Lynn Chircop dares dream again

Driving to the Song for Europe Festival last Saturday, Lynn Chircop was looking forward to her new adventure and, though she dreamed of winning, did not dare consider this wild thought for more than a few seconds.

"While we were backstage, people were naming the contestants whom they thought had a very good chance of winning - my name was never among them," Lynn said, pulling her hair back with perfectly manicured fingernails.

Renowned as a perfectionist by all those who know her, Lynn was psyching herself up to give it her best on the final night at Tà Qali and her mind was racing with ways to perfect her three-minute performance.

"When I finally got on stage I was blinded by the lights so I just focused on the first few rows and sang from the heart - I didn't even hear the people clapping," she said.

Lynn, 22, yesterday still felt as though she was living a dream and that somebody would suddenly pinch her and jolt her back to reality.

Reality should sink in after today and tomorrow when Lynn will be locked up at Farmhouse Studios where local company Bridge Productions will be re-recording her winning song.

Last December, Bridge Productions was awarded a one-year contract to develop and promote the winner of the festival. It has roped in its international partners Edel Records and Public Propaganda, a leading marketing and distribution company in Europe.

When Lynn was announced winner she was dumbstruck, and the audience was just as surprised that a virtual newcomer had beaten off the favourites to steal the show.

Lynn secured 150 points for her rendition of To Dream Again, which was composed by Alfred Zammit and written by Cynthia Sammut.

Lawrence Gray, who was being named as the favourite in the weeks ahead of the festival, came in a close second with 147 points for Why Not, written and composed by Ray Agius.

Günther Chetcuti placed third with 125 points singing Light of My Life, which was composed by Paul Abela and Roger Tirazona and written by Doris Chetcuti.

Lynn will now represent Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Riga, Latvia on May 24. This year there are 26 countries taking part and Lynn will be singing in the fifth position.

Lynn is already feeling the pressure of representing her country and the need to place among the top 10 to guarantee Malta's participation in 2004, after the European Broadcasting Union changed its format for the Eurovision.

"Just the thought of it unnerves me so I have decided not to think about it and just go there and give it my best shot, come what may."

Despite being a complete newcomer to the festival scene, Lynn is an extremely talented musician and she captivated her audience at the last edition of Teatru Unplugged.

Lynn lives and breathes music and she has strayed away from the conventional office job, preferring instead to sing and play the piano at hotels and different nightspots.

Lynn also forms part of a band, Blend 7, which was set up just a year ago.

She also dedicates a lot of time to developing her own music and she is presently writing three compositions which she describes as a mix between the music of Tori Amos and Alicia Keyes.

"Obviously, I want to develop my own style but I find these two musicians very inspiring," she said.

Lynn's tastes in music swing from jazz, to rock to classical, so her winning song To Dream Again is not exactly her style.

"However, I loved the song when I heard it and I believe it should do well in the Eurovision," she said.

Lynn now has an exhausting schedule ahead of her in the run-up to the Eurovision contest and Maltasong chairman Charlò Bonnici said the whole team would be planning a number of trips across Europe to promote her song.

Public Propaganda A&R manager Jörg Hiller said that once the song was re-mixed they would be working to develop the artist.

"Our target is to keep the artist existing once the Eurovision is over," he said.