The Malta Eurovision Song Contest tends to reward those who persist. Especially if your name is Borg. And so it was for Christabelle (Borg) last night in Valletta. After being the runner-up in 2015 and coming fourth in 2016, her song ‘Taboo’ was picked to represent Malta at the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest.
As is the fashion these days, the result was a 50/50 jury/televote split, and Christabelle won both. She scored top marks from every juror and topped the televote. Her final score of 133 left second-placed Richard & Joe Micallef way behind with 98 points.
| Song | Performer(s) | Jury | Televote | Total | Psn |
| Dai laga | Aidan | 34 | 8 | 42 | 4 |
| Rocket | Miriana Conte | 9 | 5 | 14 | 12 |
| Supernovas | Jasmine Abela | 25 | 6 | 31 | 8 |
| Call 2morrow | Matthew Anthony | 26 | 6 | 32 | 7 |
| One step at a time | Danica Muscat | 2 | 1 | 3 | 16 |
| Breaking point | Dwett | 3 | 12 | 15 | 10 |
| Love renegade | Lawrence Gray | 3 | 4 | 7 | 15 |
| Song for Dad | Richard & Joe Micallef | 31 | 67 | 98 | 2 |
| First time | Tiziana Calleja | 4 | 8 | 12 | 14 |
| Back to life | Eleanor Cassar | 19 | 17 | 36 | 5 |
| Beyond blue horizons | Rhiannon Micallef | 9 | 5 | 14 | 11 |
| Heart of gold | Brooke Borg | 37 | 47 | 84 | 3 |
| Taboo | Christabelle Borg | 60 | 73 | 133 | 1 |
| Turn it up | Deborah C | 0 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
| We can run | Avenue Sky | 1 | 15 | 16 | 9 |
| Evolution | Petra | 27 | 6 | 33 | 6 |
‘Taboo’ breaks from the regular Maltese Eurovision fodder in that it isn’t a song about love (lost, forbidden, yearning or otherwise). It addresses mental health awareness. And if it sounds eerily like something you’ve heard before on this stage, it’s co- written by Swede Thomas G:son, along with by Johnny Sanchez, Muxu and Christabelle herself.
To these ears, it’s a nice-enough song, but it relies heavily on visuals to distract from any weakness elsewhere.