Destiny Chukunyere M.Q.R. (born 29 August 2002) is a Maltese singer. She won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015, where 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 ...

with the song "

Not My Soul "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 Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulg ...

". In 2017, she participated in the eleventh series of ''

Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloqui ...

'' 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 ''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 ...

'' and was chosen to represent

in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte (river), Rotte'') is the second largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the Prov ...

with the song " All of My Love" however the contest was canceled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. Instead, Destiny represented Malta in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2021 The Eurovision Song Contest 2021 was the 65th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Rotterdam, Netherlands, following the country's win at the with the song " Arcade" by Duncan Laurence. The Netherlands was set to host the ...

, 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 Birkirkara (abbreviated as B'Kara) is a city in the central region of Malta. It is the second most populous on the island, with 24,356 inhabitants as of 2020. The town consists of five autonomous parishes: Saint Helen, Saint Joseph the Worker, Ou ...

and attended a secondary school in Ħamrun. Her father is Nigerian ( Igbo) former footballer Ndubisi Chukunyere, while her mother is Maltese. She has two younger siblings; a sister named Melody and a brother named Isaiah.

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.

2015–2017: ''Junior Eurovision Song Contest''

On 11 July 2015, Chukunyere won the Maltese national final held at the

Mediterranean Conference Centre The Mediterranean Conference Centre (MCC, mt, Dar il-Mediterran għall-Konferenzi) is a conference centre in Valletta, Malta. The building was built as a hospital in the 16th century by the Order of St. John, and it was known as the Sacra Infer ...

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 ...

. She represented Malta at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015, in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...

, Bulgaria on 21 November. Chukunyere won the live national final with the

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in '' Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". Wit ...

song " Think", enabling her to represent Malta; her Junior Eurovision entry called "

" was composed by Elton Zarb and written by

Muxu Matthew "Matt" Mercieca (born 19 July 1990), known professionally as Muxu, is a Maltese singer and songwriter. Having multiple number one singles, and winning local awards, he is one of Malta's leading R&B artists. Career Mercieca started his ...

with her involvement. Chukunyere won the contest with 185 points breaking the previous record score set by María Isabel in 2004. On 13 December 2015, Chukunyere and her team were awarded the Midalja għall-Qadi tar-Repubblika.

2017–2019: ''Britain's Got Talent''

In early 2017, Chukunyere auditioned for

series 11 Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used in ...

of ITV's ''

'' 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 Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality, entrepreneur and record executive. He is the creator of '' The X Factor'' and ''Got Talent'' franchises which have been sold around the world. He has judged on ...

and international renowned

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

Joseph Calleja Joseph Calleja (born January 22, 1978) is a Maltese operatic tenor. Early life and career Calleja was born in Attard, Malta. He began singing at the age of 16, having been discovered by tenor Brian Cefai and continued his studies with Maltes ...

. 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." 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. She placed 6th in the semi-final and thus was eliminated.

2019–2020: ''X Factor Malta''

In 2019, Chukunyere appeared in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2019 The Eurovision Song Contest 2019 was the 64th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Tel Aviv, Israel, following the country's victory at the 2018 contest with the song " Toy" by Netta. Organised by the European Broad ...

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

, Israel as a backing singer for the Maltese entrant's,

Michela Pace Michela Pace (born 25 January 2001) is a Maltese singer who won the inaugural season of Malta's version of ''The X Factor'' in 2019. As a prize for her win, she represented Malta at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "Chameleon ...

, song "

Chameleon Chameleons or chamaeleons (family Chamaeleonidae) are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of Old World lizards with 202 species described as of June 2015. The members of this family are best known for their distinct range of colors, bein ...

". 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 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 with the song " 7th Wonder". She placed second in the competition, Malta's best ...

, and advanced to the live shows. On 8 February 2020, she won the competition.

2020–2021: ''Eurovision Song Contest''

Due to her ''X Factor Malta'' win, Chukunyere was to represent

in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, taking place in

, 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

. On 16 May 2020, it was confirmed that Chukunyere would represent Malta at the 2021 contest with the song " Je me casse". Her 2021 entry was released on 15 March 2021 on the official YouTube channel of the Eurovision Song Contest. "Je me casse" was released on all major streaming services on 22 March 2021. She placed seventh in the final with 255 points.

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''.

Musical style and influences

Chukunyere has named

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

, and Lizzo as her biggest idols and inspirations.

Discography

Singles

Promotional singles

References

External links

{{Authority control 2002 births Living people Maltese child singers 21st-century Maltese women singers Maltese people of Nigerian descent Junior Eurovision Song Contest winners Junior Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Malta Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2020 Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Malta Recipients of Midalja għall-Qadi tar-Repubblika People from Birkirkara Britain's Got Talent contestants Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2021