Biography

Maltese folk-pop band Firelight formed in 2013 around the talents of songwriter and lead singer Richard Edward Micallef. Born into the entertainment world, Micallef was surrounded by a family of performers and musicians -- his father was a renowned singer in Malta -- and he grew up playing acoustic guitar, the Appalachian mountain dulcimer, and percussive instruments. The group, which included his sister Michelle Mifsud on piano and brother Daniel Micallef on acoustic guitar, began when Edward returned from the U.K. after appearing on the 2005 edition of The X-Factor, and touring with U.K. rock band Cast Away. Micallef attempted to represent Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest a number of times -- as part of the group the Mics in 2003 and 2005, and once solo in 2009 -- and he was eventually successful when Firelight were selected to represent their country at the 2014 show. The performance of their folk-pop song "Coming Home" earned them a disappointing score of 32 points and left them in 23rd place; however, a digital version of the song did enter the U.K., Austrian, German, and Irish Singles Charts. ~ Scott Kerr, Rovi