The Busker

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The Busker
The Busker (2023).jpg
The Busker at the Eurovision Turquoise Carpet in 2023; from left to right: Meilak, Meachen, and Borg
Background information
OriginMalta
Genres Indie pop, funk, [1] folk, blues, rock [2]
Years active2012–present
MembersDavid "Dav.Jr" Meilak
Jean Paul Borg
Sean Meachen
Past membersDario Genovese
David Grech

The Busker is a Maltese indie pop band founded in 2012, consisting of three members, namely David "Dav.Jr" Meilak (born 11 October 1994), [3] Jean Paul Borg (born 27 August 1993), [4] and Sean Meachen (born 19 November 1993). [5] The band represented Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 with the song "Dance (Our Own Party)", which peaked at number one in their home country of Malta for 13 consecutive weeks and was the country's most played song of 2023. [6] [7]

Contents

Career

The Busker was formed in October 2012 by singer and guitarist Dario Genovese and percussionist Jean Paul Borg. The band began by busking on the streets of Malta, hence the band's name. [8] Not long after, they started posting covers and original music on YouTube. [9] Two years later, bassist and keyboardist David Grech and saxophonist Sean Meachen joined. The group draws inspiration from 1960s pop bands such as The Beatles and The Beach Boys. [10]

The band went on to release four extended plays, which led up to the launch of their debut album, "Telegram", released in 2017. [11] Another album was released the following year, entitled "Ladies and Gentlemen", which won Best Album of the Year at the Lovin Music Awards. [8] [12] Genovese and Grech eventually left the group, [10] [13] and shortly after, Meilak joined the band as the lead singer and frontman. [14] The band subsequently released their fifth extended play, "X", on 1 September 2021. [9]

In November 2022, The Busker was confirmed to be among the 40 participants in the Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2023, the festival used to select the Maltese representative in the annual Eurovision Song Contest. [15] Their competing song, "Dance (Our Own Party)", was submitted the following month. After qualifying first from the quarter-finals and then the semi-finals of the Malta Eurovision Song Contest, [16] on 11 February 2023, the band performed in the final, where they won with the combined support of the judging and televoting. Their victory granted them the right to represent Malta at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool. [17] They performed in the first semi-final, but did not qualify to the grand final. [18] After Eurovision, the band went on to release two singles, both of which peaked at number two in Malta. [19] [20]

In June 2023, The Busker made a special appearance in Love Island Malta. [21] Subsequently, the band performed at the opening ceremony of the 2023 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. [22] On 18 July 2023, the band performed at Isle of MTV, which were co-headlined by OneRepublic and Alesso. [23] [24] On 15 September 2023, they performed at EuroPride held at Pjazza Tritoni in Valletta together with other Eurovision artists like Conchita Wurst, The Roop, and Katrina Leskanich from Katrina and the Waves. [25] [26] The band's released songs in 2023 were nominated for 88.7 Vibe End of the Year Hot 100 and 89.7 Bay Radio Best of 2023. [27]

Members

Current
Former

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected details
TitleDetails
Telegram
  • Released: 25 September 2017 [28]
  • Formats: Digital download, streaming
Ladies and Gentlemen
  • Released: 4 December 2018 [29]
  • Formats: Digital download, streaming

Extended plays

TitleDetails
The Busker
  • Released: 2013 [30]
Greenwich Village
  • Released: 5 July 2013 [31]
  • Formats: Digital download, streaming
EP3
  • Released: 28 April 2014 [32]
  • Formats: Digital download, streaming
#FOUR
  • Released: 30 November 2014 [33]
  • Formats: Digital download, streaming
X
  • Released: 1 September 2021 [34]
  • Formats: Digital download, streaming

Singles

SingleYearPeak chart positionsAlbum or EP
MLT
[35]
"It's Alright (I've Got the Blues)"20161Telegram
"Away with You"
(with Alexandra Alden)		20179
"Surfin' Up"20185Ladies and Gentlemen
"Cadillac"3
"LWCTW"6
"Miles Away"3
"Just a Little Bit More"
(with Matthew James)		20201Non-album single
"Don't You Tell Me What to Feel"
(with Raquela DG)		20212X
"Loose"1
"Nothing More"—Non-album singles
"Miracle"20226
"Dance (Our Own Party)"20231
"Thinking About You"2
"Bulletproof"2
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryWorkResultRef.
2019Lovin Music AwardsBest Album of the YearLadies and GentlemenWon [8] [12]

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References

  1. ↑ "Maltas Beitrag für den ESC 2023: "Dance (Our Own Party") von The Busker". esc-kompakt.de (in German). ESC Kompakt. 25 March 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  2. ↑ "Beats by The Busker". Times of Malta . 26 February 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  3. ↑ Zammit, Frederick (11 October 2020). "Dan il-kantant illum jagħlaq 26 sena. Għaraftu?" (in Maltese). Newsbook. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  4. ↑ "The Busker - HAPPY BIRTHDAY to this legend!!". The Busker. 27 August 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2023– via Facebook.
  5. ↑ "Birthday Muffin, Thanks @jelly_baby85 and @matthew_james_borg <3 -". @itsseanmeachen_sax. 20 November 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2023– via Instagram.
  6. ↑ "PRS Malta on Facebook: BMAT PRS Malta Top 10 Airplay Chart - 21 May 2023". The Malta Independent. 21 May 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  7. ↑ "PRS Malta on Facebook: BMAT PRS Malta Top 10 Airplay Chart of 2023". The Malta Independent. 1 January 2024. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  8. 1 2 3 "The Busker". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union . Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  9. 1 2 Trejo, Iván; Pons, Miguel; Cabrera, Juan Ignacio (20 April 2023). "Who are The Busker? Get to know Malta's Eurovision 2023 representatives". ESC-Plus. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  10. 1 2 Pace, Maria (27 December 2018). "The Busker: Paul McCartney... he's the person who inspired me to write songs'". Malta Today . Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  11. ↑ "The Busker celebrates 7-year journey". The Malta Independent. 9 March 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  12. 1 2 Borg, Mario; Diacono, Tim (13 February 2023). "The Busker's Rise And Rise To The Top: Who Are Malta's Funky New Eurovision Winners?". Lovin Malta. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  13. ↑ Poutanen, Nina (26 January 2023). "The Busker: "Dance (Our Own Party) is a funky tune mixed with The Busker's signature sound"". ESC Bubble. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  14. ↑ Azzopardi, Jean Paul (11 February 2023). "Meet The New Busker! After Six Challenging Months, Maltese Band Announces Former X-Factor Contestant As New Frontman". Lovin Malta. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  15. ↑ Washak, James (21 November 2022). "Malta: Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2023 Quarter Finalists Announced". Eurovoix. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  16. ↑ Granger, Anthony (10 February 2023). "Malta: Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2023 Finalists Selected". Eurovoix. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  17. ↑ van Waarden, Franciska (11 February 2023). "Malta: The Busker to Eurovision 2023". Eurovoix. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  18. ↑ "First Semi-Final of Liverpool 2023 - Eurovision Song Contest 2023". eurovision.tv. EBU. 14 May 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  19. ↑ "PRS Malta on Facebook: BMAT PRS Malta Top 10 Airplay Chart - 10 September 2023". The Malta Independent. 10 September 2023. Retrieved 3 December 2023– via Facebook.
  20. ↑ "PRS Malta on Facebook: BMAT PRS Malta Top 10 Airplay Chart - 3 December 2023". The Malta Independent. 3 December 2023. Retrieved 3 December 2023– via Facebook.
  21. ↑ "Our Own Party at the Love Island Villa". The Busker. 18 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023– via Facebook.
  22. ↑ @TheBuskerMt (6 July 2023). "Earlier this week we had the opportunity to perform at the Opening Cermony of the @UEFA Under 19 Football Championship 😍" (Tweet). Retrieved 7 July 2023– via Twitter.
  23. ↑ "The Busker and Kevin Paul for Isle of MTV". TVM News. 1 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  24. ↑ "The Busker, Kevin Paul to perform at Isle of MTV". Newsbook. 1 July 2023. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  25. ↑ "Eurovision Night ft. Conchita Wurst, Katrina & The Roop". EuroPride . Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  26. ↑ Farrugia, Amy Faizon (14 September 2023). "From Eurovision Icons To Interfaith Dialogues: What To Expect On 15th September At EuroPride". Lovin Malta. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  27. ↑ @TheBuskerMt (3 December 2023). "We're so honoured to be nominated for local stations' End Of Year 🏆 Best of and Hot 100! 🔥" (Tweet). Retrieved 3 December 2023– via Twitter.
  28. ↑ "Telegram by The Busker". Spotify. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  29. ↑ "Ladies and Gentlemen by The Busker". Spotify. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  30. ↑ "About The Busker". Get Hitched. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  31. ↑ "New EP from The Busker". Times of Malta. 30 June 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  32. ↑ "EP3 by The Busker". Bandcamp . Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  33. ↑ "FOUR by The Busker". Bandcamp. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  34. ↑ "X by The Busker". Spotify. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  35. ↑ Peak chart positions for singles in Malta:
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest
2023 		Succeeded by
Sarah Bonnici
with "Loop"
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