Chiara top for online interest

If internet interest is anything to go by, popular singer Chiara is the favourite to represent Malta at this year's Eurovision Song Contest.

With just one week to go before the Malta Eurosong 2009, a video clip of her song has already generated about 20,000 hits on the video-sharing site Youtube.com, more than double any other song.

Chiara, who has already taken part in the Eurovision contest twice, placing third in 1998 and then second in 2005, is hoping to be third-time lucky if she wins the local festival this year.

The video clip of her song What If We is also the most commented upon, with people from all over the world joining in the discussion about whether she deserves a third try.

But while she has countless fans, there are many who argue that her song is not as strong as her previous ones and are not sure if her voice and charisma will be enough to win her a spot in Moscow's final in May.

With more than 9,500 views, another video clip generating a lot of interest is that of the song Kamikaze Lover, interpreted by television presenter Joseph Chetcuti and his band Baklava.

Dr Chetcuti, a lawyer by profession, has already been on the Eurovision stage, when he appeared bare-chested playing the violin for Olivia Lewis's unsuccessful song Vertigo two years ago.

In this case, the violin features more than the lyrics on the song, which sounds like something out of The Phantom Of The Opera. The lyrics are spoken rather than sung, making this a strange, but by far the most original, entry.

Interestingly, the third most viewed video, with 8,200 hits, is Song In My Heart, by Trilogy. This trio has performed very well on the local stage since they started taking part some years ago. Their trademark sound is similar to that of musical-theatre with dramatic harmonies and uplifting melodies.

But while the internet is a good place for Eurovision fans to listen to their favourite songs and make up their minds on who to vote for, hit ratings are not always a good indicator of who will win.

In fact, the comments below each video vary. In an uncensored forum like Youtube.com, some singers are actually told to call it quits or, in some extreme cases, urged to do much worse!

Also, songs that generated a lot of interest last year, such as those of former Eurovision representative Mary Spiteri, and newcomer Jean Claude Van Cell, failed to translate into votes.

More importantly, this year a panel of five foreign judges will be selecting the three super-finalists, so the public, through televoting, will only get a choice of three songs.

What is sure is that the discussion is already raging online about who should represent Malta in the competition with a reputation for kitsch that one either loves or hates.

The Malta Eurosong 2009 will be held next Saturday.

cperegin@timesofmalta.com