The fate of the village Venus
Apparently, Ira Losco triumphed with her rendition of Tema 79 in Gensna (an ode to when Britain stuck it to Mintoff and his demands for more rent, told him he could keep his military base and shove it, and packed up and left in March 1979) over the weekend.
This is historically Mary Spiteri’s part – she sang it in the first performance of Gensna back in the dark ages when the Labour government was actually less awful and dangerous than it is now, though rougher and wilder, so people don’t actually get this.
And now she is sulking for being put out to grass, and people are laughing at her for doing so. “You’re past your sell-by date, Mary. You have been replaced!”
Oh well, how stupid and short-sighted of them not to see that Ira Losco is on exactly the same life-and-career path as Mary Spiteri, and will in 30 years’ time be in much the same position, wondering what happened, why everyone is bored of her (after so many decades?), why people are not thrilled to have her sing, and why they are no longer pole-axed by her physical appearance.
I do remember Mary Spiteri 30 years ago when she was Ira Losco’s age. Not only was she beautiful where Ira Losco is merely pretty, but she gave off waves of male-magnet sexuality whereas Miss Losco is curiously asexual despite the blatantly obvious clothes and poses, and comes across as ‘fun’ rather than anything else. More crucially, Miss Spiteri had by far the more spectacular voice.
But the point is that Mary Spiteri is a village Venus long past her prime and Ira Losco is a village Venus rapidly slipping past her prime. They never made it anywhere outside two minuscule Mediterranean islands with a massed population of around 400,000, and so they are constrained to repeat the same Maltese circuit endlessly while we all collude in the myth that they are ‘famous’.
Where do Ira Losco’s supporters versus Mary Spiteri imagine that she will end up? She will end up like Mary Spiteri, in her 60s and still aspiring to sing in political shindigs because this is the best she can expect and there is nothing else.
She is there already: in her mid-30s and reduced to singing Tema 79 to an audience of cast-iron Laburisti who don’t even have the basic etiquette to keep quiet while she sings because they can’t distinguish between this kind of theatre performance and a rock concert out in the open with tens of thousands of people where you cheer and sing along.
When Ira Losco rocketed into our consciousness with her white lace cat-suit and her electric performance at the – God help us – Eurovision Song Contest, and everyone was all excited, I wrote an article about this, predicting exactly what would happen to her. That was years ago. I wrote that she now faced a choice between literally packing up and leaving Malta to work in bars until she made it somewhere real, then returning (or staying away) to have a different kind of normal life if she didn’t make it, and staying in Malta to repeat the circuit endlessly, famous on an island, a village Venus.
She chose the latter option, uselessly trying to make it big out of Malta, as though that were somehow possible when the world is crowded to the rafters with charming chanteuses. Maybe she suffered from that protected Maltese reluctance to live rough and struggle while chasing your dream.
And so we all collude in the pretence that Ira Losco is a famous singer, while ignoring the harsh reality that by day she teaches English as a foreign language or works as a learning support assistant in schools.
She is unlikely to be doing anything more than singing Tema 79 during yet another revival of Gensna in 2044. Instead of feeling that she has somehow triumphed over Mary Spiteri – I doubt that she does, but this is how it is coming across, largely thanks to the efforts of Miss Spiteri herself – she should have the good sense to see that Miss Spiteri’s fate awaits her.
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“But the point is that Mary Spiteri is a village Venus long past her prime and Ira Losco is a village Venus rapidly slipping past her prime. They never made it anywhere outside two minuscule Mediterranean islands with a massed population of around 400,000, and so they are constrained to repeating the same Maltese circuit endlessly while we all collude in the myth that they are ‘famous’.”
I guess that the good news for Ira Losco is that when she is 60+, she will still be pursuing her dream of BECOMING famous.
That’s something to keep her motivated for another 30 odd years.
And another thing. It’s hard not to become “famous” in Malta if you have the courage to sing “Tema 79” to a crowd of Laburisti.
I’m actually tempted to ‘sing’ it next time I’m at a karaoke bar.
Could be my first step to stardom.
Go for it.
I see another 30 years of Gensna on the horizon.
…mitna ta’ xejn, mitna ghal-barrani…
“She is there already: in her mid-30s and reduced to singing Tema 79 to an audience of cast-iron Laburisti who don’t even have the basic etiquette to keep quiet while she sings because they can’t distinguish between this kind of theatre performance and a rock concert out in the open with tens of thousands of people where you cheer and sing along.”
And there you have the perfect answer to the one who boasted on Xarabank that it was his idea that Gensna be turned into a national celebration.
Franco Debono is satisfied. Expect a couple of marathons up and down Republic Street this morning.
This man never accepts any criticism. He’s good, he’s the best.
“Dr Debono said that there was a call for some fine tuning “but at the end of the day no one expects Greco to say that this Bill is perfect.” (The Malta Independent)
Back in the day, after Ira Losco had released her first couple of albums, it all went to her head a wee bit.
While studying at university, I remember seeing her around, trying her best to avoid us common folk. It got so bad, I once overheard a university lecturer complaining that she would let herself in to the section of the canteen meant for university staff only, not students (the “VIP lounge” if you will).
I guess it’s fair if you’re moving up in the world. But Gensna doesn’t count as moving up.
Mary Spiteri was a brilliant singer who unfortunately got stuck in Malta (out of choice or fate). She made an excellent contribution to the local entertainment scene and never needed any pushes – she was self made.
Ira Losco is a a mediocre pop ‘artist’ and jack of all trades who is ‘lost’ and whose career will go nowhere.
[Daphne – ‘she made an excellent contribution to the local entertainment scene’ reads like a damning obituary, not praise.]
My view is that one of the Maltese hotels’ weakest point was always entertainment. Mary Spiteri was an exception. Anyhow, if one is in Malta, where does one expect to sing?
[Daphne – Why be in Malta, if you want to sing? Is Joseph Calleja – though he risks now going down that route…]
So Mary Spiteri was a hotel entertainer. Some “fame”, that is.
Wow, Joe Fenech. And I thought living abroad had made you bright.
The condition of women in Mary Spiteri’s youth days in Malta was very different to today. Parents were invasive, controlling, religious and imposed chaperoning on their daughters. The country was cut off from the planet and being head-hunted wasn’t that easy.
[Daphne – Please, Joe, I mean, really. In a country and at a time when parents were, as you say, “invasive, controlling, religious and imposed chaperoning on their daughters”, Mary Spiteri conducted a public affair over decades with a well-known factory owner, while he continued to live with his wife and she continued to live with and look after her father. This menage was out in the open and was extraordinary for the times.]
Joseph Calleja is of a different generation and in a completely business: opera (traditional opera not the more adventurous modern repertoire). His success relies on his apparent charm, Italianate pronunciation of English (the British, who made him, love the exotic bit ), his transparent character, and his very old-fashioned technique which makes him sound like the film-star Mario Lanza whose repertoire he’s recorded.
HPB
I ‘never’ said Mary Spiteri’s famous. I said ‘brilliant’- which she is – despite spending her life covering other artists’ material. Hotel/casino entertainment, especially in top grade venues world-wide, is far from being crap.
All this talk about local singers being famous is purely delusional.
If she were brilliant she would have been famous. Brilliance in the performing arts is measured by worldwide, not local, fame. Mary Spiteri isn’t brilliant. Not by any normal yardstick, by which I do not mean the fawning Norman Hamilton types.
And please, Joe Fenech, it is not easy to be headhunted even today, 25 years of feel-good propaganda notwithstanding. In fact it’s even more difficult, because the market is uber-saturated, in every field.
HPB
“If she were brilliant she would have been famous.”
Nothing can be further from the truth than that. Talent is a prerequisite in the arts business, but there is no magic formula that guarantees success. Factors such as attitude, right encounters, contacts, being at the right place at the right time, geography… carry a lot of weight.
Oh yes, right. I used to labour under that illusion too, viz. that I am brilliant but unsuccessful because I never had any luck or contacts, and was born in the wrong country.
Now I have come to terms with the fact that I am not brilliant after all.
Anyone who is truly brilliant is successful and famous. And many who aren’t too. But undiscovered genius and brilliance? I don’t think so.
HPB
Now you’re being awkward although I aknowledge that what you are saying can sometimes be true too. I already said: there is no magic formula.
Baxter you are seriously wrong if you think that there aren’t artists who are amazing and yet fail to get picked up by a label , get past top 40 on their itunes, signed, published etc etc. i would counter act what you said by saying it’s actually the quite the opposite. Not that there isn’t a bit of truth in what you say when some artists are deluded blaming all that’s around them for their lack of success.
Why does everybody insist on spelling my name wrong? It’s Baxxter, with a double X. You, of all people, should know better.
True she did make an amazing contribution to the Maltese scene and that was all.
All her PR garbage always made us assume that she had made it big internationally, however she never made it past Malta due to bad/inefficient management and production.
After all these years of “trying”, no one’s ever signed her up to perform a duet with Susan Boyle for example or at least with that Maltese guy who made it big in Sweden.
Nothing.
They signed her up with Labour, isn’t that good for you?
This is quite possibly the best article ever written on this blog.
I would just add that the village Venus syndrome doesn’t count for artistes only. There are plenty of village Napoleons, village Aristotles and village Einsteins too.
Ira Losco gained an audience but also lost a lot of fans.
The audience is clapping because she is perceived to be “in” with Labour. They are clapping at the capture of yet another scalp.
You cannot appreciate Mary Spiteri if she sings “Seventh Wonder”. Ms Spiteri is supposed to stand by a piano while Ms Losco is supposed to run around and jump on stage.
There is only one version of Tema ’79, and that’s when you can listen to the high notes of Naxxar’s Venus.
Now we will have to put up with Mrs Norman Hamilton’s brother, Ivan Grech, singing his Winter Moods song during Brian May’s concert. Why should we pass through hell to enter heaven? I won’t boo at him, in respect of my country.
Says il GAHAN Malti . Let’s start with the obvious question . where you there? Ira if anything , to continue with some of the readers and Daphne’s train of thought, was singing to Mary’s people! She got a 2-3 min standing ovation on Saturday from Mary’s typical audience not hers. Notwithstanding the shenanigans and public drama and extra added pressure for NOTHING coz ultimately she was just given a job to do and what’s what she did. Now you can look at it at a hundred and one ways and find your thorns , twist and turn but ultimately no one really cares. And although i am not a fan of 7th wonder once again , i cannot erase the facts which once again point at the same artist you are trying very hard to same something negative about.
[Daphne – A three minute standing ovation from people whose political choice is Labour, who can’t tell one note from another and who thought that Joseph Muscat would make a really good prime minister. Impressive.]
If you are correct which believe me you were not i was there, aren’t people who’s political choice might be different to yours -humans as well ? And i challenge what you wrote here coz coz i heard quite a healthy clap during the intro by FCN when Eddie was mentioned during the EU membership.
“She got a 2-3 min standing ovation on Saturday from Mary’s typical audience not hers. ”
You’re adding insult to injury. Putting Ira Losco in Mary’s shoes is way-beyond stupid.
There will always be ONE Mary Spiteri but many like Ira. Ira is the mainstream in 2014 but Mary is a one-off who emerged at a time when her competitors in Malta just couldn’t keep up and her audience abroad was larger than the music scene here as it should be in the music scene. We’re talking about the 80’s here where it probably was tougher than what it is today.
IF that isn’t what I call success, then you’re not getting through to yourself.
Nahseb ma Ftehmnix ta ;-) The Beauty of hiding behind your lap top screen. The 80s tougher than it is today ???Are you MAD & STUPID ??? Putting Ira Losco in Mary’s shoes ? She was invited to perform alongside another 20+ singers . Big Deal.
I am sure that the standing ovation wasn’t ment for Miss Losco but for the song it self. This is song in the hearts of all those whose political choice is labour especially the old generations.
I remember when this song was also sung during wedding masses.
Claire your assertion gives away your jealousy and disbelief ;-)
How do you know that they were all Mary Spiteri’s typical audiences? Were they wearing Mary Spiteri T-shirts?
Precisely , she was singing to a totally different audience. How can I see someone who wants to be seen as hip and energetic, singing in an evening dress by a piano under dim lights?
Ira is supposed to be jumping about wearing tight jeans & tee-shirt or a miniskirt; she looks sooo old singing an 80s song which has strong negative connotations to people my age or older.
As much as she got new fans from the hard line Labour fold, she disappointed a lot of people like me who considered her as an innocent apolitical Maltese “star”.
Standing ovations: it’s not the first time that I together with other collaborators started a ‘spontaneous’ standing ovation just for the fun of it.
Go and watch “We will rock you” at London’s West End, and you will see that after a tedious show where the only worthy singer is Scaramouche (Rachael-Wooding) the audience will inevitably stand up applauding for minutes on end, while you see two or three curtain calls …and then the ‘surprise’.
Howard, you let yourself to be manipulated by the organisers. There was Lou around, I believe, and that explains it all.
Are you coming to watch and applaud Brian May and give the cold shoulder to the imposed Winter Moods front man?
Gahan il-Malti josserva hafna, illum jum il-genituri fl-iskejjel.
Ghal li jista’ jkun, Howard ,inti ‘felicitator’ u hadtha leave illum?
Howard, kieku ma ndunajtx li int Howard, il-manager ta’ Ira, kont nahsbek is-7th Wonder taghha.
Sadly, Mary Spiteri sounded quite pathetic on Xarabank pleading that it’s her fans she is worried about and not her ego.
As far back as her Cafe Premier days, Mary Spiteri was a good mimic, she could hit the right note and hold it. She sang well known ballads that belonged to singers like Shirley Bassey, Barbara Streisand, Dusty Springfield and other famous divas.
I am not sure she would have got anywhere without interpreting very well known songs belonging to very well known singers.
[Daphne – She didn’t get anywhere. That’s exactly the point here.]
Mary Spiteri might not have got anywhere, not because of lack of talent, but simply because Malta was cut off from the planet. 40 years ago, packing up and leaving meant taking a big risk. And being in golden-years Malta mustn’t have been easy either.
[Daphne – Who was to blame for Malta being cut off from the planet 40 years ago? The government she supported. It most certainly wasn’t cut off from the planet in the 1960s, when Mary Spiteri sang at the Kursaal (Dragonara) Casino. Didn’t you leave? Well, she could have done so too. She’s your contemporary. Instead, she preferred to stay on in Malta, living off a rich (and married) man for the rest of his life while he continued to live with his wife and she lived with her father. You can hardly call that being a victim of the mores of the time, because few people did that sort of thing back then.]
Ira Losco, however, was born almost 2 generations later in a now EU country where are opportunities are there to grab, but she prefers the poisoned-apple cosiness that Malta offers.
“Instead, she preferred to stay on in Malta, living off a rich (and married) man for the rest of his life while he continued to live with his wife and she lived with her father”
In those days, ‘security’ is what most parents wanted for their girls. They would have preferred their daughters to be settled with a married man than go into showbiz abroad.
[Daphne – That’s not true and you know it. For the parents you describe, adultery was the path to hell and damnation, and flagrant adultery was the cause of the worst thing that could happen to you in a village: having your daughter gossiped about as a whore, which is exactly how that sort of thing was viewed.]
” For the parents you describe, adultery was the path to hell and damnation, and flagrant adultery was the cause of the worst thing that could happen to you in a village”
These dilemmas stem out of poverty (in remote areas in Africa some families tolerate their daughter’s prostitution for this reason). In Malta, some parents would prefer to put up with humiliation and see their daughters ‘settled’ and getting the financial security they couldn’t themselves provide.
This is significant because the fear of a return to poverty is what led to this “I want something at all costs” situation where people, regardless of their profile and capacities, battle to obtain high flying jobs through corruption – this has totally crippled the country.
Says Joe Fenech who is another deluded commentator. It’s sad , firstly to read the comparisons between two artists who have nothing to do with one another. To start off with one is a performer. the other is an artist. Ira writes her music . She even had one of her tracks cut for Kelly Clarkson’s hit single selling 3 million in the US. Hello????
Howard.
Comparisons between Mary Spiteri and Ira Losco have been drawn for reasons such as ‘similar career patterns’ and ‘Ira performing a song closely associated with Mary Spiteri’.
“the other is an artist. Ira writes her music.” Are you implying that she failed as a a singer but made it as a successful composer? And you call me ‘delusional’?! By the way: ‘artist’ is a blanket term used by people trying to sound ‘cool’ but, as a matter of fact, it means zilch. In this business people are called producers, managers, singers, composers, arrangers and so forth.
Joe Fenech the last person who’s going to teach me about this industry you think you know so well is Joe Fenech . Trust me .
Whether you think of Ms. Losco as an artist is your prerogative -it doesn’t bother me at all. I was trying to educate you as to how an artist gets to wear different hats when it comes to creating and performing. It doesn’t imply one is more successful than the other but that if Paul Abela for ex decides to stop Mary Spiteri from performing his songs – HE CAN as he is the copyright owner and Mary’s options have gone down from 100 to 10. That was my point.
If someone wants to call himself/ herself an artist to be ‘cool’ than they really have a surprise coming their way . I tend to agree with you at least on something that the word ART is misused at times. Industry perception however is what it is.
Howard, I see you’re very much of the “attakk fahxi” school of thought.
But Mary did do something with herself and her ‘talent’ and considering that she came from closed-minded times, she performed as much as she could abroad, namely in Australia which in the 80’s was the Maltese way of making it BIG.
I would understand Mary and her feelings towards Gensna as that must have brought back the memories of the only opportunity that existed for her and which gave her the exposure she needed to attract the larger Maltese audience.
The Café Premier evenings, only attracted the cabaret type of audience and not the Maltese population.
That Ira, in 2014, takes part, is well, beyond me. Had Mary Spiteri been born somewhere in the 90’s, I’m sure she wouldn’t even be thinking about Gensna and she would have smashed international competitions like ‘Pop Idol’, The UK’s got talent and similar.
And Mary would be refusing concerts like Gensna. She would have been our own interpretation of Shirley Bassey abroad.
Sadly for Mary, she was born in the wrong Era. The opportunities offered to good singers these days are much greater than Gensna.
“She even had one of her tracks cut for Kelly Clarkson’s hit single selling 3 million in the US.”
Mr Howard, you are proving to be quite a fibber. You cant even get the facts right.
Writer(s) Kelly Clarkson, Fredrik Rinman, Jimmy Messer, Malcolm Pardon
The prominent guitar riff on ‘Uh-Oh’ was also included in Kelly Clarkson’s hit “Don’t Waste Your Time.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don't_Waste_Your_Time
ehhhh . Alonso , That song- UH-OH was indeed co-written by Malcolm Pardon, Fredrick Rinman and Ira Losco. Fact and documented by Date prior to Kelly’s release. Check the album credits on Accident Prone. The publishing was Murlyn and a year later the publishers asked if they could use the track for her album to which the rights were transfered . Kelly’s publishers insisted they wanted to have Kelly feature so an agreement was made on that basis for image purposes. Do you know how many tracks Madonna is credited on where she never wrote a note on ?
Answer the question Mr Howard.
DID SHE OR DID SHE NOT RIGHT THAT SONG?
Does she receive royalties or does she not?
Is she registered as as a writer on PRS ACAP etc?
Capital letters insinuate you are shouting, so if you ask nicely i might be even tempted to answer you. So to use your own words ” If only you could calm down. Take a nice deep breath, relax, write and make sense.” Not that i haven’t answered you already mind you but i’ll be happy to elaborate.
Wow we finally managed to grab your little attention span.
Obviously the capitol letters are not shouting.They are there for you to read carefully and think hard,to grab you distorted short attention span.
So fire on tell us who wrote the song then.Tell us your success story.
Tell us about you your financial success from your royalties from the 3 million sales.
You have had ample time to make up a little story.
surely you got a cent or 2 for each mechanical sale,royalty airplays etc.
or did you make a bum deal and leave IRA broke?.
I guess you are leading her astray.
And this time type with 2 fingers please and make some English sense.
Ira Losco hasn’t even yet mastered the basic singing technique unlike Mary Spiteri who was capable of incredible subtleties which is why her expressive palette was so wide (yes, we’re talking about an incredible singer who could have really made it big had she not been stuck on a rock that was cut off from the planet).
I noticed that the musical arrangements are not the original. Text aside, the music was the first example of something approaching progressive rock. Now they made it sound like one of those tedious secondary school musicals one comes across in the UK and the USA.
Seems like you are a good critic with regards to singers and musical arrangements from the numerous comments you left. Please be so kind to let us know when your next concert is due so I book early.
Ivan, you are clearly one of those who mocks whatever her doesn’t understand.
What does ‘my concert’ have to do with what I’m saying ? Do you think the music business is just singers and bands? Are you one of those who think that people who left Malta decades ago were all making a living out pimping?
And here you go again. How certain are you that the audience there were All laborites ? Could it be that after 63 performances this rock opera stood the test of time and the political propaganda behind it insignificant and meaningless in today’s world. Should we hate Austrians or Germans because of Hitler’s ways ? Should we live in the past CONSTANTLY ??
[Daphne – I am afraid you are most confused. Only die-hard Labour supporters (and the tragicially uninformed) go to performances of Gensna because it is primarily totalitarian Mintoffian propaganda, conceived as such and performed as such, hence its revival now as a ‘national celebration’. Nobody else would be able to stand it. It has gone through 63 performances and stood the test of time for the same reason the Labour Party has: Malta is a largely undeveloped society and people are undiscriminating.
Should we hate Austrian and Germans because of Hitler’s ways? No, obviously not and your comparison does not make sense. But we should most definitely not be expected to go to performances of Hitlerian propaganda and applaud them, nor should we expect, any time soon, to see the Austrian and German governments putting on state-sponsored performances of Nazi propaganda set to music.]
I get that you want to attract readers to your blog but do you need to stoop so low every time ?
[Daphne – I do not need to try to attract readers to my blog, Howard. In 25 years, I have never tried to attract readers at all. That is probably the secret recipe. They come for reasons of their own and largely because, I suspect, it is something of a relief to know that there is somebody else who thinks as they do and who isn’t a self-created false persona invented to impress.]
You must have forgotten that you’re a woman i guess and that it’s a sexist world. I’m a man and i see both sides of the coin and the reality women face in this industry.
You might want to forget all the 120 +concerts had abroad ( none related to Eurovision or the Australia Maltese community ) you might want to forget that she came 2nd in EV, you might want to forget she never went back down that road even if she could have, that she has never done politics, that she has done numerous charity concerts, that she is at her 3rd career peak since 2002…. released a number of albums, dvd, book … in other words being active and taking chances ….i can add loads more…. but my reason of bothering to answer is the part where you pretentiously predict a 30 years span to come.
[Daphne – I would suggest that you learn how to punctuate as then people would be more inclined to take your defence of Miss Losco seriously. Despite Miss Losco’s 120 ‘concerts abroad’, her DVDs, books, almbums and three career peaks since 2002, the reality is that in her mid 30s she lives in Malta with her parents and works in a school for a living. So you would be best off being realistic. Miss Losco is not a famous singer. She is a learning support assistant who sings: in other words, she earns her living in a school while singing for fun. If she were younger, we could say that she works in a school to pay the bills while trying to make it as a singer, but you need to admit that in her mid-30s she is now past the point where you can still claim that. The world is packed with beautiful, gifted 18-year-olds, and nobody is waiting for middle-aged Ira Losco from Malta. She is now in Susan Boyle territory, but minus the voice and ‘odd’ appeal, so that’s not going to happen either.]
Let me guess as a woman you’d prefer to support the idea that a woman’s job is strictly to have children, doing the housewife thing, writing a blog on the side maybe .
[Daphne – Well, that shows how well informed you are. So I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised at your failure to understand that Gensna is totalitarian Mintoffian propaganda.]
You might have also forgotten your support towards her a few years back Daphne. But as much as i know you love dwelling on the past and i guess the present …. pls spare us your music analysis – clearly you understand none when it comes to different genres and comparisons which make absolutely no sense in the music world.
[Daphne – I don’t ‘support’ singers, Howard. I am not that sort of person. Back then, my advice to her was to leave Malta and try to make it, but I suppose she found Malta too comfortable. The reality is that Malta is the opposite of what they sing about New York: if you make it here, then you will never make it anywhere.]
I guess you are used to having your last say in your blogs and comment after each one who challenges what you write. You can have your say as much as you want. It is your blog after all and you can instigate hate as you please. The misconception you are basing your blog on is ridiculous to even go as far as suggest advise on the music industry or predict an artist’s path. I think she is doing something right to claim 72k likes on her fan page , you tube channel etc. The reality you look at is the one based on ‘ Making it’ . Nowadays it could be this young child in a reality show, tomorrow it could be this nun singing on a TV show but does it last ?? new names in the music biz appear every day . In fact so many are introduced that the majority struggle to maintain a career. Making it is longevity Daphne and being able to release music and widen your fanbase. If you think the music industry is as it used to be, you have no idea. A small note – pop music with the likes of Kylie Minogue is totally different to opera ‘niche’ markets, Susan Boyle LOL , heavy metal music or ballad singers with the likes of Celine Dione so comparisons between these ( for ex) based on how one looks ,what one wears , sings etc is futile.
‘pop music with the likes of Kylie Minogue is totally different to opera ‘niche’ markets, Susan Boyle LOL , heavy metal music or ballad singers with the likes of Celine Dione’
Hawn Malta kollox tal-Ira
I don’t quite think that Mr. Howard’s comments are making any sense. If he could control his anger and stop acting as Ira’s pimp he might start to make some sense after all.
Those 72 k Facebook likes are definitely managed by a company that actually offers a service, against payment of course, for Likes.
https://boostlikes.com/
http://fbtoools.com/
Success isn’t measured by how many Facebook likes one has but by landing himself in the real world where real likes reap in BIG money.
Another sweeping statement.
Let’s see if we possibly find a common ground. If a facebook page has 100,000 likes would you agree it means nothing if your engagement( talking about ) is 200 people ? Calmly now i don’t anyone of you to think i’m angry LOL ;-). I’m hoping you would say that what counts is engagement. in that case the 15k talking about on this page is more important to me – at least . Sipping my tea calmly
Eh Ok I get it… Tridna naghfsula il-‘Like’ button.
If Facebook has become the means to become famous, then Malta is way-behind the world and you Howard, should know better.
Facebook is NOT what unlocks the windows of the world to you but rather what locks the windows of your world.
Therefore likes on Facebook mean nothing – they actually remind me of all those hundreds of thosands of Lego bricks I have got stored somewhere in the loft, but that doesn’t mean I own LEGOLAND does it?
Dicky i partly agree with what you say i must agree. It’s just a tool at the end of the day not a means to open doors . However it is somehow reflective ( esp with the number of facebook users in Malta) as long as it is consistent with other online platforms. More than the likes look at engagement. In this case it’s 15k . This is far more important. An artist wanting to convince someone they have a following will have a hard time with 200 likes and 5 people talking about. If this wasn’t mentioned and Ms Losco’s page ( as an ex) was at 1000 likes and 10 people talking about i’m sure the argument would have been how can one claim she is popular if her facebook page is 1k. That was my point. Either case one can never win i guess.
Ok let’s structure this Facebook celebrity feeling.
I used to be a Facebook addict and talked, discussed, shared music photos on my page – Lou Bondi was my favourite.
I had ‘fans’ from all over Malta and when the Likes reached the 20,000 quota, I felt like Ringo Starr in New York from the comfort of my Facebook page.
I had my photos changed every week, if I was overseas, I’d take photos of myself – ah now that’s called a selfie – and I’d post them immediately.
This ‘Like’ thing was addicting me – I liked the attention , it made me feel BIG in Malta.
Then once it dawned on me that when I told my ‘fans’ this: just out of the shower, off to work in 10 miniutes, I’d get a 100 Likes or ‘just boiled an egg’ – 10 Likes.
It just clicked that people, those same addicts behind those PCs, were so fascinated by this ‘Like’ habit they developed that pressing the ‘Like’ button was to them what zapping channels on TV is to many. Or what pressing levers in lab-cages is to rats.
Another thing that brought me to my senses was Gilardu – the newsagent who’s got that small cabin on Renzo Piano’s Gate, in Valletta. I’d stop to buy my newspapers from him every day and as I’d be waiting to be served, I’d notice how Gilardu with no technology in his life maybe just a basic mobile, would get a multitude of people waving to him and shouting good morning on their way in to Valletta. That in my head is ‘cool’.
I don’t expect celeb treatment, neither do I behave like a celeb, but neither is Gilardu. Gilard has just managed to build his friendship way up from being the humble man he’s always been minus the Facebook Likes.
My point is: you can act as cool as you like on Facebook, you can collect as many Likes as you like but as they said: you may unlock as well as lock all the windows of your world because ultimately, it’s what you are and what you throw in the real world, that matters.
So what’s the point of all the Likes if the girl still hasn’t moved from A to B?
Is it habit? Is it modern way Facebook culture? No, it’s just as the people are telling you, Howard – you have not proved yourself enough.
The only person who’s ever made it on Facebook is Mark Zuckerberg.
You are living in illusion if you think, your going to make it from your Facebook comfort zone.
” She is now in Susan Boyle territory, but minus the voice and ‘odd’ appeal…”
And with the most important minus: a music mogul !
Bear in mind also, that Susan Boyle is an easy-listening singer there as long as the voice is healthy, the age doesn’t really count.
Ira Losco hasn’t grown emotionally and socially, and is completely delusional in thinking that she’ll ever make it in the pop world where people come in and are disposed of as soon as a better milking cow is discovered.
I don’t know if Ira Losco has grown emotionally. After all I haven’t seen her for ages. But she did make a big mistake in her career: she stayed on with her amateur indie-rock band after her Eurovision success.
A sensible agent would have made her branch out solo, doing indie rock if that’s what fulfils her, and making the cash from featuring in vocal trance tracks.
Yes, I know, the Tenishia collaboration was artistically a disaster, but they make a living from their music. She doesn’t.
I’m actually surprised no one told her this. The business model for for indie rock artists for the past decade at least has been precisely that: low-revenue, high artistic content personal albums, and high-revenue, easy-peasy vocal trance.
If you don’t know who Tenishia are, Joe Fenech, then we’re talking past each other.
the same old rants from the same old people . Joe Fenech and HP Baxter do you remember the Two Ronnies. I hear there might be an opening for you in comedy land ;-)) Well, since most of my comments seem to be waiting moderation so that Daphne can answer line by line LOL i’ll try to enlighten HP Baxter. What planet are you on ? Indie band after Eurovision ? not going solo ? Hello ??? At least if you’re trying hard to belittle other people’s achievements try your best not to be a fool yourself and get the facts right.
[Daphne – H. P Baxxter is not an old person. He is younger than Ira Losco.]
Tiara did split up after Eurovision. If you had any part in that, then well done.
But what’s this about “belittling” the achievements of celebrities? Am I Ira Losco’s mother or her kindergarten teacher? Just goes to show what a giant delusion you’re all living in.
I think Justin Bieber is an effete, talentless spunk-trumpet, and obviously a closet homosexual.
And I won’t have his agent answering me on this blog. Because CELEBRITIES ARE ABOVE THAT.
Since when does age justify getting the facts wrong Daphne ? He mentioned something completely the opposite of what actually happened after EV. She had an Indie band before Ev and pursued her solo career after. Clearly he is confused about other things too and the more i read the more i realize what a waste of time this is ;-)
[Daphne – I didn’t use his age to justify anything, Howard, but to point out that he is not an ‘old person’.]
I find all this every entertaining. Are we comparing JB to Ira Losco now? Hehe I will agree with you about his lack of talent . But don’t be surprised about what managers / agents do. I have never commented on this blog before . To be fair and honest i don’t have the time . But I am , just like anyone else engaged in online media sooooooo don’t be so surprised. If an artist answers directly- yes i get your point. To see a woman like Daphne have a go at Ira when she knows very well she has never given in to political propaganda does tick me off when i know from a professional reality how hard it is for a woman to pursue a career ( any career for the matter ) . To read comments which are based on lies and assumptions frustrates me not because they are voiced but because it goes to show the lack of education on the subject and the whole insecurity based on a small island’s need-to-achieve – probably inherited from our ( colony ) history. Neither am i over patriotic just to be clear and have no problem to say it as it is.
Howard, I can see now why you never made it beyond Malta’s shores either. Your comments here are a litany of Maltese memes: Daphne should only comment about politics, “pursuing” one’s career, women have a hard time, all comment stems from insecurity, etc.
Baxxter what are even on about now. How I made it ? What does that even mean anyhow ? do you need to check your colony text book for guidelines to be considered worthy? Insecure about what ? Because i mention realities women face in the industry ? As childish as this is starting to sound i will allow myself one reply to the information you are seeking . You mean touring professionally abroad as an artist , licensing records to major international labels ,Digital distribution deals, Publishing songs and writers with majors , 20+ endorsement deals , working with international acts , securing artist tours and top festival slots for local artists in Major festivals such as Glastonbury, etc , ADR on a block buster film such as lord of the rings which was awarded an oscar for sound editing ( amongst others) – okay yes i’ve done All those . Not sure why what i did and do is relevant to you as I’m happy to stay in the background. NOW PLEASE do share with us what you’ve done or made happen internationally? I’d love to know since you self confessed below that you tried your luck in this biz. And That’s the only reason i ask. Let me guess you’ve had it easy , you’re afraid to risk anything and hide behind pseudonyms at the luxury of your keypad firing away statements to satisfy your broken ego . Envious of things you always wanted to have but never managed because they don’t necessarily depend on money. Please tell me i wasn’t wasting my time with a loser and I’m wrong !
It’s very hard to understand your incoherent sentences. I’m not sure you understood mine either.
I was saying that you follow the same old Maltese mindset which make us such a backward nation.
You seem to think that just because Ira Losco is not a politician, then Daphne shouldn’t write about her. Daphne is a journalist, and in the civilised, sophisticated world, journalists write about everything and everyone, and celebrities are constantly under the media spotlight. Because that’s press freedom and that’s everybody’s business.
You use the word “pursue a career” for someone who tries to market herself as a celebrity. Celebrities don’t pursue careers. They ARE their careers. Ask Jozef. He will understand.
You seem to think that anyone who comments about anyone is doing it out of insecurity, therefore that no one should comment about anyone. You seem to think that poking fun and criticising Ira Losco is an attakk fahxi.
Finally, you are a successful international performing artist and yet here you are, replying to a total loser and nobody on an internet blog. It’s the sort of thing only a Maltese ragel ta’ success would do, because Malta in the end is but a village, and since we all know each other, then the highest (you) will see nothing strange in talking to the lowest (me).
I’ve been writing nasty stuff about Justin Bieber and One Direction since lunchtime today. I checked my inbox. Nothing there from their manager. Nothing from their fans. I dare to take jibes at Ira Losco, and I get a series of very angry missives from you. What is this, the cracker barrel?
Please understand that you celebrities are not like us, or you’re no celebrities at all. You shouldn’t mix with us, still less engage in logical disputes.
Jeez. First Giovanni Bonello, then Karen DeBattista, and now Ira Losco’s representative.
Of course Bieber’s manager won’t write to you. He doesn’t know where Malta is probably let alone this blog LOL. The reason why i write here is because i live in Malta , i know of this blog and a link was sent to me . Do you have a problem with me challenging what you write ? Isn’t this what online engagement is after all ? i might actually start doing this more often ;-)))
Us , them, celebrities. C’mon you take this stuff too seriously.
The Lord of the Rings bit is rubbish Howard.
Your name is nowhere to be seen on the film credits.
Another lie.
Yes they used the Maltese studio just because the actor was in Malta shooting a film and you stood there and probably just watched but that was it.
You did not win an OSCAR.
The truth of the matter is that you never made it beyond these shores and no-one knows who you are.
And Glastonbury? I love the “etc” bit.
People don’t use “etc” for important events, do they now.
People like you bragging about their successes are the usual crap artists who need to get out of this country, travel the world and live overseas and see what the real world is all about.
If you bragged the way you do about your “oh so mighty done this, done that” then you would be looked at as a con artist elsewhere, something you seem to be good at.
Bilboe Baggins or whatever film character you chose to be. BTW Bilbo not Bilbo”e”
How would you even know where i travelled and what i’ve done ? How does answering a specific question qualify as a brag exactly? I was asked something on this thread and i answered. I mentioned a few things and i didn’t mention any local stuff i do, organize, produce or manage. That would be bragging. I answered specifically.
LOTR won sound editing oscar (not moi – hello ?) the reason why i know is because one of the directors Phillipa Boyens let us know that we (My partner in crime and myself at the time) were part of that alongside Pinewood studios. As regards to what i did in the studio unless you were that annoying fly on that wall unf you will never know but i will tell you this. Should you want to send me an e-mail (i’m sure you’ll get my address ) i’ll be more than happy to let you know privately just in case you might interpret it as bragging. In the meantime you can check out the end credits of LOTR 2 , we were lucky enough to get the studio credited in the movie. You’ll be happy to see that as well.
The Glastonbury etc part is hilarious. So if i mentioned a list of festivals i managed to secure how would that be interpreted?a brag – LOL . Once again I’m up for the challenge . Send me an e-mail and i’ll send you the logs with audience attendance, date, place , promoter and location. You will be free to publish them no problem so it won’t be coming from my end. Not that all this means anything but since you are so interested in what i did and do…..
Another fixation is ‘the making it syndrome’. I’m blessed to wake up in the morning and do what i love doing, meet and work with talented and interesting people. Been doing it for quite some time now so i’m not complaining;-) Wishing you all the very best . There’s much more i can answer but truthfully , as entertaining as this was , i just don’t have anymore time to waste. Not sure if this will get published as 4 of my answers to your Qs weren’t published.
[Daphne – This exchange is now closed. I will not be accepting any more comments under this post.]
I guess you are used to having your last say in your blogs and comment after each one who challenges what you write. You can have your say as much as you want. It is your blog after all and you can instigate hate as you please. The misconception you are basing your blog on is ridiculous to even go as far as suggest advise on the music industry or predict an artist’s path. I think she is doing something right to claim 72k likes on her fan page , you tube channel etc. The reality you look at is the one based on ‘ Making it’ . Nowadays it could be this young child in a reality show, tomorrow it could be this nun singing on a TV show but does it last ?? new names in the music biz appear every day . In fact so many are introduced that the majority struggle to maintain a career. Making it is longevity Daphne and being able to release music and widen your fanbase. If you think the music industry is as it used to be, you have no idea. A small note – pop music with the likes of Kylie Minogue is totally different to opera ‘niche’ markets, Susan Boyle LOL , heavy metal music or ballad singers with the likes of Celine Dione so comparisons between these ( for ex) based on how one looks ,what one wears , sings etc is futile.
I question the “given in to political propaganda” quote from Mr. Howard above.
Ira Losco performed at May Day celebrations in Alfred Sant’s heyday.
She performed at MPs’ birthday parties organised by canvassers.
Now of course she has blotted her political copybook with performing at the Socialist MLP heavily inspired GENSNA and she has displayed her true colours now.
It is after all Ira who is insecure as Mr Howard quoted “on a small Island’s need-to-achieve” and obviously this applies to her failed attempt (if there was even one after the Eurovision Song contest) to help her maintain international status.
I sense frustration from a failed and increasingly desperate performer.
Justin Beiber may be talentless but he does have very talented producers, management and most of all major distribution.
Alonso hilarious ;-))))
A PRIVATE party you mention . Were you there ? LET ME GUESS. One of the hundreds which were refused made it to your invite list?
MAY DAY celebrations – You mean the one time where UNF an agreement was breached ? Forgot to mention Indipendenza in the same year – since we’re talking about National feats here? what are we talking about exactly national events or MASS MEETINGS ? Oh wait once someone mentioned that Ms Losco performed in a mass meeting . Another fool who was not capable of probably realizing the DJ was probably playing one of her songs .or are you going to twist this one as well that by some divine intervention she was there?
GENSNA is a rock opera where 20+ singers performed . I disagree even more so in view of how it was presented under FCN but anyhow. When one solely red or blue i guess that’s all that matters.
” help her maintain international status’ My oh my how deluded you are. The year after EV the pitching to the labels had the EV in the forefront . The response back please come back after the EV stigma had gone. A year after with different music and approach a deal was made with BMG.
The only frustration you might find is from my end reading your comments and how uninformed you all are. Do you honestly think Ira is frustrated at her career peak and an her album no.1 on itunes for 28 weeks, 4th music video and 2 to follow ?
Justin Beiber is SOOOO doing well . His manager is SOOOO taking care of his image. Yeah right.
And what I-tunes chart would that be Mr Howard?
I-tunes MALTA CHART by any chance?
“A year after with different music and approach (LOL) a deal was made with BMG”.?YAWN
Where is the success story please?
Where are the record deals, the world tours, the pictures, interviews on Billboard magazine or even Rolling Stone magazine.
I think your anger speaks for itself with your bad command of English.
If only you could calm down. Take a nice deep breath, relax, write and make sense.
Oh and by the way the whole world knows whom Justin Beiber is so he must be a success in his own right with great producers, major distribution and of course management.
The latter two don’t exactly have much to do with his image. His music must speak for itself as he does after all attract an audience of hundreds of thousands worldwide.
I don’t exactly like his music, however he is rolling in money.
Bad command of English language , Pr Garbage, where’s the success story, Beiber rolling in the money, the record deals, tours ? Alonso You seem to be a bit annoyed. Didn’t I clarify all this already? I’m not going to explain all that again ;-(
Yes iTunes charts because I’m guessing if the ‘Pr Garbage’ would have read no.1 album in Malta someone like Alonso would bring up a hundred reasons to say otherwise. Do you honestly think it’s wise for the pr to say otherwise. Most of the time backed with videos or photos. Mind you i do read some PR Garbage from others stating absolute bs. But I’ll leave the bitching to the online haters which seem to flourish on this blog and times on line. It’s always the same 5-10 people.
What you don’t get is that i really don’t care if you , dislike, hate Ms Losco or any local artist for that matter. Be my guest. Don’t buy their albums, don’t like their facebook. Big Deal. I would think not following an artist or buying their album , posting your dislike comment once is enough to show for but constantly looking for the bitter side, shooting down every statement or performance, or even looking for that needle in a haystack seems to me you’re either obsessed or angry (Because we are all unworthy to exist and do our thing) . Online blogs give you the freedom to do all that and hide away behind names such as Alonso. At least Daphne is who she says she is. I bet you’ll be quite a ‘ Fidijl ‘ in a real life conversation.
Yesterday i wrote on this blog for the first time and i genuinely enjoyed every minute of it. I guess both parties can enjoy this freedom and yet by doing so i was pretty much ‘attacked’ that i should not be answering whilst you were seeking info for me to answer to. I chose to go along with it deliberately.
So Chill out Alonso it’s not all doom and gloom ;-)
Stick to facts and make things clear for us to understand instead of trying to be an international sensational manager/producer.
All you had to write was that she was number one in the Malta i-tunes chart not the world wide i-Tunes chart.
All you had to explain to us was that she didn’t write “oh Oh” because if she did she would have received a big huge fat royalty cheque, moved on, got a better album deal, better internationally renowned producers and management and way better musicians.
That’s 3 million sales you mentioned. That’s quite a lot. Just imagine the millions of airplays too.
I was at the May Day MLP celebrations in Freedom Square (now parliament house) by coincidence and I saw Ira and her band perform after Alfred Sant made his speech.
It was a good performance (the band not his speech).
There was another band that played that night too….they were really good.
And yes it was a MASS MEETING in 2008 when Labour lost to ‘GonziPN’.
So you’re lying about Ira Losco never having performed at Labour mass meetings.
Fourth music video? Good luck with that.
I suppose I’ll see it on MTV some day, or should that be TVM.
Could this Howard be Howard Keith, Ira’s manager? Just asking. He seems to have taken this post a bit too personally.
And it sounds like the rock star drugs are kicking in, so it’s either a manager or a performer.
Can we move on from Justin Bieber, please? I think One Direction are all gay, talentless cunts.
Jekk Ira spiccat tkanta fil-funerali, ma nsibix difficli biex nifhem li din hadet sehem f’Gensna.
Il-festa tal-31 ta’Marzu maghna. Allura forsi issa Ira ttina remix tal-kanzunetta popolari tat-80ijiet:
‘Le, le ma ninsik qatt ja art twelidi’
‘Kull fejn immur niftahar bil-Helsien’
‘Jekk xi hadd ikazzbrek isib lili’
Sejra tajjeb Ira fit-2014 – spiccat tarma bil-funerali u b’Gensna.
Iktar kellha exposure tajba meta kellha 18 il sena.
DIN , as you mention, doesn’t sing in funerals Unless it’s a relative or a friend who passed away. Stop lying and assuming
She must have a whole brood of very elderly relatives then.
howard, if I were a singer who made it big at 18, I wouldn’t be singing at funerals of friends and relations, but you’d find me sitting somewhere in the corner of a church, mourning while avoiding the paparazzi with requests that they respect my privacy in this difficult time.
H.P. Baxxter get a life. Your comments are pathetic. PLEASE do enlighten us with the numbers coz you clearly have no idea. SHE must have done 10 in total . some were family friends, close relatives and close friend. To mention some – Nirvana , her uncle .
What you insinuate is A BLANTANT LIE . Not that it’s any of your business and she doesn’t have the right to do as she pleases but a lie is a lie.
howard, if you want to talk music, real music Made in Malta, discuss these…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_0mAVZscc8
Are you the Howie from Ira’s fan club?
Surely you mean “Nirvana, her aunt?
10 dead relatives and friends is a lot. Where’s the lie, pray?
Oh and it IS my business. Since Ira Losco made a career out being a celebrity, then it is our business to discuss her. That’s what celebrities are for. It comes with the territory.
If I were to say that Madonna is a talentless old bitch, I wouldn’t expect her relatives or friends (I assume you’re one) to come frantically to her aid with countercomments. Celebrities are above that.
@Whiskey and Paragliding
From what I’ve been reading, I don’t think he’s a relative or friend. I’m assuming he’s Howard her agent, and of Tribali and Red Electrick. I’m not 100% sure but I believe he’s agent for Airport Impressions too.
Ok Hp Baxter let me try once again to get through to you ;-) Nirvanna Azzopardi ( her very close friend ) , her uncle and another 8 people who are family friends, relatives or close friends who passed away. Better ? omg
You mentioned celebrity ? shhh….. Daphne might hear you
Sure when you’re famous expect the heat back. Not a problem and sometimes needed but expect to be corrected when what you state is an assumption or a lie. The worst thing for an artist is not have a reaction or to have fans who are indifferent.
If you could spell and punctuate we wouldn’t be having half this discussion.
I don’t think I’ve been to more than five funerals in my entire life, and I’m older than Ira Losco. So how is my comment about a large brood a lie?
Irrid nizzewweg. Howard, taghmilii remix ta’ l-Ave Maria, Ira?
La taghmel il-funerali, nahseb mhix nieqsa mit-tiegijiet?
That was her friend’s funeral.
Actually she started her career by singing during wedding receptions.
@ Ivan – yes that’s why he should talk about Airport Impressions if he wants to talk good music because he ‘probably’ represents them as well.
Looks like Jo has already lined up someone to replace Ira Losco when the latter receives her KartAnzjan.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20131202/local/gieh-ir-republika-for-gaia-cauchi.497307
That’s “grooming”, isn’t it?
Oh dear.
Just for clarity’s sake, Mary Spiteri was not part of the original Gensna. She took over this song a few years after and kept singing it until a few years ago (even during the 2009 concerts).
Mary Spiteri sang at Mintoff’s funeral.
Probably it was her ‘Tema 79’ funeral too cause I don’t think she ever sang it after that.
As they say: “success? it’s not a one-time thing and the most difficult part about being successful is that of remaining successful after a considerable amount of years, when everybody would have moved on and forgotten all about you.”
Maybe Ira Losco would like to tell us what she thinks about this?
Not only Willy has been unable to find any garages, but he has now been gagged by Jo’s government.
http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2014-03-27/news/one-year-on-still-no-garages-for-bandswillie-mangion-barred-from-speaking-to-media-4398710788/
http://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/william-mangion-bilbord.jpg
Shortly after her second place at the ESC 2002, I remember Ira saying that she’s after ‘international fame’. Twelve years later and she’s singing Tema 79 in Gensna to an audience of Labour supporters.
Well, she can say that she has attained “international fame.” Gensna is all about Mintoff’s “glieda mal-barrani,” remember?
Let me help put the Maltese concept of “artiste” in perspective:
http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2014-03-27/news/one-year-on-still-no-garages-for-bandswillie-mangion-barred-from-speaking-to-media-4398710788/
Has anyone noticed Ray Attard, the presenter of ‘Sas-Sitta’ on NET TV, clapping so enthusiastically (at 4:59)?
Then, at 5:11, when the camera focuses on him, he gives it a quick ‘shy’ look before looking at Ira again.
Is he supporting Labour now that they’re in government? Unbelievable, these personalities!
Actually, now he’s presenting ‘Sibt Familja’ with Debbie Scerri on NET TV.
Sab familja mal-Labour tghid?! Kif ma jisthix?
You’re right, she doesn’t have half the volume and power Mary Spiteri has.
Struggling through all tones.
How come Mary Spiteri was left out? After all this was her song.
are you sure she was left out Clare ? And for the 100th time, not that it’s interest to me personally , BUT the song was not her’s . Another misconception unfortunately.
This must have been one tiring week for Daphne. First the mob supporting Mr Erin, now the mob supporting Ira.
Do I sense a common factor here?
They both eat ricotta?
What does Erin ( i’m guessing the one involved in last week’s incident) have to do with this ? You’ve lost me there.
And now the mob for a certain Vince Taliana.
Daphne, you need people to help you; the work load is worse than at McDonald’s.
Unfortunately, she killed her own career in singing and it seems that she doesn’t have anything else to look forward too. I think that this also applies to Ivan Grech of Winter moods. PL lackeys no more and no less.
That and not having the right marketing structure.
Marketing in Malta is looked at an ‘extra expense’ and I don’t blame the system because some people in marketing are more cash than flash.
You just don’t get good value for money and when you look at all they do, you end up thinking: gosh I could have done all that myself, got my product to where I want it to go, and I would have made double – minus the marketing manager.
You really have to keep an eye on everything and everyone – most especially the self-proclaimed professionals.
Has no one noticed that at 4:32 the guy on the left makes a clear gesture to someone saying that he/she/they should stand up?
All choreographed I’m afraid, and definitely not spontaneous.
Not an easy feat with 5,500 people . Are you sure there wasn’t Alan Bates backstage?
Hahahaha Daphne said Baxxter is younger than Ira and Baxxter said he is older than Ira. Hilarious!!! And Baxxter in my opinion you are a really sad person who seems extremely jealous to me and has no life. these hatred comments are unbelievable. For your info yes Howard did do the ADR of lord of the rings himself I was there and went out to eat with them too the whole week they we’re hear and yes the studio Howard used to work at and record himself at is credited. Re the music industry if you no nothing about don’t blab on about clearly all the malicious comments are waste of time losers who are jealous. Daphne the nationalist party should really be ashamed to have you on their team to comment. I am ashamed you are a nationalist you must have green blood in you. Just live and let live woman you will live a happier life believe me. To me and many many others you show frustration and old Maltese ways. You haven’t moved on in time. I really feel sorry for you
@ Amanda
If Howard is as you say he is, why is he still on this unresourceful – now more than ever – rock that Malta is?
Some record company overseas, should have signed him up years ago, don’t you think?
Plus when you start seeing producers, managers and supposedly well-known international singers, getting too cosy with local politics, that in itself means, they haven’t done much and that they’ve nothing to write home about.
In plain and simple terms: they’re just scraping what’s left in the bucket.