Photo: Eurovision
Ever since her incredible win in the final of ‘Malta Eurovision Song Contest’ on the 8th of February, we have had Miriana Conte’s controversial anthem ‘KANT’ on repeat, but the question remains, will she even be allowed to perform the song at Eurovision?
Written and produced by Benjamin Schmid, Sarah Evelyn Fullerton, Matthew Mercieca (Muxu), and Miriana herself, the anthem is high-energy, catchy and reminiscent of Malta’s 2021 entry Je Me Casse by Destiny.
Given the obvious innuendo associated with the song title and lyric ‘Do-re-mi-fa-s-s-serving KANT’, many have suggested the song will not be able to be sung at the contest in May. Speaking about the song on his new BBC Radio 2 Breakfast show, Eurovision host Scott Mills said, “We can’t talk about Malta’s one, at all. We definitely can’t play a clip of it… ever, on the BBC”. Given the BBC is the UK broadcaster of Eurovision, it would therefore seem unlikely for them to allow the song to be broadcast in full on TV, while never allowing airplay on the radio.
Conte herself has refuted the idea of adjusting the lyrics, recently stating, “The EBU accepted that the song remains the same, so it shouldn’t be a problem. The song will obviously be revamped, but it won’t change, it’ll stay the same”. With other provocative entries so far this year, including “Ich Komme’ by Finland’s Erika Vikman, it may be difficult for organisers to draw a line mandating a change to Conte’s KANT.
If the song is deemed unsuitable for broadcast, a censored version may be similar to Latvia’s entry in 2022, when the EBU censored lyrics which were joyfully screamed loudly by the fans in the arena. At this time, the band Citi Zeni failed to qualify for the Grand Final and BBC presenter Rylan Clark was forced to apologise for the audible ‘strong language’.
In our opinion, given KANT was performed and won in style in ‘Malta Eurovision Song Contest’ and the EBU have accepted the song, we hope Conte will be allowed to perform the song uncensored on the night. Currently sitting as bookmakers’ 6th favourite to win the contest, KANT will be a clear talking point on the night and undeniably will become a Eurovision fan favourite for years to come.
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Until you have a statement from the EBU saying that it has been accepted, I won’t believe it. You have the singer’s word; I suspect that acceptance has been assumed by the performance’s appearance on the YouTube channel, which is not the same thing.
The BBC will not be allowed to broadcast those lyrics, so expect more on this after the HoD meeting in March.