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    In June 2013 in Malta a fire was lit, the birth of the country folk pop band “Firelight” was a fact. The driving force of “Firelight” is the 31 years old musician, author and composer Richard Edwards, the leading voice of the band. Music flows in his veins like blood, it’s in his genetic code, his father is a very well-known singer in Malta and his family are entertainers. Richard plays the Appalachian mountain dulcimer, acoustic guitar, and percussion.  He is joined in Firelight by his sister, Michelle Mifsud, on the piano, and brothers Wayne William, as backing vocalist, and Daniel Micallef on the acoustic guitar. Additional band members are Tony Polidano, on the upright bass, and Leslie Decesare on the drums and harmonica.
   Richard’s artistic steps led him to UK where he entered in the music industry. He has the chance to show his abilities in the most famous TV Show of England “X Factor”. Simon Cowell believed in him and Richard made it to the “final 80”. He performed alongside Leona Lewis, Ray Quinn and other X Factor contestants. Later Richard joined a British rock band called Cast Away.  His role in the band was playing the bass and vocals.  He spent time touring many places across the south east of England.
   In 2009 Richard returned to Malta. He has co-produced a number of singles with his brother, Wayne William.  These include “Busking in Baghdad”, “Allowed To Cry”, “You’re Gonna Thank Me”, “My Mistake”, “Change” and “Finally”.  His music made it to the local charts hitting the top spot for a number of weeks.  Richard entered the Malta Eurovision Song Contest in 2003 and 2005 as part of the group “The Mics”.  Since 2010, Richard took part as Richard Edwards and came as close as first runner up in 2011 with the song “Finally”.
   The song of Firelight “Coming Home” is a mix of pop, rock and folk. Richard composed and wrote the lyrics of this marvelous song. If we pay attention to the song we will note that is related in many different situations and thinks, it should be especially poignant for the thousands of emigrants who travel across Europe for work, spending months away from their families.

   We have the special honor to host in our site the “soul” of Firelight, the driving force of this beautiful band, Mr. Richard Edwards.

So, Mr. Edwards - Firelight, whose idea was to participate in the Malta’s national contest for Eurovision
Mr. Edwards: It seemed the natural thing to do. We love music. Most of us in Firelight are full time musicians. And the national selection contest in Malta is a huge event, with the whole country watching. It was a great honor to be chosen to represent Malta in the Eurovision.

The choice of the song was easy for you or you had another songs in your minds?
Mr. Edwards: I wrote it especially for Eurovision. It is a prime example of our type of fusion music – blending rock, pop and folk.  We have an album coming out very soon so people will be able to judge for themselves if we chose the right song for Eurovision.

What was the inspiration/s of “Coming Home”?
Mr. Edwards: There was a personal story behind Coming Home but I think it will mean different things to different people. It could strike a chord with the thousands of Europeans who go abroad to find work and are separated from their families for months at a time. I myself spent some time in the UK, where I competed in X Factor. It was a good experience, getting the thumbs up from Simon Cowell and making it to boot camp with Leona Lewis. But I still missed Malta and was pleased to return home to my family.

Malta chosen a “newborn” group to represent the country in Eurovision. Carrying on your shoulders the responsibility of an entire nation must be very hard, what are your emotions these days?
Mr. Edwards: We are very proud to represent Malta. We know it is an honor.  I’m rather patriotic. I have the Maltese Cross tattooed on my arm. We will try to do Malta proud. We know the whole country is behind us.

Your song “Coming Home” is the 27th participation of Malta in Eurovision Song Contest. What do you expect from this contest?
Mr. Edwards: To win would be nice! We shall give the performance of our lives in Copenhagen. We are taking it one step at a time. We have to get through the semifinals first. We are the first act on stage on Thursday 8th May and it will be fantastic to kick off the show.

When I saw the video of your song a “torrent” of emotions came out of me and made me cry. This song speaks straight to the heart because “home” is not only a building, is a very special place for all people, so, what “home” mean to each one of you?
Mr. Edwards: For us home is all about family. There will be six of us on stage in Copenhagen, including my sister and two brothers. I suppose we are close because we all love music so much. Our Dad is a well-known singer in Malta and, as kids, our home was always full of music.

I can say that “Firelight” is a “family affair”, your chemistry on the stage is obvious, what are your future plans after Eurovision?
Mr. Edwards: Win or lose, we shall look forward to taking Firelight in new directions. Eurovision is an opportunity to perform for millions of people. After that it would be nice to take our music to countries around Europe.

In Copenhagen you will meet the Greek delegation. What do “Firelight” think about “Rise Up”?
Mr. Edwards: It’s great. We love it. All Maltese radios are playing Rise Up.  It’s the next summer hit. We have already met the Greeks in Amsterdam and in London. We had so much fun together. The Greeks are amazing. We are all Mediterranean and we share similar cultures and that is one of the reasons why we get along so well. We feel Greeks and Maltese are first cousins like Greeks and Cypriots are brothers.

Ladies and Gentlemen that was the Amazing Mr. Richard Edwards, a true Artist that makes all Mediterranean proud with his talent, his incredible voice, and his passion for music. We like to thank him for his presence in our site and we must admit that we feel much moved to have artist like Mr. Edwards in Eurovision Song Contest.

Good Luck to Mr. Richard Edwards - “Firelight” and our beloved Malta at the 59^th ESC. We wish you the BEST!!!

You can follow Mr. Edwards and “Firelight” to their Official Site, Facebook, Twitter, iTunes, and YouTube.