ESC+Plus has talked to Deborah C & Josef Tabone, finalists of this year’s Maltese national selection for Eurovision. The duet will perform «Tonight» in the final of MESC 2017 set to take place on February 18th.
ESC+Plus: Hello! First of all, thank you so much for your time and congratulations on having been selected to take part in the Maltese national selection for Eurovision 2017!
Deborah C & Josef Tabone: Thank You
ESC+Plus: Can you tell us about you, your musical career and important achievements?
Deborah C & Josef Tabone: We have been together as a duet since June 2016 thanks to our vocal coaches Ms Pamela Bezzina and Mr Glen Vella through the constant management of Ms Angie Laus. Josef is a tenor in one of Malta’s top gospel choir Animae while Deborah C is a resident singer on one of Malta’s top programs on TVM known as Ħadd Għalik. For Josef this will be his 2nd participation after 11 years whereas for Deborah it’ll be her 6th consecutive year in the Malta Eurovision Song Contest.
Important highlights in Josef’s career take us back when he was a backing vocalist with the opening band of Zucchero’s performance in Malta and also becoming a vocal coach at Vocalbooth Studio. On the other hand Deborah has been competing abroad in several countries but her greatest achievement was when she won 2nd Place at the Discovery Song Festival in Bulgaria (2014) with her original song It’s OK (2014 Eurovision Entry)
ESC+Plus: What impelled you to take part in “MESC 2017”?
Deborah C & Josef Tabone: As soon as Deborah received the catchy tune of Tonight, Josef got chosen to sing the male part and we decided to submit it for MESC 2017. We believe that Tonight is a very catchy and happy song which all Eurovision fans will enjoy.
ESC+Plus: How did you feel when you knew you had qualified for the final? Did you expect it?
Deborah C & Josef Tabone: We were over the moon with joy when we reached top 16 because this means a lot to both of us. We have to admit that it has been a difficult selection phase since local talent is always becoming more competitive. We feel honoured to be in the final and we look forward to enjoy this experience and deliver a memorable performance on the night.
ESC+Plus: What would it mean to you to represent Malta?
Deborah C & Josef Tabone: It would be a privilege to represent Malta in the ESC 2017 as it is a stepping stone for local performers in Malta and will provide new opportunities in our music career both locally and abroad.
ESC+Plus: Can you tell us about your song? What is the story behind the lyrics?
Deborah C & Josef Tabone: Tonight is a happy-fun song which every person can relate to. Everyone has that one person who makes you feel happy and jolly when you think about him/her. It is a song which gives a lot of positive energy and one will surely be clapping, dancing and singing to this romantic, sweet song. Tonight evokes positive feelings like love, joy and happiness.
ESC+Plus: Why do you think your song has to be selected for Kiev? What are your strengths to reach the top in the competition?
Deborah C & Josef Tabone: Our song will definitely give a positive mood to the people in Europe as everyone can relate to it. We personally think that you need to have three things to reach the top i.e. a very catchy song, an outstanding performance and good promotion abroad/hard work.
ESC+Plus: Do you usually watch Eurovision? What is your favorite song in the history of the competition?
Deborah C & Josef Tabone: If we had to describe Eurovision using a saying it would be Love at first sight. We both love it very much and we follow it yearly. As regards to Josef’s favourite song is I would die for You as it bring out a positive message through the use of Greek traditional instruments whereas Deborah’s favourite entry is Euphoria as it is a song full of positive emotions.
ESC+Plus: If you could choose a Eurovision former participant to sing along with, who would it be?
Deborah C & Josef Tabone: Josef would choose either a local former representative Glen Vella who sang the song One Life or The Israel representative Harel Skaat who sang the song Milim. As for Deborah she would definitely choose Chiara as a local representative or Dima Bilan the Russian former contestant.
ESC+Plus: Finally, can you send a message for our readers and Eurovision fans?
Deborah C & Josef Tabone: We are very grateful to all our fans, friends and relatives for the enormous support. We feel blessed to have them in our lives. We would like to take this opportunity to dedicate our performance to all of them and we hope they will be cheering and clapping with us throughout our act. We want our fans to have fun while we are performing on stage.