In the spotlight: Destiny
16 April 2020 at 10:05 CESTEarlier this year, Destiny Chukunyere's win in Season 2 of X Factor Malta locked in her spot as the countries’ representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2020.
Who is Destiny?
Referred to as a child prodigy and compared to the likes of her idol and music legend Aretha Franklin, this 17-year-old from Birkirkara, Malta is no stranger to Eurovision or performing in front of large crowds. In 2015, Destiny got her first taste of Eurovision success where she won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest with a record-high 185 points, performing her song Not My Soul.
In 2017, she competed in Britain's Got Talent in front of music mogul Simon Cowell, where she placed 6th in the semi-final. She is now being signed to a record company and artist management - signs that she is destined for more greatness.
READ MORE: Destiny's participant profile
Interestingly, Austria's Eurovision 2018 participant Cesár Sampson is one of the composers of Destiny's song, All Of My Love. She announced its video release on her Instagram page which gathered nearly 300 comments from excited fans. The video was partly filmed at one of BirdLife Malta's Nature Reserves and shows off the countries' stunning, scenic views.
You can follow Destiny on the following social media platforms:
LISTEN: Stream All Of My Love and other Eurovision 2020 songs on Spotify
Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest
Malta entered the contest in 1971, withdrew from the contest after 1975, and returned again in 1991. Despite being one of the smallest countries in Europe, Malta has been rather successful at the Eurovision Song Contest. Malta nearly won the competition in 1998 with one of the closest voting sequences ever with Chiara’s song The One That I Love which came in at 3rd place.
In 2002, Ira Losco - who mentored Destiny to win X Factor this year- finished second for Malta with the song 7th Wonder, the highest placing for the country and only equalled by Chiara with the song Angel in 2005. Malta has, however, won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2013 and 2015, resulting in the country hosting the event in 2014 and 2016.
READ MORE: Malta's country page
In 2019, Malta was represented by Michela from the small Maltese island of Gozo. Her performance of the song Chameleon placed 14th in the Grand Final - an amazing achievement for the then 18-year-old.