The Busker

The Busker is a Maltese indie pop band founded in 2012, consisting of three members, namely David "Dav.Jr" Meilak (born 11 October 1994), Jean Paul Borg (born 27 August 1993), and Sean Meachen (born 19 November 1993). The band represented Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 with the song "Dance (Our Own Party)", which peaked at number one in their home country of Malta for 13 consecutive weeks and was the country's most played song of 2023.

Career

The Busker was formed in October 2012 by singer and guitarist Dario Genovese and percussionist Jean Paul Borg. The band began by busking on the streets of Malta, hence the band's name. Not long after, they started posting covers and original music on YouTube. Two years later, bassist and keyboardist David Grech and saxophonist Sean Meachen joined. The group draws inspiration from 1960s pop bands such as The Beatles and The Beach Boys.

The band went on to release four extended plays, which led up to the launch of their debut album, "Telegram", released in 2017. Another album was released the following year, entitled "Ladies and Gentlemen", which won Best Album of the Year at the Lovin Music Awards. Genovese and Grech eventually left the group, and shortly after, Meilak joined the band as the lead singer and frontman. The band subsequently released their fifth extended play, "X", on 1 September 2021.

In November 2022, The Busker was confirmed to be among the 40 participants in the Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2023, the festival used to select the Maltese representative in the annual Eurovision Song Contest. Their competing song, "Dance (Our Own Party)", was submitted the following month. After qualifying first from the quarter-finals and then the semi-finals of the Malta Eurovision Song Contest, on 11 February 2023, the band performed in the final, where they won with the combined support of the judging and televoting. Their victory granted them the right to represent Malta at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool. They performed in the first semi-final, but did not qualify to the grand final. After Eurovision, the band went on to release two singles, both of which peaked at number two in Malta.

In June 2023, The Busker made a special appearance in '' Love Island Malta''. Subsequently, the band performed at the opening ceremony of the 2023 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. On 18 July 2023, the band performed at Isle of MTV, which were co-headlined by OneRepublic and Alesso. On 15 September 2023, they performed at EuroPride held at Pjazza Tritoni in Valletta together with other Eurovision artists like Conchita Wurst, The Roop, and Katrina Leskanich from Katrina and the Waves. The band's released songs in 2023 were nominated for 88.7 Vibe End of the Year Hot 100 and 89.7 Bay Radio Best of 2023.

Members

; Current
* David "Dav.Jr" Meilak – lead vocals, guitars
* Jean Paul Borg – drums
* Sean Meachen – saxophone

; Former
* Dario Genovese – vocals, guitar
* David Grech – bass

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

Awards and nominations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Busker, The
Indie pop groups
Maltese alternative rock groups
Musical groups established in 2012
2012 establishments in Malta
Eurovision Song Contest entrants