"All of My Love" is a song recorded by Maltese singer Destiny Chukunyere. The song was planned to represent Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 in Rotterdam.[1] However, the contest was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] The song was written by Bernarda Brunović, Borislav Milanov, Sebastian Arman, Dag Lundberg and Joacim Persson.[3]
| "All of My Love" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Destiny | ||||
| Released | 9 March 2020 | |||
| Genre | Soul-pop | |||
| Length | 3:00 | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
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| Destiny singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| All of My Love on YouTube | ||||
| Eurovision Song Contest 2020 entry | ||||
| Country | ||||
| Artist(s) | ||||
| As | Destiny | |||
| Language | English | |||
| Composer(s) |
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| Lyricist(s) |
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| Finals performance | ||||
| Semi-final result | Contest cancelled | |||
| Entry chronology | ||||
| ◄ "Chameleon" (2019) | ||||
| "Je me casse" (2021) ► | ||||
The song was originally aimed for Bulgarian singer Poli Genova, who instead chose to release "If Love Was a Crime" as Bulgaria's 2016 Eurovision entry, as revealed in an Instagram conversation with 2013 Finland entry Krista Siegfrids, who she was alongside in the Finnish selection process in March 2020.[4] Another of the song's writers, Bernarda Brunovic, admitted that she submitted the song to the Croatian selection process but, after it was rejected, was given to Destiny.[5] 2018 Austrian Eurovision entrant Cesar Sampson, a close friend of Milanov, was also a composer of the song.
Critical reception
editThe song earned acclaim from fansites. On the website Wiwibloggs, the song got an average of 8.1/10 (a minimum of 6.5 and a maximum of 9.5), the second highest behind the German entry, also written by Milanov. One member of the panel stated ""All of My Love” is a very strong effort from Malta. Channeling from gospel R&B, Destiny takes you on a journey that is both interesting and ticks all the boxes for a standout Eurovision act. A powerful vocal with enough personality to make the track unique paired with one of the best productions of the year. Also, it had room to grow live. A strong contender for the victory.", whilst other members of the 22 member panel compared it to songs by Lizzo and Sigala.[6]
On another fansite, ESCXtra, it was ranked 6th out of the 41 songs with 156 points (2 gave it the maximum 12, but one gave it a low of 2) from the 19 reviewers. Reviewer praises included that "All the big touchpoints are here: vocals, song quality, authenticity, and a strong reason to vote.", and "We know that Destiny has the pipes to sing any you song you giver to her. ‘All of My Love’ did not disappoint and was the appropriate choice for the contest. The song suits her voice and I cannot wait to hear Destiny sing this song live, whenever that may be.", though some critics felt that the song was dated.[7]
Metro online columnist Emma Kelly described the song as "All of My Love by Destiny is Emeli Sande does Eurovision. [...] Destiny’s diva attitude and strong vocals make this track a bit more special sum of its parts, and as we all know, Eurovision voters love a diva. Plus, the video is very prescient with all of those face masks.", giving it 7.4 out of 10.[8]
The song also fared well in alternative programming to replace Eurovision in various countries. Austria's ORF aired Der kleine Song Contest in April 2020, which saw every entry being assigned to one of three semi-finals. A jury consisting of ten singers that had represented Austria at Eurovision before, including Sampson, was hired to rank each song; the best-placed in each semi-final advanced to the final round.[9] In the second semi-final on 14 April, "All of My Love" won in a field of 14 participants, achieving 97 points, with every juror giving it at least 8.[10] In the final show involving the 3 heat winners, the song placed 3rd with 19% of the votes.[11]
The song also fared well in Norddeutscher Rundfunk's Eurovision 2020 – das deutsche Finale , where it placed 4th,[12] and Sveriges Television's Sveriges 12:a on 14 May, placing second to Iceland in both lists.[13][14]
Music video
editThe music video was released with the song on 9 March, running at 3 minutes and 48 seconds, and with over 2.2 million views as of 7 June 2020. It begins with a narrated part, "Free spirit. Live like there’s no tomorrow. Run wild. Fulfil your destiny", a reference to her name.[15] It features a varied range of surroundings, including dancers engaging in Parkour and Freediving. In a poll on the website Wiwibloggs, fans named it as their favourite music video.[16]
Eurovision Song contest
editIn the Eurovision Song Celebration YouTube stream in place of Semi Final 1, it was revealed the song would have performed 10th, between Belgium's entry and Croatia's.[17]
References
edit- ^ "Destiny's Eurovision 2020 sings 'All Of My Love' for Malta - Eurovision Song Contest". eurovision.tv. 9 March 2020. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
- ^ Moses, Toby (2020-03-18). "Eurovision Song Contest cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
- ^ "Destiny - Malta — Rotterdam 2020 - Eurovision Song Contest". eurovision.tv. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
- ^ Smith, David (10 April 2020). "Poli Genova reveals – early version of "All Of My Love" was her second choice for Eurovision 2016". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
- ^ Gallagher, Robyn (16 March 2020). "Malta: Songwriter reveals – "All of My Love" was rejected by Croatia's Dora before going to Destiny". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
- ^ Wiwibloggs (20 April 2020). "Wiwijury - reviews of Malta". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
- ^ "ESCXtra insider 2020 reviews - Malta". ESCXtra. 28 April 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
- ^ Kelly, Emma (14 May 2020). "All 41 Eurovision 2020 entries ranked". Metro. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
- ^ "Mr. Song Contest proudly presents – Der kleine Song Contest am 14., 16. und 18. April in ORF 1" (in German). ORF. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
- ^ ""Mr. Song Contest proudly presents – Der 'kleine' Song Contest" – Teil 2 am 16. April in ORF 1". OTS.at (in German). 15 April 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
- ^ Ude, Christian (18 April 2020). "Der "kleine" Song Contest: Island gewinnt mit Spaßnummer das Wettsingen im ORF". Kleine Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 18 April 2020.
- ^ Spiteri, Steven (16 May 2020). "The Roop from Lithuania wins the German Eurovision 2020 alternative show". Eurovision World. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
- ^ Dahlander, Gustav (3 April 2020). "Klart för Eurovision-vecka i SVT" (in Swedish). Sveriges Television. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- ^ "Eurovision 2020 special public broadcasting plans". European Broadcasting Union. 5 May 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
- ^ Eurovision Song Contest (9 March 2020). "All of My Love Music Video". Youtube. Eurovision Song Contest. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
- ^ Rahn, Florian (5 May 2020). "Poll- Malta was your favourite music video". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
- ^ "Relive Song Celebration Part One". Eurovision Song Contest. Eurovision Song Contest. 12 May 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2020.