14 acts through to Saturday's Malta Eurovision Song Contest Final

In a show that felt like it was a lot longer than it needed to be, 20 acts gave their utmost on stage in a bid to win the hearts of the Maltese tele-voting audience; and the 5 seemingly last-minute judges. From these entries, 6 songs didn’t make the cut and will not be gracing the stage this Saturday night for the Malta Eurovision Song Contest final. For the lucky 14 who did make it, one final hurdle stands between them and chance to represent Malta in Stockholm, this May.

Attempting to hide the tragic downsizing from last year’s stage, 2016’s crew significantly amped the power on the background graphics displayed. Unfortunately the amplification was not one in good taste, as despite some acts desperately needing the energy burst, the kitsch lighting and projection overwhelmed most of the performers.

This year also saw an unusually high number of low moments, with several singers failing to hit their bigger notes. That being said there were also numerous stand-out moments for positive reasons, such as newcomer Jasmine's powerful, yet captivating vocal on Alive, as well as seasoned competitors Christabelle, and Ira (with Kingdom and Chameleon respectively) rousing the crowds, and getting everyone back into the excitement of the competition.

The following are the 14 entries who have made it through the Semi-Final stage:

1. Raquel – Flashing lights
2. Dominic – Fire burn
3. Kim – Lighthouse
4. Christabelle – Kingdom
5. Deborah C – All around the world
6. Franklin – Little love
7. Daniel Testa – Under the sun
8. Corazon – Falling glass
9. Ira Losco – Chameleon
10. Jessika – The Flame
11. Lawrence Gray – You’re beautiful
12. Brooke – Golden
13. Jasmine – Alive
14. Maxine – Young love