Thea Garrett has won the Go Malta Eurosong with the song My Dream, wowing judges and audiences alike and clinching 102 points.
Accompanied by dancer Jes Sciberras, dressed up as 'Big Bird', Thea gave a strong vocal performance of the song composed by Jason Cassar and penned by Sunny Aquilina.
It was clear from the start that she was the favourite - she earned the maximum 12 points from four of the five judges. This year's winner was chosen through televoting and a jury - four foreigners and one Maltese - that each had a weighting of 50 per cent.
The 18-year-old newcomer has achieved her dream to represent the Eurovision Song Contest, in Norway, after the first attempt.
Now she has cleared the first step, Thea will have another hurdle to surmount when she competes in the first semi-final in Oslo on May 25, to go on the final round.
Glen Vella came in at second place with 58 points for Just A Little More Love (Paul Giordimaina and Fleur Balzan), while Tiziana placed third with 45 points for Words Are Not Enough (John David Zammit and Paul Callus).
Claudia Faniello, who has been touted as the favourite for the past weeks, won the first edition of the Malta Eurosong Web Award, voted by the festival's fans online. Her song Samsara, composed by Philip Vella and Gerard James Borg, failed to get the placing many were expecting.
This year will not be remembered for the quality of entries and many posting comments on timesofmalta.com questioned the poor level, with several saying they opted to watch Italy’s San Remo festival instead.
The show, organised by PBS, was presented by Keith Demicoli and Pauline Agius, while Owen Bonnici provided live links of the atmosphere from the green room.
PBS this year introduced numerous touches - such as the way the voting was announced - to present the festival in a way that was similar to the show put up during the Eurovision.
The ranking of the 20 entries are as follows:
1. Thea Garrett, My Dream, 102 points
2. Glen Vella, Just A Little More Love, 58 points
3. Tiziana, Words Are Not Enough, 45 points
4. Pamela, Hold On, 40 points
5. Eleanor Spiteri, Velvet Ocean, 39 points
6. Wayne Micallef, Save A Life, 36 points
7. Laurence Gray, Stories, 33 points
8. Samsara, Claudia Faniello, 31 points
8. Ruth Portelli, Three Little Words, 31 points
10. Dorothy Bezzina, Moments, 27 points
11. Klinsmann, Her Name Was Anne, 26 points
12. Priscilla and Kurt, Waterfall, 19 points
12. Nadine and Clifford Galea, Once In A Lifetime, 19 points
14. Eleanor Cassar, Choices, 16 points
15. Petra, All I Need, 14 points
16. Ryan Dale and Duminka, One 4 U, 13 points
17. Good Intentions, Audrey Marie, 10 points
18. Foxy Federation, Fired Up, 9 points
18. Claire Galea, Ole Satchmo Blues, 9 points
20. Silverclash, Broken, 5 points
See also:
http://www.timesofmalta.com/life/view/20100221/celebrities/meet-thea-garrett