The third semi final of Malta Song for Europe 2009, the Maltese selection for the Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow, is about to take place. Another seven acts will compete to be one of the 20 acts which are going to reach in the national final.

The WEBCAST can befound here, here and here. (The webcast IS working tonight. It depends on your computer and your internet connection, which link works the best for you.)

Participants

1. Trilogy – The song in your heart(Paul Abela, Joe Julian Farrugia)
2. Dorothy Bezzina – Mozart revives (Chan Vella, Alexia Schembri)
3. Derrick Schembri & Yanika Fava – For a moment (Philip Vella, Rita Pace)
4. Jo Zette– I'm me(Steve Compagno, Noel Zammit)
5. Evita Magri – Sexy girls (Philip Vella, Melchiore Magri)
6. Christian Arding – This ain't a love song (Trevor Fenech, Claudia Faniello)
7. Gloriana Arpa Belli – Love was made of clay (Renato Briffa, Doris Chetcuti)

LIVE

The show has started! Valerie Vella welcomes the audience before we will come to the first song tonight.

1. Trilogy – The song in your heart

Trilogy already took part in MSFE in 2006 and 2007 finishing third and second respectively. Singer Roger Tirazona took part every year between 2002 and 2005 but never even reached the top ten. Composer Paul Abela has written the music to three of Malta'a entries in the Eurovision Song Contest (1991, 1996, 2001) and served also three times as conductor (1991, 1992, 1996).

The band performs a rather unspectacular ballad that lacks an obvious hookline and a catchy melody. The stage performance is not even worth mentioning and far from being passionate. Sometimes it looks almost like the singers are about to fall asleep themselves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyIPR7W12K8&ap=%2526fmt%3D18&rel=0

2. Dorothy Bezzina – Mozart revives

Dorothy is a newcomer in Malta Song for Europe. It is not sure if Mozart is actually reviving or just rolling over, when the singer performs this mid-tempo song. There is a hint of a catchy melody, but Dorothy's voice is very quiet and she seems not to cope with the song. The performance is kept simple and the black/white outfit seems to be more suitable for a horse ride than for the Euro Showbox stage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMYS5J-UMeo&ap=%2526fmt%3D18&rel=0

3. Derrick Schembri & Yanika Fava – For a moment

Derrick Schembri & Yanika Fava also take part for the first time. Composer Philip Vella, who was a backing singer for Debbie Scerri in Dublin 1997, composed five Maltese entries in the Eurovision Song Contest (2000, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008). This time the lyrics were not contributed by his frequent writing partner Gerard James Borg but by Rita Pace, who is no stranger to MSFE either.

We are in for some major Eurovision kitsch! The song is a typical national final entry and has probably no high recognition value. The couple looks a bit clumsy when they are moving around the stage but they are obviously enjoying the performance and manage to show some passion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FroNnIn-QE4&ap=%2526fmt%3D18&rel=0

4. Jo Zette– I'm me

Jo Zette appears on this stage for the first time, too. This is obviously (hopefully) a drag act and the first comedy performance in MSFE this year. Jo looks like a maid at the beginning but later reveals an eye-catching pink dress. The song itself is pretty tuneless and not quite worth mentioning but it is obviously not supposed to be the epicentre of this performance anyway.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2-CHVhJkM4&ap=%2526fmt%3D18&rel=0

5. Evita Magri – Sexy girls

Evita Magri performs the second Philip Vella composition in tonight's semi final. This time, the lyrics were written by Melchiore Magri. Evita is the first singer tonight who seems to have an actual choreography, albeit could still need some work. The disco beats in the background sound promising but the chorusgets lost in the flat vocal performance, which makes the song less catchy than itcould be.Generally, this is probably not a likely Eurovision Song Contest contestant.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P34yO76q4ik&ap=%2526fmt%3D18&rel=0

6.Christian Arding – This ain't a love song

After many newcomers, we see a familiar face again: Christian Arding finished 5th in the 2006 Maltese final with Stronger. The lyrics of This ain't a love song were written by Claudia Faniello, who took part in the Maltese final in 2007 and 2008, when she finished second and third behind Morena. She will also perform the song Blue sonata in the seventh semi final.

This entry followsthe classic up-tempo pop song structure very closely and hence seems a bit uninspired. Christian Arding tries to give his best vocally but the overall performance is not too emotional. Again, a typical national final entry.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KvAwTeJyv4&ap=%2526fmt%3D18&rel=0

7. Gloriana Arpa Belli – Love was made of clay

We close with the fifth newcomer in this semi final.Gloriana performs an up-tempo song that has by far the most catchy tune tonight. The vocals are very strong and the singer enjoys her performance and manages to show honest emotions. With a more eye-catching performance, this might become one of the songs that have a chance to represent Malta in Moscow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NIPVikcPIc&ap=%2526fmt%3D18&rel=0

Although the televoting is already taking place, no results will be revealed tonight.