Tel Aviv 2019

The Mum factor! Claudia and Fabrizio’s mother Anna Faniello goes for Eurovision glory!

Can Anna follow in her son and daughter's footsteps and represent Malta?

One of the most exciting announcements during the Eurovision off-season so far has been the announcement that PBS will use the first season of The X Factor Malta to select Malta’s artist for the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest. Over the past few days, auditions have been underway on the Mediterranean island and one of the contestants is none other than Anna Faniello, mother to previous Eurovision contestants Claudia and Fabrizio Faniello!


Leaving the judges breathless?

Photographed at Fort Saint Elmo in the Maltese capital city of Valletta, Anna is seen with her son and daughter ready for her X Factor Malta audition. Anna is even wearing the iconic auditionee number sticker! We’ll have to wait until the show airs on television later this year to discover whether Anna was successful.

Another summer night, another Faniello?

Anna’s son Fabrizio represented Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest on two occasions, in 2001 and 2006. In 2001, Fabrizio placed ninth with Another Summer Night which is Malta’s fifth best result since the turn of the millennium. His return in 2006 was less successful, with I Do finishing 24th and last in the grand final. Overall, Fabrizio participated in the Maltese Eurovision pre-selection ten times, most recently with Just No Place Like Home in 2014 in which he was eliminated in the semi-final of the Malta Eurovision Song Contest.
Sister Claudia is also no stranger to the Maltese pre-selection, participating on nine occasions to date. It was ninth time lucky for Claudia last year, when Breathlessly took victory ahead of Janice Mangion’s Kewkba. It was a close contest, with Breathlessly taking victory by less than 500 televotes! Unfortunately, Claudia’s time at Eurovision was unsuccessful, palcing 16th in the second semi-final in Kyiv. Despite scoring zero points with the televote, Claudia would have qualified on jury voting alone where she placed 8th with 55 points.

Further reading: This is why TVM’s “X Factor Malta” could be Malta’s ticket to Eurovision victory...


Have you discovered any other Maltese artists that have auditioned for the first season of X Factor Malta? Make sure you let us know in the comments below!

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