Eighteen-year-old singer Michela Pace said she never felt as good on stage as when she gave her first performance in the Eurovision semi-final on Thursday.

The Gozitan made it through to Saturday's final in a nail-biting announcement which saw judges leaving it to the very end to call out Malta’s name.

The announcement left many on the edge of their seats, but the singer was in high spirits while speaking to the Times of Malta after her soundcheck on Friday.

“I was incredibly happy and I felt our whole team gave their all. We got a great result so we were even happier about that,” she said.

Rehearsals for the final performance were going well, despite prior rehearsals being hampered by technical difficulties, she said.

During a press conference on Thursday, a spokesman for Michela’s team had said they had to swap plans for the performance because of technical difficulties that could not be fixed in time.

Our whole team gave their all

Luckily, it all came together in the end, with Michela telling the Times of Malta that all her nerves dissipated as soon as she was on stage.

“In the beginning, I thought the whole event would get to me since all eyes would be on me,” she said.

“But I never felt that good on stage before, seeing all those people seems to have had the opposite effect.”

“Seeing all those people actually calmed my nerves. On that night, I felt very comfortable because I saw people having fun and singing along to the song,” she added.

Michela will open tonight's final in Tel Aviv tonight with Albania and the Czech Republic performing second and third respectively.  

Many have queried whether performing first is a good or a bad thing. Some wonder whether voters would recall a song they heard at the beginning of the hours-long show. Others have argued voters will find it easier to remember Michela if she is the first performer on their screens.

Read: Eurovision: Michela will be the first singer to perform in Saturday's final

The Gozitan singer however, shrugged off any concerns performing first will have an impact on voting.

“I don’t think it matters. I don’t think it makes a difference when I sing, as long as I sing well,” she said.

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