Destination Lisbon (#7): Meet Christabelle from Malta

Earlier this year, Christabelle won the Maltese national selection for the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest with the song Taboo, thanks to support from both televoters at home as well as a professional jury.

We caught up with Christabelle right after her victory at Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2018 for a first reaction:

Christabelle was born in 1992 and has been performing on stage since she was just three years old. Following a brief stint on television during her teenage years — she hosted Teen Traffic and Teen Trouble — Christabelle decided to focus on her music career. She then participated in several song contests, such as the Maltese selection for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest and went as far as the United States to push her luck.

For the past seven years, Christabelle has worked with American and British producers. Several of the songs they produced have made it to the top of the local charts. Her talent was awarded as many as eight times with a Bay Music Award, the highest accolade in the Maltese music industry. Christabelle has performed with, or opened for, many internationally renowned singers, including Gigi D'Alessio and Laura Pausini. 

Following a one-year break, Christabelle returned to the Malta Eurovision Song Contest in 2018 with Taboo, She wrote the song with Muxu, Johnny Sanchez and Thomas G:Son.

Muxu is the songwriter behind Malta's two Junior Eurovision victories and Malta’s 2015 Eurovision entry Warrior. Johnny Sanchez is a Swedish music producer and song writer, who wrote songs for the Eurovision Song Contest for Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Ireland. And Thomas G:Son is of course most known for writing Loreen's winning Eurovision Song Contest in 2012, Euphoria.

About the Taboo

Prior to her victory in Malta, Christabelle became ambassador of the Wellbeing of Society Foundation for mental health, a foundation ran by the President of Malta. It may not be a coincidence that Taboo started a nation-wide discussion about mental health issues.

As ambassador, Christabelle aims to raise awareness about the reality of living with mental illness, while also supporting local charities that focus on mental health. As she has stated herself in various interviews, this is a topic that hits very close to home due to her having mental health issues at certain stages in her own life. 

Christabelle is also a much-loved local LGBTIQ+ ally and has performed multiple times at Malta Pride. Her reasoning, as she has made clear over the years, is that no one should be discriminated because of or persecuted for loving another human being.

Let's get social! 

You can follow Christabelle on the following social media platforms: 

• Facebook 
• Instagram  

Christabelle will perform Taboo for Malta in the second half of the second Semi-Final of the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest, on the 10th of May in Lisbon.

What do you think of Christabelle's Taboo? Leave your review in the comments below!