Former Maltasong chairman Grace Borg said today that she did not wish to hinder Malta Song for Europe winner Thea Garrett as her career developed, but she insisted that a management contract she signed with the singer last year was still valid.

Ms Borg yesterday filed a judicial protest against PBS claiming a breach of her exclusive rights.

Ms Borg said that Exotique had been working with Thea since summer and had invested thousands of euros to find opportunities for the girl because they believed in her.

Thea came second in an academy show last March and Exotique then sent her to Rome and Milan in search of opportunities. She sung with Gigi d’Alessio and she could have sung a song written by Andrea Bocelli.

Ms Borg said that when PBS issued a call for a Eurovision coordinator, she refused the job as during the interview she was told that she would have to drop any management contracts she might have.

She said that in the meantime, Exotique got a German composer to write a song for Thea. But Thea wanted to sing My Dream and although Exotique were not happy about the situation, they gave in because they felt it was important that Thea was happy. However, they insisted on certain changes to the tune to get it more suitable for Thea’s tonality.

After the song was chosen as a finalist, Exotique never heard from Thea anymore and Ms Borg said she received a letter from Thea’s father saying he wanted to dissolve the contract.

However, Ms Borg said, the contract still stood and anyone signing anything on behalf of Thea Garrett could be sued for damages. However, she was willing to discuss the situation with whoever was interested and she was open to finding solutions.

She warned, however, that if the situation was not resolved she would inform the European Broadcasting Union, which organises the Eurovision song contest, that one of the contestants had a management contract that was not being respected.

Exotique could also sue PBS for not delivering by not giving Thea the best possible exposure, she said.