Malta chose Sarah Bonnici’s “Loop” through what we consider to be one of the most embarrassing national finals of the year (second only to San Marino’s, though even San Marino had a live audience). Sarah Bonnici will perform 1st in the second semifinal.

This entry combines some of the previous entries’ failings such as too much self caressing (why is that a key component of the choreography?) and a see-through bodysuit (see yesterday’s post about Czechia). In many respects, this entry feels like a Chanel “SloMo” wannabe (Spain’s 2022 Eurovision entry). While Sarah Bonnici falls short of Chanel’s incredible stage presence, it does seem like she can sing and dance for the entirety of the song complete with lifts and flips (more than some of the similar dance-pop entries can say).

Malta’s national final is the definition of quantity over quality with 36 entries competing to represent the island nation with a population of approximately 500,000. What is it with the smallest countries having the most contestants? (San Marino also had a ton of entries). “Loop” took first place beating out Matt Blxck’s unhinged second place entry, “Banana,” which is impressive given the monkey masks on the back-up dancers and the fact that he finishes the song riding a giant banana.

“Loop” is a pretty generic dance-pop song, however the “loo-ooo-oop” in the chorus is infectious. If she can open the second semifinal with on-point choreography (modified to have less caressing, please) and stable vocals, then we can see this song making it into the final. Right now though, it is not going to be on “Loop” for us.