Miriana Conte, who is representing Malta at the Eurovision Song Contest 2025, is spilling the tea on having to amend the lyrics of her fan-favourite track “Serving”, as well as her “enlightening” journey as a queer woman.
The singer was told by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in March that she would have to change the lyrics to her entry, originally titled “Serving Kant” – a playful reference to the queer slang phrase “serving c**t”.
‘Kant’ is Maltese for “to sing”, something she excels at on the track, which is now simply called “Serving.”
At the time, Conte said she was “shocked and disappointed” by the EBU’s demand but promised fans the show would go on, writing on social media: “Diva not down.”
Speaking exclusively to PinkNews ahead of performing at the second Eurovision semi-final on Thursday (15 May), Conte revealed that the title change was something she had expected.
She knew of the Maltese word sounded similar to a commonly used swear word in English but reiterated the meaning of the former.
“I did not have a lot of time to process to be honest because I was actually doing my music video with a whole table around my head,” she said.
“Thank God I didn’t, because I would have thrown a fit most probably.”
“I did not have a lot of time to come up with stuff and I did not want to replace the word because I think the word is super special and I decided to leave space for people to serve whatever they want to serve.”
Miriana is one of a number of LGBTQ+ acts performing at Eurovision this year, including Finland’s Erika Vikman, Belgium’s Red Sebastian and Czechia’s Adonxs.
The diva from Malta told PinkNews she and Erika had trodden similar paths, as well as both hearing mixed responses from their home countries regarding Eurovision.
“She told me half the country is against me, half the country loves me and I’m in pretty much the same situation and we still serve,” Miriana said.
Touching on what she called her “enlightening journey” with her queerness, Miriana revealed that “the hardest thing” was accepting herself.
“My family are very accepting, my friends are very accepting. So, the most difficult part was to accept myself, but the moment that happened, my life changed completely. I entered the new era of greatness.
“It was a very emotional time for me but it happened and I encourage everyone out there [to] be yourself. I know it might be hard from the start but it will all be worthwhile.
“I got the best moments out of my life by letting go and just being myself. So, even though it may be hard and you may face these challenges because, obviously, life is full of challenges, just continue fighting them because you are stronger than anything. I promise you, hardships will pass.”
Conte went on to attribute her success in getting to the Eurovision stage to her queer supporters. “In Malta, we’re a very conservative country and I did not even feel I was going to win [the qualifying competition] because the song is what it is,” she continued.
“It is controversial. It’s fun, it’s colourful, it’s all over the place, and Malta’s known for pop ballads. I thought I would rank quite high in the results but not win. So, yeah, the queer community really played a big part in my journey and they still do.”
She even expressed love for her haters “because all you do is talk about me”.
UK viewers can watch the second semi-final on Thursday (15 May) from 8pm on BBC One and the BBC iPlayer. The grand final follows on Saturday (17 May), with live coverage on BBC One from 8pm.
In the US, NBC will air 2025’s semi-finals and grand final on its streaming platform Peacock, with coverage available to Premium and Premium Plus subscribers.
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