2008 Malta: Morena - Vodka (14th place in 2nd semifinal at ESC in Belgrade/Serbia)

2008 - Malta
Performed by: Morena
Music by: Philip Vella
Lyrics by: Gerard James Borg
Language: English
This entry did not qualify for the ESC final.


If there is one country where almost all residents take part in the Eurovision Song Contest, it is Malta. This is not so much due to the success rate of its candidates, but rather because the almost 400,000 inhabitants of the three small islands have to stick together. With the highest population density in Europe, it is difficult for a Maltese to avoid a major event such as the preliminary round "Malta Song For Europe".

The national final on January 26 in 2008 was won by the young singer Morena Camilleri with the song "Vodka". With her hymn to the Russian national drink, she prevailed in the final against such well-known names as Faniello and Klinsmann. While the latter turned out to be a wannabe rocker who lacked the will to win of the real "Klinsi", Claudia Faniello, the little sister of the two-time Maltese ESC participant Fabrizio Faniello, turned out to be a serious competitor. But in the end, with the votes of the televoters, Morena was able to push the jury’s favorite into second place.

The 23-year-old knows all too well how it feels to lose in the preliminary round. In her first attempt in 2006, she failed in a duet with Paul Giordimania and the song "Time", coming in ninth place. It certainly wasn't due to her vocal qualities. Born in 1984 under the name Margaret Camilleri on the second largest Maltese island of Gozo, Morena took on solo parts in musicals and operettas as a schoolgirl. After school, she received classical vocal training from the soprano Georgina Gauci.

But Morena's real passion was pop music from the start and a year after losing at "Malta Song For Europe" she also made a breakthrough in her favorite genre: she won the Malta International TV Song Fest in autumn 2007 and, with her pleasantly dark voice, was recommended for the preliminary round of the Eurovision Song Contest. After the second semi-final in Belgrade on May 22nd, the young singer now knows what it feels like to lose in the semi-finals. Morena was unable to qualify for the final with her alcohol anthem. The song speaks of a spy in Gorky Park in Moscow, "in a danger zone" where everywhere is "pitch dark". She is being chased because she deciphered the code which everyone wants so badly, and the word is "Vodka".

"Vodka" is sung in English, but starts with the word na zdarovye, a supposedly Russian word for "cheers!" toast. The song sparked comments that it was crafted to attract Eastern Europeans' votes, but the authors denied the accusations saying that the song was not even intended to enter the competition. Morena received the highest number of points from Albania (8) and Czechia (6), four points came from Latvia, Croatia, Portugal and Denmark. The song title is a source of numerous puns in newspaper titles, but Morena in her interview said she does not like vodka and in fact rarely drinks alcohol. After the adventure in Eurovision, Morena re-formed the group she was previously a part of, and together they released their first album.

LYRICS:

Vodka
(Na zdarovye!)
(Hey hey hey hey hey hey)
(Na zdarovye!)
(Hey hey hey hey hey)

The hunt is still on
Here in Gorky Park
I'm in a danger zone
Everywhere is pitch dark

I'm running away
To a blanket of snow
Spy One to Spy Four
I've deciphered the code, yeah...

Vodka – that's the secret word
Vodka – and they want it so bad
Vodka – I've deciphered the code
Got a rush in the head
Vodka – a transparent word

(Na zdarovye!)
(Hey hey hey hey hey hey)
(Na zdarovye!)
(Hey hey hey hey hey)

Cold blood drums within
They breathe down my neck
Spy One to Spy Four
We just have to connect

Their footsteps are near
Closing in for the kill
My pulse has gone dead
With a heart-racing chill, yeah...

Vodka – that's the secret word
Vodka – and they want it so bad, so bad, so bad
Vodka – I've deciphered the code
Got a rush in the head, yeah...
Vodka – a transparent word...

(Vodka – that's the secret word)
(Na zdarovye!) Yeah...
(Vodka – and they want it so bad) So bad, yeah
(Hey hey hey hey hey hey)

Vodka, yeah... (That's the secret word)
(Na zdarovye!)
Vodka – a transparent word
(Hey hey hey hey hey hey)

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