Ira Losco M.Q.R. (born 31 July 1981) is a Maltese pop singer. Her career breakthrough came in 2002, when she represented Malta in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2002 The Eurovision Song Contest 2002 was the 47th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Tallinn, Estonia, following the country's victory at the with the song "Everybody" by Tanel Padar, Dave Benton and 2XL. Organised by the Euro ...

with the song " 7th Wonder". She placed second in the competition, Malta's best ever result. Fourteen years later, she returned and represented Malta in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2016 The Eurovision Song Contest 2016 was the 61st edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Stockholm, Sweden, following the country's victory at the with the song "Heroes" by Måns Zelmerlöw. Organised by the European Broadcasting ...

with the song " Walk on Water", placing twelfth. Losco has released six studio albums so far in her career and is one of the most successful Maltese musicians of all time. In 2018, she served as a judge on the inaugural season of ''

X Factor Malta ''X Factor Malta'' is the Maltese version of the British television music competition ''The X Factor'', created by Simon Cowell. The first season premiered on 7 October 2018 and has since been broadcast on Television Malta. The show was used to d ...

''. She returned to serve as a judge in 2019.

Career

To date Losco has performed in over 15 countries and has won more than 20 music awards. She has appeared in front of audiences ranging from 1,000 to 80,000, and has played alongside renowned international acts such as

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

Katie Melua Ketevan Katie Melua (; ka, ქეთევან "ქეთი" მელუა, ; born 16 September 1984) is a Georgian and British singer and songwriter. She was born in Kutaisi and raised in Belfast and London. Under the management of comp ...

Maroon 5 Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It currently consists of lead vocalist Adam Levine, keyboardist and rhythm guitarist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine (musician), James Valentine, drummer Matt ...

Akon Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam (; born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon, is a Senegalese-American singer, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of " Locked Up" (featuring Styles P) ...

Melanie C Melanie Jayne Chisholm (12 January 1974 - 25 December 2022), better known as Melanie C or Mel C, is an English singer-songwriter and media personality. She is best known as one of the five members of the Spice Girls, during which time she was ni ...

Ronan Keating Ronan Patrick John Keating (born 3 March 1977) is an Irish singer. He debuted in 1993 alongside Keith Duffy, Michael Graham, Shane Lynch, and Stephen Gately, as the co-lead singer (with Gately) of Irish pop group Boyzone. His solo career start ...

Bob Geldof Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (; born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer-songwriter, and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as lead singer of the Rock music in Ireland, Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved ...

Tokio Hotel Tokio Hotel is a German pop rock band, founded in 2001 by singer Bill Kaulitz, guitarist Tom Kaulitz, drummer Gustav Schäfer, and bassist Georg Listing. Their sound encompasses multiple genres, including pop rock, alternative rock, and electro ...

and

Gigi D'Alessio Luigi "Gigi" D'Alessio (born 24 February 1967) is an Italian popular singer and Neapolitan singer-songwriter. In his career, he has sold over 26 million records. Career D'Alessio was born in Naples. He was well known in Naples in the early 1990s ...

. Losco started her career with a college band called Tiara but they split up a few months after Losco represented her country in the

which was held in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

. She placed second with the song " 7th Wonder". In 2003, she was chosen to perform the song "Reaching Higher", which was the official song of the Xth Games of the Small States of Europe Malta 2003. Losco was awarded 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 ...

in 2008. Losco has been involved in advertising in her country, including for

Guess A guess (or an act of guessing) is a swift conclusion drawn from data directly at hand, and held as probable or tentative, while the person making the guess (the guesser) admittedly lacks material for a greater degree of certainty. A guess is als ...

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...

Salad Plus, and

Vodafone Vodafone Group Public limited company, plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Telephone company, telecommunications company. Its registered office and Headquarters, global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It ...

's Music Jam Campaign. Losco won the Maltese national selection for the

on 23 January, with the song " Walk On Water". On 31 July 2018, it was announced that Losco will be a judge on Malta's version 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 ...

''.

Eurovision Song Contest

Losco represented Malta at the

with the song "7th Wonder". She finished runner up, just 12 points behind eventual winner

Marie N Marija Naumova-Bullīta (born and professionally knows as Marija Naumova 23 June 1973) is a Latvian singer of Russian descent. Under the stage name Marie N, she sings a broad range of music ranging from pop to musical theatre and jazz, and has ...

, which was Malta's highest result ever in the competition until it was equalled in 2005. In December 2015, it was revealed that Losco had submitted two songs for the Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2016, the country's national selection process. Her entries "Chameleon" and "That's why I love you" were both shortlisted for the semifinal, with "Chameleon" qualifying for the final. On 23 January, Losco won the national selection with over 40% of the votes cast by the Maltese public. Following Losco's win at the Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2016, she stated that she was open to the idea of performing a song other than "Chameleon" at Eurovision, should it improve Malta's chances of winning. The national final rules, set by

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

, allow for the winning song to be partially modified or completely changed. On 19 February 2016, PBS announced that an international jury consisting of representatives from ten countries, along with local experts from Malta, would be presented with several songs, including a revamped version of "Chameleon", and would determine which song Losco would perform at the contest. On 14 March it was announced that she would perform the song " Walk on Water". The song and video were released on 17 March 2016. The dress she wore for the contest was by Alex Zabotto-Bentley, who has also designed for

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

and

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...

. In order to increase the chances of winning the contest, the budget was increased drastically, from minimum €200,000 in a previous given year to an approximate maximum of €1,500,000 during Losco's participation in 2016. In the first semi-final, on 10 May 2016, "Walk on Water" qualified for the Eurovision final. In the final on Saturday 14 May 2016, she placed 12th out of 26 countries.

Awards

Personal life

In May 2016, it was announced that Losco and her partner, Sean Gravina, were expecting a baby. Their son, Harry, was born on 25 August 2016. On 1 December 2019, Ira and Sean got married. In June 2020, Losco announced that together with her husband and son, they were expecting a baby girl. Their daughter, Gigi, was born on 14 November 2020.

Activism

Losco has publicly expressed her support for a number of social causes in Malta, including

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

rights and anti-bullying campaigns amongst teenagers. In 2014, she was nominated for the first LGBTI Community Awards organised by the

Malta Gay Rights Movement The Malta LGBTIQ Rights Movement (MGRM), previously known as the Malta Gay Rights Movement, is an organisation committed to achieve full equality for all LGBTIQ people in Malta regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, sex characteristi ...

. Losco supports equal rights and acceptance, rather than just tolerance, in the context that her country, Malta, has been known as the best country in Europe and the world in LGBTQI rights. Losco organised an LGBT friendly party in Stockholm during the Eurovision Song Contest 2016.

Discography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Losco, Ira 1981 births Living people Women rock singers 21st-century Maltese women singers Maltese pop singers Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2002 Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Malta People from Sliema Alternative rock singers Recipients of Midalja għall-Qadi tar-Repubblika Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2016 Maltese LGBT rights activists 21st-century guitarists 20th-century guitarists 20th-century women guitarists 21st-century women guitarists