The day after Tomorrow

When Gianluca Bezzina walks in through the sliding doors of the cafe, no one looks up. With his colourful hoodie, green jeans, earphones and rucksack, he looks like a student on a language course. But as he sits down and we start chatting, the two women by the door start giggling. After a while, one comes over. “Gianluca! Prosit and good luck!” He blushes and chuckles simultaneously then thanks her profusely – she goes back, tittering happily. Despite being crowned the Malta Eurovision king in January for his indie-pop song Tomorrow, he still is not quite used to the off-stage limelight. His win was an unexpected surprise and as a recently graduated doctor, he is much more comfortable in a ward with his stethoscope than being stopped for autographs. On May 16, Gianluca will be in Malmö, Sweden, battling against 17 other contestants to make it through the semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest. He recently met all the competing singers from across Europe in Amsterdam and he stood out as being the only one who has a career other than singing. “When they got to know I’m a doctor, they immediately started listing their aches and pains: tummy aches, headaches. “I offered my...