Chiara

Chiara, full name Chiara Siracusa, is a Maltese singer, best known for representing her country in the Eurovision Song Contest.

In 1998, Chiara won Malta's Song for Europe festival, the national pre-selection for Eurovision, with the gentle ballad The One That I Love, which she then took to the contest in Birmingham. With Eurovision being a national passion in a country that had thus far never actually won the contest, much of Malta held its breath in the latter stages of the event as their entry held a joint lead with Israel, with the votes of only one country left to be heard. But Chiara was to suffer heartbreak in the end, as FYR Macedonia gave her no points at all, leaving her behind the victorious Dana International of Israel, and even pushing her narrowly into third place behind Imaani of the United Kingdom. That was still enough to equal Malta's best ever placing from the 1992 contest, although it has since been eclipsed by Ira Losco's second place with 7th Wonder in 2002.

In 2005, aiming for a chance to set the record straight at Eurovision, Chiara re-entered the Song for Europe festival, and along with 21 other entries reached the final on 19 February with the song Angel, another ballad which this time she wrote herself. For the first time, the selection of Malta's Eurovision entry was to be selected solely by a public vote. After agonising delays, it transpired that 11,935 phone calls had been registered in Chiara's support, which by a razor-thin margin of 566 votes placed her ahead of her nearest rival Olivia Lewis. Thus, Chiara will for a second time carry Malta's fervent hopes at the Eurovision Song Contest, this time to be held in Kyiv.

Armed once again with a song that possesses all the classic attributes of a successful Eurovision entry – a catchy, feel-good melody, and a key-change that builds up to a big finish – Chiara is highly likely to enter the contest as one of the favourites. She will have the further substantial advantage of being exempt from the mass cull of competitors that will take place at the semi-final stage on 19 May, thanks to the solid showing of Malta's semi-operatic offering in the 2004 contest, On Again, Off Again sung by Julie & Ludwig. Instead, Chiara is one of fourteen entries guaranteed a berth in the grand final on 21 May.

Chiara also has the distinction of joining an unusually extensive list of 2005 competitors who have competed previously in the contest, including Iceland's 1999 runner-up Selma, and Greece's Helena Paparizou, who in the 2001 contest was lead singer of third-placed Antique.