Destiny (singer)

Last updated

Destiny
Destiny Chukunyere Eurovision 2019.jpg
Destiny in 2019
Background information
Birth nameDestiny Chukunyere
Also known asDestiny
Born (2002-08-29) 29 August 2002 (age 22)
Birkirkara, Malta
Genres
Occupation
  • Singer
InstrumentVocals
Years active2013–present
Website destiny.mt

Destiny Chukunyere M.Q.R. (born 29 August 2002), known mononymously as Destiny, is a Maltese singer. She won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015, where she represented Malta with the song "Not My Soul".

Contents

In 2017, she participated in the eleventh series of Britain's Got Talent and finished 6th in the second semi-final and thus was eliminated. She won the second season of the Maltese version of The X Factor and was chosen to represent Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 in Rotterdam with the song "All of My Love" however the contest was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, Destiny represented Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021, this time with the song "Je me casse", where she finished in 7th place with 255 points.

Early life

Chukunyere was born on 29 August 2002. She lives in Birkirkara and attended a secondary school in Ħamrun. [1] Her father is Igbo Nigerian [2] former footballer Ndubisi Chukunyere, while her mother is Maltese. [3] She has two younger siblings; a sister named Melody and a brother named Isaiah. [4]

Career

Prior to her participation in the Junior Eurovision, Chukunyere participated in various singing competitions including Festival Kanzunetta Indipendenza 2014 in which she placed third with the song "Festa t'Ilwien"; and won the Asterisks Music Festival, and SanRemo Junior in Italy. [5]

2015–2017: Junior Eurovision Song Contest

On 11 July 2015, Chukunyere won the Maltese national final held at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta. She represented Malta at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015, in Sofia, Bulgaria on 21 November. [6]

Chukunyere won the live national final with the Aretha Franklin song "Think", enabling her to represent Malta; her Junior Eurovision entry called "Not My Soul" was composed by Elton Zarb and written by Muxu with her involvement. [7] [8] Chukunyere won the contest with 185 points breaking the previous record score set by María Isabel in 2004. [9]

On 13 December 2015, Chukunyere and her team were awarded the Midalja għall-Qadi tar-Repubblika. [8]

2017–2019: Britain's Got Talent

In early 2017, Chukunyere auditioned for series 11 of ITV's Britain's Got Talent singing "Think", by Aretha Franklin, where she was given four yeses. Her audition was aired on 20 May. She has received praise from established music critic Simon Cowell and international renowned tenor Joseph Calleja. [10] After listening and watching her perform, Cowell told to the rest of the judges that they "have been waiting for someone to come out who ... could be a star, and Destiny may be the one." [11] On 27 May, she was announced as one of the qualifiers to the live shows and performed in the second semi-final on 30 May. [12] She placed 6th in the semi-final and thus was eliminated.

Britain's Got Talent Performances
SongOriginal Artist
Audition"Think" Aretha Franklin
Semi-final"Respect" Otis Redding

2019–2020: X Factor Malta

In 2019, Chukunyere appeared in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv, Israel as a backing singer for the Maltese entrant's, Michela Pace, song "Chameleon". The song qualified for the final, finishing in 14th place with 107 points.

In 2019, Chukunyere was revealed to be taking part in the second season of X Factor Malta . She was placed in the Girls category, mentored by Ira Losco, and advanced to the live shows. On 8 February 2020, she won the competition.

X Factor Malta Performances
SongOriginal Artist(s)Notes
Audition"Giving Myself" Jennifer Hudson 4 "Yes" votes
Bootcamp"The Voice Within" Christina Aguilera
Six Chair Challenge"Don't Call Me Up" Mabel
Judges' House"It's a Man's Man's Man's World" James Brown
Live Shows"Higher Love" Steve Winwood
"I Will Survive" Gloria Gaynor
"He Lives in You" Lebo M
Semi-final"And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" Jennifer Holliday
"This Is Me" Keala Settle and The Greatest Showman Ensemble
Final"Save the Hero"Destiny Chukunyere
"River Deep – Mountain High" Ike & Tina Turner Duet with Amelia Lily
"Fejn Staħbejtli" Ira Losco
"He Lives in You" Lebo M

2020–2021: Eurovision Song Contest

Due to her X Factor Malta win, Chukunyere was to represent Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, taking place in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Her entry song, "All of My Love", was released on 9 March 2020. However, on 18 March, the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On 16 May 2020, it was confirmed that Chukunyere would represent Malta at the 2021 contest with the song "Je me casse". [13] Her 2021 entry was released on 15 March 2021 on the official YouTube channel of the Eurovision Song Contest. [14] "Je me casse" was released on all major streaming services on 22 March 2021. She placed seventh in the final with 255 points, receiving 208 points from the juries and 47 points from the public.

2022–Present: The Voice Kids Malta

On July 15, 2022, it was announced that Chukunyere will be featured as a coach on the first season of The Voice Kids Malta. [15]

Musical style and influences

Chukunyere has named Aretha Franklin, Beyoncé, and Lizzo as her biggest idols and inspirations. [16]

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected details
TitleDetails
Forever Away
  • Released: 13 February 2023 [17]
  • Label: PayHouse Music
  • Formats: Digital download, streaming

Singles

TitleYearPeak chart positionsAlbum
MLT
[18]
BEL
(FL)

[19]
IRE
[20]
NLD
[21]
SWE
[22]
SWI
[23]
UK
Down.

[24]
"All of My Love"
(with B-Ok)
2020Non-album singles
"Je me casse"20211487936318341
"—" denotes items which were not released in that country or failed to chart.

Promotional singles

TitleYearAlbum
"Festa t'Ilwien"2014Non-album singles
"Embrace"2016
"Fast Life (Ladidadi)"

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest</span>

Malta has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 36 times since its debut in 1971. The current Maltese participant broadcaster in the contest is the Public Broadcasting Services (PBS). Malta has yet to win the contest, but is the only non-winning country to have achieved four top three results.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music of Malta</span>

The music of Malta ranges across a spectrum of genres such as traditional folk music, metal and various forms of electronica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malta in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest</span>

Malta has entered the Junior Eurovision Song Contest nineteen times since debuting at the first contest in 2003. Maltese broadcaster PBS has been responsible for the country's participation, and organises a televised national final to select the country's entrant. Malta did not participate in 2011 and 2012, and selected the entrant internally instead of using a national final in 2013 and 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poli Genova</span> Musical artist

Poli Plamenova Genova is a Bulgarian singer, songwriter, actress, and television presenter. Genova began her career in 1991, at the age of four, as a member of the Bulgarian children's ensemble Bon-Bon.

Veronica Rotin is a Maltese singer. She has had some success at international singing competitions. In 2014 she released her debut album titled Veronica Rotin.

Malta selected their Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015 artist through a national selection on 11 July 2015, while their song was selected internally. The twenty acts competing to represent Malta were released on 26 June 2015. They performed covers or non-Eurovision candidate songs during the national final, and the winner's Junior Eurovision song was revealed at a later date. Destiny Chukunyere represented Malta in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015 in Sofia, Bulgaria with the song, Not My Soul. Malta won the competition with a record of 185 points, breaking the previous record held by Spain in the 2004 contest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2016</span> International song competition for youth

The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2016 was the fourteenth edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest, which took place at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, in Valletta, Malta. This was the second time that Malta have hosted the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, their first being in 2014. Jon Ola Sand was appointed as the Executive Supervisor for the 2016 Junior Eurovision Song Contest, following the dismissal of the former supervisor, Vladislav Yakovlev.

"Not My Soul" is a song by Maltese singer Destiny Chukunyere. It represented Malta and was the winning song at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015 in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Malta participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Walk on Water" written by Lisa Desmond, Tim Larsson, Tobias Lundgren, Molly Pettersson Hammar and Ira Losco. The song was performed by Losco, who had previously represented Malta at the Eurovision Song Contest in the 2002 edition where she achieved second place with the song "7th Wonder".

Malta participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2016 as the host country. The Maltese entrant for the 2016 contest in Valletta was selected through a national final, organised by the Maltese broadcaster Public Broadcasting Services (PBS) on 16 July 2016, while their song was selected internally. Each of the twenty participants performed covers or non-Eurovision candidate songs during the national final. Christina Magrin was declared the winner and her Junior Eurovision song "Parachute" was revealed on 27 October.

Georgia participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2016 which took place on 20 November 2016, in Valletta, Malta. Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) was responsible for organising their entry for the contest. Mariam Mamadashvili was internally selected to represent Georgia with the song "Mzeo". Georgia won the contest with 239 points.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christabelle Borg</span> Maltese singer and television presenter

Christabelle Borg, sometimes known as simply Christabelle, is a Maltese singer, songwriter, and television presenter. She represented Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal, with the song "Taboo", but failed to qualify for the final, finishing in 13th place with 101 points.

Malta participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "Chameleon" written by Joacim Persson, Paula Winger, Borislav Milanov and Johan Alkenäs. The song was performed by Michela. The Maltese entry for the 2019 contest in Tel Aviv, Israel, was selected through the first season of the music competition X Factor Malta, organised by the Maltese broadcaster Public Broadcasting Services (PBS). The competition concluded with a final on 26 January 2019 where Michela eventually emerged as the winner. The song Michela would perform at the Eurovision Song Contest, "Chameleon", was internally selected and released to the public on 10 March.

Malta participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2019 held in Gliwice, Poland. Their entrant was selected through a national selection, organised by the Maltese broadcaster Public Broadcasting Services (PBS) on 20 August 2019.

Malta originally planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song "All of My Love" written by Bernarda Brunović, Borislav Milanov, Sebastian Arman, Dag Lundberg, Joacim Persson and Cesár Sampson. The song was performed by Destiny, who had previously represented Malta at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in the 2015 edition where she achieved first place with the song "Not My Soul". Songwriter Cesár Sampson previously represented Austria at the Eurovision Song Contest in the 2018 edition where he achieved third place with the song "Nobody but You". The Maltese entry for the 2020 contest in Rotterdam, Netherlands, was selected through the second season of the music competition X Factor Malta, organised by the Maltese broadcaster Public Broadcasting Services (PBS). The competition concluded with a final on 8 February 2020 where Destiny eventually emerged as the winner. The song Destiny would perform at the Eurovision Song Contest, "All of My Love", was internally selected and was released to the public on 9 March.

Malta participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2020, to be held in Warsaw, Poland. Maltese broadcaster Public Broadcasting Services (PBS) was responsible for the country's participation in the contest, and organised a national final to select the Maltese entry. Malta was represented in the contest by the song "Chasing Sunsets", written by Peter Borg, Aleandro Spiteri Monseigneur, Joe Roscoe and Emil Calleja Bayliss, and performed by Chanel Monseigneur. She achieved 8th place with 100 points.

Malta participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song "Je me casse" written by Malin Christin, Amanuel Dermont, Nicklas Eklund and Pete Barringer. The song was performed by Destiny Chukunyere, who was due to compete in the 2020 contest with "All of My Love" before the 2020 event's cancellation. The song Destiny would perform at the Eurovision Song Contest, "Je me casse", was also internally selected and was released to the public on 15 March.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Je me casse</span> 2021 single by Destiny Chukunyere

"Je me casse" is a song by Maltese singer Destiny Chukunyere that represented Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021. The song was written and composed by Amanuel Dermont, Malin Christin, Nicklas Eklund and Pete Barringer.

Malta participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2021, held in Paris, France. The Maltese broadcaster Public Broadcasting Services (PBS) was responsible for the country's participation in the contest, and organized a national final to select the Maltese entry.

Malta participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy, with the song "I Am What I Am" performed by Emma Muscat. The Maltese entry for the 2022 contest was initially selected through the national final Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2022, organised by the Maltese broadcaster Public Broadcasting Services (PBS). The competition consisted of a semi-final round, a special show and a final, held on 17, 18 and 19 February 2022, respectively, where "Out of Sight" performed by Muscat eventually emerged as the winning entry after scoring the most points from a six-member jury and a public televote. On 14 March 2022, PBS announced that Muscat would ultimately perform "I Am What I Am" in Turin; the song was released to the public on the same day.

References

  1. "Who is Destiny Chukunyere?". TVM. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  2. "Nigerian Igbo tribe presents Destiny with recognition award". Oikotimes. 2 January 2016. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016.
  3. Cremona, George (12 July 2015). ""Xħin rebħet binti, aġixxejt qisni rbaħt logħba futbol" – Ndubisi Chuckunyere" (in Maltese). Newsbook. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  4. Zammit, Mark Lawrence (19 October 2016). "RITRATT: L-ewwel ritratt ta' Melody, oħt Destiny Chukunyere" (in Maltese). Xarabank. Archived from the original on 18 November 2016.
  5. "Three Maltese singers for San Remo Junior". The Times (Malta) . 12 April 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  6. Fisher, Luke James (11 July 2015). "Destiny Chukunyere to represent Malta in Sofia!". EBU . European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 13 July 2015.
  7. Pace, Fiorella (12 July 2015). "So happy to have won such a prestigious contest but I wish to remain the Destiny that I am". TVM. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  8. 1 2 "Junior Eurovision 2015 winning team feature in Republic Day honours". TVM. 13 December 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  9. Ross, Samantha (21 November 2015). "Breaking News: Congratulations, Malta!". EBU. Archived from the original on 2 April 2016.
  10. Galea, Stefan Paul (20 May 2017). "Destiny gets thumbs up from Simon Cowell". Malta Today . Archived from the original on 23 May 2017.
  11. Gatt, Christopher (23 May 2017). "Worried about Malta's Destiny". The Times. Malta. Archived from the original on 11 September 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  12. "It's almost time for Semi-final 2! Here are the acts hoping to win your votes". ITV. 30 May 2017. Archived from the original on 30 May 2017.
  13. "Excuse her French! Destiny releases 'Je Me Casse'". Eurovision.tv. 15 March 2021. Archived from the original on 15 March 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  14. Destiny - Je Me Casse - Malta 🇲🇹 - Official Music Video - Eurovision 2021, 15 March 2021, archived from the original on 16 May 2023, retrieved 22 March 2021
  15. "Meet The 3 Coaches For The Voice Kids Malta". 15 July 2022. Archived from the original on 26 July 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  16. Eurovision Song Contest 2021: BBC documentary goes behind-the-scenes in Rotterdam, 17 May 2021, archived from the original on 24 June 2021, retrieved 24 June 2021
  17. "Forever Away - Album by Destiny". Spotify . Archived from the original on 31 August 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  18. "Malta - Radio Airplay Chart (13/05/2021 - 20/05/2021)". Radiomonitor. Archived from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  19. "Discografie Destiny" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  20. "Discography Destiny". irish-charts.com. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  21. "Discografie Destiny". dutchcharts.nl. Archived from the original on 10 June 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  22. "Veckolista Singlar, vecka 21". Sverigetopplistan. Archived from the original on 29 May 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  23. "Discographie Destiny". hitparade.ch (in German). Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  24. "Official Singles Downloads Chart: 28 May 2021 – 3 June 2021". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 3 June 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Malta in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest
2015
Succeeded by
Christina Magrin
with "Parachute"
Preceded by Winner of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest
2015
Succeeded by
Preceded by Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest
2020 (cancelled)
Succeeded by
Herself
with "Je me casse"
Preceded by
Herself
with "All of My Love"
Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest
2021
Succeeded by