Michela Pace will be flying the Maltese flag in Tel Aviv come May for Eurovision 2019 after being crowned the first-ever winner of X Factor Malta.
The 17-year-old beat Owen Leuellen, Nicole Frendo and Petra to the title, with her soaring voice winning over TV audiences and wowing the crowd at the MFCC in Ta’ Qali.
Michela’s victory means she will now sign a record deal with Sony and go on to represent Malta at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest, which will be held in Israel.
The four finalists were first whittled down to three and then two, with first Petra and then Nicole bowing out.
That left Owen Leuellen and Michela Pace to vie for the title, and the two gave it their all in a final round. But there could only be one winner.
Michela began the final night just as she had started her X Factor journey, with a performance Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse of the Heart.
Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja joined her on stage for a duet between rounds, and she then paid homage to her Gozitan homeland in singing The Tramps’ classic Inti Djamant in the second round.
She channeled Lady Gaga for her final song, belting out Shallow with as much might as she could muster.
Record viewers and even…
