Emma Muscat ranked 16th during her Eurovision Song Contest semi-final on Thursday, scoring just 47 points, official results released early on Sunday show.
The official Eurovision scoreboard showed that Malta’s entry scored 47 points, ranking Emma 16th out of 18 participants during the second-semi final, leaving Malta in the lurch.
The final placement of Eurovision Song Contest competitors is determined by combining scores achieved in voting by national juries and televoting audiences.
On the night, Malta received 20 points from televoters, with Ireland, Estonia, North Macedonia, and Azerbaijan each giving Malta 3 points, the highest score I am What I am - Malta's entry - received.
The song fared no better when it came to winning the hearts of the national juries, receiving just 27 points.
Sweden gave Malta seven points, while Estonia, San Marino, the Czech Republic, and Georgia each gave Malta one point.
The combined results meant Muscat ended up in the 16th position in that semi-final. The only two other countries to do worse than Malta were Montenegro which placed 17th and Georgia, which came last.
Sweden’s Cornelia Jakobs with her song ‘Hold Me Closer’ won the second semi-final, scoring 368 points.
Televoting score for Malta (Total 20 points)
3 points- Ireland, Estonia, North Macedonia, Azerbaijan
2 points - Serbia, Belgium, Sweden
1 point- Montenegro, Cyprus
Jury score for Malta (Total 27 points)
7 points - Sweden
6 points- Ireland, North Macedonia
2 points - Azerbaijan, Israel
1 pont - Estonia, San Marino, Czech Republic, Georgia.
How Malta voted
The Eurovision scoreboard also revealed that Malta’s national jury – made up of former Eurovision singer Claudia Faniello, as well as Antoine Faure, Daniel D'Anastasi, Maria Abdilla, and singer Gaia Cauchi - gave Spain maximum points in the grand final.
The Maltese jury gave no votes whatsoever to Ukraine, the winner of the contest.
However, Maltese televoters gave the embattled country eight points. The Maltese televoters gave 12 points to the United Kingdom and 10 points to Italy.
The points of national televoters and juries are combined according to a ratio determined by the European Broadcasting Union to come up with the national scores.
Ukraine's Kalush Orchestra won the annual song contest with “Stefania” a rap lullaby combining Ukrainian folk and modern hip-hop rhythms from an energetic, breakdancing band.
Maltese televoting results
12 points- United Kingdom
10 points- Italy
8 points- Ukraine
7 points - Spain
6 points- Serbia
5 points- Sweden
4 points- Norway
3 points- Romania
2 points- Poland
1 point - Finland
Maltese jury results
12 points - Spain
10 points - Sweden
8 points - United Kingdom
7 points- Italy
6 points- Australia
5 points- Estonia
4 points- Poland
3 points- Czech Republic
2 points - Azerbaijan
1 point - Greece