is extremely happy with the victory stating she indeed 'did not expect it' and ultimately adding that it was even more positive to note that the 'jury and the public agreed unanimously' on the track which they have worked hard to present. She thanked all of the people who supported her from Gozo and Malta as well as her entourage for making this a possibility. Speaking to the composer of the track, he told us that since 2001, he has managed to finish on top on 'five different occasions' making this his 'third victory in six years'. He notes that it was a combination of teamwork which saw to the fact to break records in the Konkors Kanzunetta Indipendenza making this the first entry 'to win both the public and jury vote within the same year'. The editorial board would like to congratulate all of the respective winners and better luck next time to all those who tried and did not succeed this time round.
Source:
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