Malta is back in the Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final for the first time in four years, and it’s all thanks to rising star Miarna Conte, who delivered a confident, high-energy performance of her track ‘Serving’ during Thursday night’s semi-final in Switzerland.

Singing ninth in the line-up, Conte captivated the international audience with her bold stage presence and slick choreography. Her song, a super punchy, empowering pop anthem with a club-ready beat, clearly struck a chord, earning her a spot in Saturday’s highly anticipated Grand Final.

The moment was a tense one for fans watching at home, as Malta’s name was announced ninth out of the ten qualifiers, near the very end of a nail-biting results reveal.

Miarna’s qualification marks Malta’s first appearance in the Eurovision Grand Final since 2021, when Destiny Chukunyere dazzled Europe with her hit ‘Je Me Casse’, finishing in 7th place, the best result for Malta since Chiara placed second in 2005 with ‘Angel’.

Interestingly, Conte’s entry wasn’t always called ‘Serving’. The song was originally unveiled under a different title, ‘Kant’,  a play on a Maltese word meaning ‘singing’. However, the name was later changed to ‘Serving’ to appeal to a wider international audience and better reflect the song’s fierce, fashion-forward theme.

Lithuania, Israel, Armenia, Denmark, Austria, Luxembourg, Finland, Latvia, and Greece will join Malta from Thursday’s semi-final. They’ll take the stage alongside Tuesday’s qualifiers: Iceland, Poland, Estonia, Ukraine, Sweden, Portugal, Norway, San Marino, Albania, and the Netherlands.

The 26 countries will also be joined by the so-called ‘Big Five’, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom, as well as this year’s host country, Switzerland, which all automatically qualified for the final.

With strong bookies’ odds placing her comfortably in the top ten before the semi-final, Miarna Conte now faces the biggest night of her career this Saturday. Whether she clinches a win or not, her qualification has already reignited Malta’s Eurovision hopes, and fans across the islands will be cheering her on.