The sugar-sweet duo Julie and Ludwig yesterday wooed the jury and the public with their rendition of the upbeat song On Again... Off Again, placing first in the Song for Europe festival.
The two could not contain their emotions and as Julie waved a rose and battled tears, Ludwig let out a winning holler and jumped excitedly on stage.
There was no clear-cut winner this year and tension mounted as the jury gave its points followed by the public's televoting which swayed the result.
Julie and Ludwig secured first place in the festival with 139 points - 59 points from the jury and 80 from the public. Their winning song was composed by Philip Vella and penned by Gerard James Borg - a team who are no newcomers to the field.
Julie and Ludwig had great stage performance and Ludwig left an impact with his 'operatic' voice - the audience cheered loudly for one of the most original songs of the evening.
Coming in at a close second with 134 points was Olivia Lewis with her romantic rendition of Take A Look, accompanied on the piano by Paul Giordimania who also composed the song. Fleur Balzan is the author.
Following in third place with 112 points was Fabrizio Faniello, the winner of the 2001 festival, with his song Did I Ever Tell You composed by Paul Abela and written by Georgina Abela.
The evening was packed with entertainment and everything was running smoothly, until it came to announce the result. Due to a hitch in the filtering of all the SMS votes, the result was announced at about 1 a.m., more than one hour late.
After they got fed up waiting, the audience gathered at the Mediterranean Conference Centre started booing, but their anxiety abated when Maltasong chairman Grace Borg apologised profusely for the unexpected delay.
Presenters Ray Calleja and Andrea Cassar entertained the audience until the result was announced... after yet another commercial break.
The evening saw the participation of Claire Baluci, Ivan Filletti, Hooligan. Winter Moods, Aldo Busuttil and a performance by Ukraine's Eurovision contest representative Ruslana Lyzhicko.
Hamilton Travel is organising a tour to Istanbul between May 10 and 17 for the Eurovision Song Contest.