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Spinning in from Malta: We’ve got Sarah Bonnici on loop

31 March 2024 at 07:00 CEST
Sarah Bonnici will represent Malta at the 68th Eurovision Song Contest Photo: Carlton Agius
Look out Malmö, Malta’s Sarah Bonnici is heading to the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 with her song ‘Loop’, and she’s making some serious m-m-m-moves.
Sarah Bonnici will represent Malta at the 68th Eurovision Song Contest Carlton Agius

Before winning her place in the Eurovision Song Contest, Sarah Bonnici had to win over Malta first. And she did. She spun into Malta’s national final with a black catsuit, vocal prowess, and some very spicy dancing. After the jury and public vote, she finished with a strong lead.

Sarah has had vocal lessons from Miriam Christine, who was Malta’s Eurovision entry in 1996, performing In A Woman’s Heart at the Contest in Oslo. Miriam encouraged Sarah to take part in competitions herself, and from there she went on to take 3rd place in Malta Junior Eurosong in 2009.

Sarah Bonnici will represent Malta at the 68th Eurovision Song Contest Carlton Agius

Sarah has a star-studded songwriting team for Loop, and has also been part of the artistry. Linnea Deb and Joy Deb are well-known in the world of Eurovision, having written Måns Zelmerlöw’s Heroes which won the Contest for Sweden in 2015. Michael Joe Cini, known as Micimago, co-wrote Malta’s 2023 entry for The Busker, Dance (Our Own Party). And for Kevin Lee, this will be his 5th time working behind the scenes at the Eurovision Song Contest in some form or another. They’re joined by Leire Gotxi Angel and Sebastian Pritchard-James, who started as street performers and have now racked up over 9 million streams on their tracks.

The weirdest place Sarah has ever performed is a kitchen, which might be the extreme opposite of the Eurovision stage. She’s also headlined major festivals and events. And now, she can add the greatest music competition on Earth.

Cheering Sarah on from home will be her King Charles Spaniel dog, Lilly, and her Persian cat, Spice, who she adopted. We hope she'll be able to schedule in a few Facetimes with them while she's in Malmö, to punctuate those long days! 

Sarah’s favourite Eurovision entry is Sam Ryder’s SPACE MAN for the United Kingdom in 2022, which finished in 2nd place to Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra. She loves Sam’s song, and his energy. Can we get a Sarah and Sam collab please?

Another of her favourite songs is Cornelia Jakobs’ Hold Me Closer, which got to 4th place at Eurovision 2022. Other songs she’s playing on loop are Dua Lipa’s Houdini, Beyoncé’s Crazy In Love, and Miley Cyrus’ Flowers. She might love current pop hits with strong female vocals, but she’s also got some classics on repeat. Sarah is a big fan of Aretha Franklin’s I Say A Little Prayer, Stevie Wonder’s I Wish, and Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody.

After Sarah won the Maltese selection competition, she said: “I am just speechless and truly genuinely very happy. This has always been my dream so now my dream came true.” There’s room for more dreams yet, Sarah!

Look out for Sarah on upcoming episodes of the Official Eurovision Song Contest Podcast.

Sarah Bonnici will represent Malta at the 68th Eurovision Song Contest Carlton Agius

You can learn more about Sarah Bonnici from Malta right here.