You can say that Paul Giordimaina has experienced the Eurovision song contest from every possible point of view. Together with Georgina, he represented Malta in 1991 with the song Could It Be. The song made it to the sixth place. Then last year Paul once again packed his bag and joined the Malta contingent, this time round as the composer of the winning song, Glen Vella’s One Life.

“The 1991 experience had a very positive effect on my career. Our performance left a great impact and led to various invites to take part in shows abroad, such as in Turkey and Canada. Even locally, having represented Malta at the Eurovision did earn me more respect and stability in my career.”

Last year’s experience in Dusseldorf with Glen Vella was equally memorable, he says. From the point of view of the Maltese delegation, everyone felt that Glen and his team had given a very polished performance and the fact that Malta didn’t make it to the finals was pure bad luck.

“When you think that we needed just one point more... ah well...”

Of course, from a composer's point of view, the experience is a lot less nerve-wracking than when the whole performance depends on you! Part of Paul’s responsibilities included making sure that the preparations went as smoothly as possible and that all those who were to go on stage were in good spirits, particularly Glen, of course.

So what works in terms of song style? What should we be sending their way this year?

“There is no formula for a winning Eurovision song. What works one year could backfire the next year. My advice is not to copy any style that was a success in the past years, but to focus on what one believes will appeal to the ‘particular’ Eurovision audience. The fact that this audience really has no rules regarding what it likes or doesn’t isn’t exactly helpful but... I guess I’d tell this year’s contestants to just be themselves on stage, to believe in the song and to sing from deep within. The result is not everything, aim for the respect of the audience because that’s the biggest prize of all.”

Paul adds that the Maltese passion for the event – both this weekend’s local competitions and the bigger contest in May – shows no signs of diminishing. He points out that when both events are on, traffic on the road is practically non-existent.  As for the same familiar faces making it to the Malta Eurovision year after year, this doesn’t really bother him:

“When you see much bigger countries than Malta, such as Ireland for instance, submit certain names time and time again, then I don’t see why we shouldn’t do the same in Malta as long as these people keep coming up with good tunes. Also, don’t underestimate the importance of experience in an event like this. It plays a major role. Having said all this, it’s only fair to point out that there is a good crop of newcomers in this year’s Malta Eurovision contest.”