| Miriam Christine Borg | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 30, 1979 |
| Genres | Pop, Electronic |
| Website | Miriam Christine official site |
Miriam Christine Borg is a Maltese pop and rhythm and blues singer best known for representing Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest 1996.
Contents |
Born in Goias, Brazil but raised on the Mediterranean island of Gozo, Miriam Christine was destined to hit the big time. At the age of 6, she was introduced to singing and piano lessons. She took to listening to soul music but was also disposed to listening to various other styles- from Beethoven, Mozart, and such jazz greats as Marian McPartland, Oscar Peterson, Fats Waller and of course jazz singers like Billie Holliday and Nina Simone. Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Diana Ross were also big inspirations as were latter day talents like Mary J. Blige, Toni Braxton, and Alicia Keys. She took all of those different genres of music and rolled them all into one, to create a style all her own.
The road to success wasn't an easy one. Raised in the small island of Gozo, she had an idyllic upbringing but then this was in total contrast to the rhythm and blues ambiance of New York or Detroit or even San Francisco. On the other hand, it helped Miriam Christine to project a different approach to rhythm and blues. She took to singing and took part in various festivals before eventually winning the Song for Europe Festival and representing Malta in the 1996 Eurovision Song Contest with the song In A Woman’s Heart.
In 1996 the Eurovision Song Contest was held in Oslo. Malta had high hopes on Miriam Christine. In fact, more than 100 Maltese fans were in the Spectrum Theater for the big night. The video clip of the song In a Woman's Heart, written by Paul Abela and Alfred Sant, was fresh and modern. On the night of the contest the young singer was also modern and fresh, wearing a Benetton outfit and accompanied on stage by 3 backing vocalists-one of whom was Georgina Abela, the wife of the composer and actually a former contestant herself.
In the beginning of the voting Malta was among the top 5 with great chances of victory. However, the Maltese entry did not get so many points as the night went by, eventually ranking 9th place with 68 points.
In 1998 her debut album was in the stores. It was entitled Smile and Shine and it was full of rhythm and blues and African American influences. She also furthered her studies in music and found a job with Education 22, the state education channel. She continued to produce albums and she is considered to be Malta's one and only r'n'b singer. She is also the composer of most of her songs. In 2008 she made one of her biggest dreams come true, by forming The Gozo Children’s Choir. She also gave big concerts during the Malta Gay Pride and she was the winner of the popular television contest Malta Hit Song Contest, which is aired on OneTv. Her entry was entitled Alone Today and nowadays the singer along with her team is working on a video clip which will accompany the official release of the single to the local market.
| Year | Title | |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | In a Woman's Heart | |
| 2002 | Reptile Lover | |
| 2003 | Hold On | |
| 2004 | What We Really Mean | |
| 2004 | Hush | |
| 2004 | Synchrnised | |
| 2004 | Mystery Mama |
| Year | Title | |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Smile and Shine | |
| 2002 | L'Emigrant | |
| 2004 | Little Zee |
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Mike Spiteri with "Keep Me In Mind" |
Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest 1996 |
Succeeded by Debbie Scerri with "Let Me Fly" |