12 contestants advanced to the grand final of “MESC 2026” after tonight’s semi-final. See the full list of finalists and discover who will compete for the Maltese ticket to Eurovision 2026!
Twelve contestants out of eighteen have qualified for the grand final of Malta’s Eurovision pre-selection competition “MESC 2026,” which will take place this Saturday, January 17th. During the event, Malta will choose its representative and song for Eurovision 2026, to be held in Vienna, Austria. The semi-final was hosted by Destiny Chukunyere, Malta’s Junior Eurovision 2015 winner in and Malta’s representative in Eurovision 2020 and 2021, Gaia Cauchi, who brought Malta victory at Junior Eurovision 2013, and Keane Cutajar, a popular Maltese television presenter. The main interval act featured Tommy Cash, representative of Estonia at Eurovision 2025, who performed his hit “Espresso Macchiato”.
The results were determined by an equal combination of jury votes (50%) and public televoting (50%). The winner of the Maltese national final will earn the honor of representing Malta at Eurovision 2026 in Vienna, Austria.
“MESC 2026”: Semi-Final Results:
The following songs have qualified for the MESC 2026 grand final:
- Aidan – “Bella”
- Ema – “Achikuku (Don’t think about it)”
- Franklin Calleja – “Guide you home”
- Matthew Cilia feat. The AfterParty – “Brutality mentality”
- Mark Anthony Bartolo – “Mumenti sbieħ”
- Denise – “Trophy”
- Matt Blxck – “Ejja lejja ħdejja ‘l hawn (The flute)”
- Adria Twins – “Nerġà nqum”
- Kelsie Borg – “Let a girl breathe”
- Mychael Bartolo Chircop – “My sweet angel”
- Janice Mangion – “Univers”
- Nathan Psaila – “Ganador”
Click on the song title to listen!
Among The Qualifiers – Many Familiar Names:
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Matt Blxck – Finished 7th place in 2018 (under the name Matthew Anthony) with the song “Call 2morrow”, and again 7th in 2022 with the song “Come Around”, 3rd in 2023 with the song “Up.”, and 2nd in 2024 with the song “Banana”.
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Aidan – Placed 4th in 2018 with the song “Dai Laga”, 2nd in 2022 with the song “Ritmu”, and was disqualified in 2023 after the quarter-finals for breaching contest rules.
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Janice Mangion – Competed in the 2012 semi-final with the song “While Her Eyes Still Glow”, finished 2nd in 2017 with the song “Kewkba”, and finished 16th in 2022 with the song “Army”.
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Franklin Calleja – Participated in 2013 with the song “Let Your Heart Talk”, placed 7th in 2014 with the song “Love Will Take Me Home”, 5th in 2015 with the song “Still Here”, 3rd in 2016 with the song “Little Love”, 5th in 2017 with the song “Follow Me”, competed in “X Factor” in 2019, and returned in 2024 with the song “Puppet” but didn’t qualify for the final.
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Denise – Finished 5th in 2022 with te song “Boy” and reached the same position in 2024 with the song “Mara”.
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Adria Twins – Finished 10th in 2025 with the song “Qalb ma’ qalb”.
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Nathan Psaila – Finished 11th in 2023 with the song “Creeping Walls”, 10th in 2024 with the song “Ghost”, and 16th and last in 2025 with the song “Concrete”.
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Mark Anthony Bartolo – Finished 11th in 2022 with the song “Serenity”, did not qualify in 2023 with the song “Tears”, and 2024 with the song “Condition or Fiction”, but finished 11th in 2025 with the song “Hideaway”.
- Matthew Cilia – Competed in 2025 with “Control” but also did not qualify to the final.
The Maltese national final will take place on Saturday, January 17th, and will feature performances from all twelve semi-final qualifiers. Highlights of the grand final will also include interval performances by several beloved Eurovision icons:
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Miriana Conte, who represented Malta at Eurovision 2025 with the song “Serving”.
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Destiny Chukunyere, Malta’s 2015 Junior Eurovision winner and Eurovision representative in 2020 and 2021.
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Baby Lasagna, who represented Croatia at Eurovision 2024 with the hit “Rim Tim Tagi Dim”.
“MESC 2026” Dates:
Semi-final – Thursday, January 15th, 2026.- Grand final – Saturday, January 17th, 2026.
Malta in Eurovision 2025
“Serving” is the title of the song performed by Miriana Conte, who represented Malta at Eurovision 2025 in Basel, Switzerland. Malta qualified for the final by placing ninth in the semi-final with 53 points, and finished 17th in the grand final with 91 points – 83 from the juries and only 8 from the televote.
Eurovision 2026: This will be Malta’s 38th participation in Eurovision. Malta joined the competition in 1971 and achieved its best result in Eurovision 2002 and Eurovision 2005 after finishing second twice.
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Ilay Gaist is a leading Israeli content creator and writer specializing in the Eurovision Song Contest. He is a well-known commentator with extensive expertise in the contest’s history, rules, and dynamics. His passion for Eurovision drives him to deliver rich, professional, and innovative content to his audience.
Ilay holds a bachelor’s degree in Arabic and has a multilingual background. He also engages in cultural research, with a particular focus on global culinary traditions and the evolution of local cuisines around the world.
