Malta begins the search for their next JESC star!

Junior Eurovision has been confirmed for the 26^th of November, and already Malta is on their way to choosing who will represent the small island nation in Georgia. PBS Malta has announced that an incredible 84 applications have been submitted, and from that, a shortlist of 20 acts has been now chosen.

Chief Executive of PBS Malta, John Bundy has said that the talent this year was so strong, they had to shortlist 20 acts instead of 10. He said, “The jury votes were so close so we have decided to select 20, from which the final 10 will be chosen and will compete in the television spectacle.”

The Maltese National Final for Junior Eurovision will be held on Saturday the 10^th of June. The winner will be chosen through 100% televote. The acts will sing cover songs within the national final, and then Junior Eurovision song will be chosen at a later date.

Here are the 20 acts shortlisted:

• Martina Abela

• Thea Aquilina

• Haley Azzopardi

• Sky Busuttil

• Julie Ann Camilleri

• Kelsey Carabott

• Jahel Cardona

• Gianluca Cilia

• Kira Copperstone

• Riona Degiorgio

• Rianne Demicoli

• Aidan Jay Drakard

• Mardy Farrugia

• Kiana Fenech

• Demi Galea

• Shazay Grima

• Kylie Meilak

• Cledia Micallef

• Veronica Rotin

• Kristy Spiteri

Malta is one of the most successful nations at Junior Eurovision, having won the contest twice within 3 years. Last year, the capital of Malta, Valletta hosted the competition, where a total of 17 countries participated. Listen to their 2016 entry here: