What's the winning lyric to Eurovision success?

There was no doubt about it anyway: “love” is the winning word and key to every single Maltese entry to the Eurovision song contest.

It’s certainly the ubiquitous and standard lyric for most of the songs that have clinched Eurovision – save for Lordi’s ‘Hard Rock Hallelujah’, the love-bereft song that won Finland the world’s most cringeworthy of music accolades.

This Wordle recreated here contains every single word included in the lyrics of Malta’s entry to the Eurovision Song Contest since 2000 – that’s an entire decade of love-soaked hearts and unrequited lust. The words that appear most frequently are larger in size.

Despite love’s never-ending presence, Malta’s eurovision success has been nothing worth nothing. No victory despite our close brushes with Mary Spiteri’s ‘Little Child’, Ira Losco’s ‘Seventh Wonder’ and Chiara’s two entries ‘The One That I Love’ and ‘Angel’.

But if love beats through every Maltese entry… what comes second?

The salutation “Hey” follows, but no “baby” as a natural third. Instead it’s the words “heart”, “never”, “dream” and “desire” that form the large part of the Maltese songwriting lexicon. It seems the Maltese lyric is stuck in a state of longing and unfulfilled love.

“Vodka” also ranks up on top, thanks to the unimaginative wordsmith who penned Morena’s entry in 2008.

Still, the question stands: wasn’t €400,000 of tax money a tad too much to spend to quench our desire for eurotrash victory?

Toni Sant – blogger, media lecturer, and Eurovision analyst extraordinaire – says the cash is “peanuts, what amateurs and featherweights spend on the Eurovision. Waste of money? Yes… there is no return on investment analysis, no strategic plan, no accountability, and no continuity or development on long-term experience gained from entering the contest year after year.”

It would seem the choice for Malta is stark: the Eurovision is a public broadcasting service, Sant says, having gone up to Oslo to witness Malta flounder yet again in the semi-finals.

You can either spend less or more. But for those countries who take part in this camp TV spectacular, there is “plenty of mileage to be had.”

“To really get its value for money Malta must spend more, not less, and radically rethink the way it selects the songs it sends to Eurovision as well as how performers are presented on the international stage. The long-standing way of doing things clearly doesn't work… it’s a wasted opportunity to promote some of the excellent musical talent emanating from the Maltese islands.”

Taking Sant’s cue, that would mean ditching our choices of music which constantly seem to only reflect European expectations: bubblegum pop, lots of gelled hair, love ballads, or a paean to the hosting country (like… umm, Vodka).

Showcasing the Maltese talent available would mean sending Maltese-language acts like Xtruppaw or Brikkuni: good music, good lyrics (less love, hearts or desire) and more fun and musical talent.

Again, going by Toni Sant’s previous warnings, even the good stuff will require the cash to work well: “Simply sending someone like Xtuppaw to the Eurovision without the appropriate financial and promotional backing is like throwing Christians to the lions…”