We come to the song sitting at the top of the betting odds (at time of writing this) and also doing well across the board in various fan polls and other gauges of popularity. It’s so wonderful to see Malta doing so well (at least in the betting) as normally it would be those big Eurovision powers of Sweden, Russia, Italy etc. Malta is one of the smallest countries in the contest, yet they are super passionate Eurovision, have come close to winning it a few times and are one of the countries now with the most entries without a win. In the shape of Destiny, they have a real potential superstar of an artist, who won Junior Eurovision in 2015 but has gone on to grow in confidence and it’s been a matter of when not if she would represent Malta at the contest proper.

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Destiny Chukunyere is still only 18, but it feels like she has been known to the Eurovision community for quite some time and this appearance at the contest has been some years in the making. She’s appeared at various Eurovision-related events and has actually performed on the main Eurovision stage, albeit as an unseen backing singer for Michela who was the 2019 Maltese entry. Destiny won the second season of X Factor Malta in early 2020 to give her the right to represent Malta at the main contest. Wisely, they internally reselected her for 2021.

Her 2020 song, “All of My Love” was a fairly up-tempo R&B/soul song which actually finished in a similar place in my own top 41 countdown last year. “Je me casse” is altogether sassier number, and showcases Destiny’s confidence as an artist, and it’s a song about female empowerment. I personally think her 2020 song showcased her awesome vocals off more – but there’s plenty in here to be impressed by. It’s also got a very catchy instrumental drop that is 1920s inspired and is sure to be used in future Eurovision vignettes as accompanying music.

So is this Malta’s time? Well, the betting odds, fan polls and general mood is all very positive. There’s no doubt that this will qualify for the grand final and I am sure this will do well with the juries. Where Malta has struggled in recent years is with the televote (2019 being a good example) but maybe this will have more of a cut through and success. I am sure Destiny is destined to have a very good result, and even if she doesn’t win, I am sure her future is bright (she just signed a worldwide deal with Sony).

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Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest