Watch: Tonight at 20:45 CET, Malta hosts the grand final of “MESC 2026”, where the country’s entry for Eurovision 2026 will be chosen. Link to watch the live broadcast – Below!
Tonight at 20:45 CET, the grand final of “MESC 2026”, will take place. At the end of tonight’s broadcast, Malta’s entry for Eurovision 2026 will be chosen. Last Thursday, the semi-final was held, where 18 songs competed for 12 spots in the grand final, set to take place tonight. Malta will be the fourth country to reveal its song for the international contest, following Albania, Montenegro and Moldova, which will also select its entry later tonight. Twelve songs are competing in “MESC 2026”, from which Malta’s artist and entry for Eurovision 2026 in Vienna, Austria will be chosen.
“MESC 2026” will take place at the Malta Fairs and Conventions Centre in Ta’ Qali and will be hosted by three presenters: Destiny Chukunyere, Malta’s representative for Eurovision 2020 and 2021, Gaia Cauchi, and Keane Cutajar. The finalists will be selected through a combination of jury votes (50%) and public votes (50%).
Watch the semi-final live from 20:45 to 01:00 CET – click here!
Who to Watch Tonight?
In a poll conducted on the website, readers chose Aidan as their favorite to win “MESC 2026” with his song “Bella” (in English: “Beautiful”). The singer won the poll with 41.67% of the votes. In second place, with 31.67% of the readers’ votes, was Denise with the song “Trophy”. Third place went to Matt Blxck with “Ejja lejja ħdejja ‘l hawn (The flute),” which earned 10% of the votes.
The Euromix editorial team, who listened to all the songs, disagreed with the readers’ choice. The site’s editorial ranking placed Denise first, with 104 points — she was second among readers. In second place came Matt Blxck with 92 points, who had been ranked third by readers. Third place went to Kelsie Borg, scoring 84 points. Meanwhile, Aidan, the readers’ top pick, only reached fifth place according to the editorial team. Click here to see the full ranking of the Euromix editorial team.
Based on streaming statistics, Aidan appears to be the clear favorite to win, leading by a significant margin. His song currently has around 84,000 YouTube views and approximately 70,000 Spotify plays. Following him, the results vary by platform: on YouTube, Matt Blxck is second with about 27,000 views, followed by Denise with around 17,000. On Spotify, however, Denise holds second place with about 56,000 streams, while Kelsie Borg takes third with approximately 35,000.
Aidan – Who Are You?
Aidan, 27, is considered one of the dominant forces in Malta’s music charts, with an impressive record of 15 singles reaching number one. Known for his energetic and engaging live performances, he has performed on Malta’s biggest stages — including the country’s official New Year’s Eve celebrations, in front of more than 50,000 people.
In both 2024 and 2025, Aidan achieved major milestones in his career, headlining his own solo show at the MFCC Conference Centre — Malta’s largest indoor venue. His production, “AIDAN THE SHOW”, became a sold‑out sensation, moving over 10,000 enthusiastic fans and cementing his status as one of the pillars of Maltese music.
He previously competed in the Maltese national selection in 2018 with the song “Dai Laga”, placing fourth, tried again in 2022 with the song “Ritmu”, finishing second, and returned in 2023 — but was disqualified after the quarter‑final stage due to a rules violation.
“MESC 2026” Running Order:
- Janice Mangion – “Univers”
- Kelsie Borg – “Let a girl breathe”
- Matt Blxck – “Ejja lejja ħdejja ‘l hawn (The flute)”
- Denise – “Trophy”
- Nathan Psaila – “Ganador”
- Ema – “Achikuku (Don’t think about it)”
- Franklin Calleja – “Guide you home”
- Mychael Bartolo Chircop – “My sweet angel”
- Mark Anthony Bartolo – “Mumenti sbieħ”
- Aidan – “Bella”
- Matthew Cilia feat. The AfterParty – “Brutality mentality”
- Adria Twins – “Nerġà nqum”
Click on the song title to listen!
Among The Contestants – Many Familiar Names:
-
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”.
-
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.
-
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”.
-
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.
-
Denise – Finished 5th in 2022 with te song “Boy” and reached the same position in 2024 with the song “Mara”.
-
Adria Twins – Finished 10th in 2025 with the song “Qalb ma’ qalb”.
-
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”.
-
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.
“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.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +972-50-9441919
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.
