Gaia Cauchi M.Q.R. (born 19 November 2002) is a Maltese singer. She represented

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

at the

Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2013 The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2013 was the 11th edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Kyiv, Ukraine on 30 November 2013. The venue for the contest was announced on 10 April 2013, as the Palace "Ukraine". Ukr ...

and won the contest with her song " The Start".

Life and career

2004–2012: Early career

Gaia's first "international gig" came in 2011 when she appeared on the popular Italian TV show, ''Ti Lascio Una Canzone''. She took on

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...

's "Proud Mary" and left the audience shouting "bellissimo!" She won the prestigious Sanremo Junior Music Festival a year later in her category when she was just nine years old. There, she sang " One Night Only", from ''

Dreamgirls ''Dreamgirls'' is a Broadway musical, with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen. Based on the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Supremes, The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and others,G ...

''.

2013–present: Junior Eurovision Song Contest and breakthrough

After a two-year break from the contest, PBS (

Public Broadcasting Services Public Broadcasting Services Limited (PBS) is the public broadcaster of Malta. PBS is funded by government grants and the sale of commercial airtime. Its TVM channel is Malta's most watched television channel, and its radio station Magic Malta ...

) decided to return to the

Junior Eurovision The Junior Eurovision Song Contest (often shortened to JESC, Junior Eurovision or Junior EuroSong) is an international song competition which has been organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) annually since 2003. It is held in a dif ...

. PBS, Malta's national broadcaster went for an internal selection and chose Cauchi to represent the island nation. Cauchi won the contest on 30 November with a 9-point lead over Ukraine. Being the winner of the Junior Eurovision, she was given a trophy which was incidentally broken few minutes after being awarded, when the contingent had a group hug. She became the first singer from Malta to win the

Junior Eurovision Song Contest The Junior Eurovision Song Contest (often shortened to JESC, Junior Eurovision or Junior EuroSong) is an international song competition which has been organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) annually since 2003. It is held in a diff ...

and the first person from the island nation to win an EBU produced competition. On 2 December 2013, the Prime Minister

Joseph Muscat Joseph Muscat (born 22 January 1974) is a Maltese politician who served as the prime minister of Malta from 2013 to 2020, and as the leader of the Labour Party from June 2008 to January 2020. Muscat was re-elected as prime minister in the ...

announced that Cauchi would be awarded the order

Xirka Ġieħ ir-Repubblika The Xirka Ġieħ ir-Repubblika is a society of honour that offers membership to those who have demonstrated exceptional merit in the service of Malta or of humanity. Its motto is ''Għall-Ġid tal-Maltin'' ('For the Benefit of the Maltese'). A ...

, the country's highest honour. This move generated controversy, and she and her team were given the

Midalja għall-Qadi tar-Repubblika The Midalja għall-Qadi tar-Repubblika (Medal for Service to the Republic) is a medal of the Malta, Republic of Malta. The medal is awarded by the President of Malta, with the written approval of the Prime Minister of Malta, for distinguished servi ...

instead on 13 December 2013. Cauchi made an appearance in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2014 The Eurovision Song Contest 2014 was the 59th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, following the country's victory at the with the song "Only Teardrops" by Emmelie de Forest. Organised by the European ...

performing part of her winning song. At the

Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2014 The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2014 was the 12th edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest, and took place, for the first time, in Malta. This was the third time that the contest was hosted by the winning country. Maltese nationa ...

contest, Cauchi performed during the interval act and delivered the "Kids' Jury" points. For the

Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2016 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 Jun ...

, which returned to Malta, Cauchi revealed the points from the adult Maltese jury and in , for the occasion of the 20th edition of the event, she performed as part of the winners interval act in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...

. In 2018, Cauchi auditioned for the 15th series of

The X-Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

. She was placed in the group "Sweet Sense". On 13 October 2018, Judge Robbie Williams sent Sweet Sense, including Gaia, home from the Judges' Houses round. In 2019, she released her single 'Why Should I'. Cauchi has also been nominated for 3 awards at the Malta Music Awards.

Discography

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Other charted songs

References

External links

Gaia Cauchi - Participant Profile
on the official site of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest {{DEFAULTSORT:Cauchi, Gaia 2002 births Living people Maltese child singers 21st-century Maltese women singers Recipients of Midalja għall-Qadi tar-Repubblika Junior Eurovision Song Contest winners Junior Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Malta People from Mġarr