BBC demands Eurovision act ‘favourite to win’ changes song lyric
The singer has said she is 'shocked and disappointed'.
The BBC has ‘complained’ about another country’s Eurovision entry – forcing the entrant to change the title and lyrics.
After Switzerland’s act Nemo won last year’s Eurovision Song Contest, the competition will be held in Basel between May 13 and May 17, 2025.
Although the UK’s act is yet to be announced, several other countries have already revealed their acts and released their songs.
One of them is Malta, which put forward singer Miriana Conte, who was set to perform the track Kant.
In Maltese the word translates to ‘singing’.
In the chorus, she cheekily sings about ‘serving kant’, and while there’s nothing rude about the actual meaning, the pronunciation in the song sounds exactly like an extremely rude English swear word that begins with a C, which has sparked concerns.
Miriana Conte’s single Kant sparked concerns due to its similarities to an X-rated word in English (Picture: Eurovision)Although it had been approved by the European Broadcasting Union, she’s now been told to amend her song after a ‘report was submitted’ to the contest’s organiser, with the complaint believed to have come from the BBC, as reported by The Times of Malta.
Last month BBC Radio 2 DJ Scott Mills revealed he’d been barred from playing the song on air because of concerns the title and lyrics.
‘We can’t talk about Malta’s one at all. We definitely can’t play a clip of it, ever, on the BBC,’ he said.
The BBC is bound by Ofcom rules, with the regulator banning the use of the C-word (which it labels some of the ‘strongest offensive language’) that should ‘never’ be used or aired before 9pm. The Eurovision Song Contest starts airing at 8pm.
This week Conte, 23, revealed she’d been told the EBU had now prevented her from using the word ‘kant’ on stage.
‘While I’m shocked and disappointed, especially since we have less than a week to submit the song, I promise you this: the show will go on – Diva NOT down,’ she posted on social media.
She’s got a few days to amend the lyrics (Picture: Miriana Conte/ Instagram)She now has to change the song’s lyrics before submitting it for use in the contest.
Many people have weighed in on the controversy since it was announced the song would need to be changed.
‘I get why the BBC has a problem with Kant, but I really think Malta has a fair shot at keeping the song as is if they push the fact it literally isn’t even an English word lmao,’ Lexi posted on X.
‘BBC only goes and ruins Malta’s Eurovision entry because their song is called Kant we the British haven’t got a great sense of humour,’ Alex shared.
‘TBH, if the BBC’s rules don’t allow it then that’s the BBC’s fault, not PBS (Malta)‘s. it’s pretty insane for one country to force another one to change their lyrics because they don’t comply with the first country’s laws. If the BBC doesn’t like it they can withdraw,’ Riley added.
Although Malta had previously been a favourite to win, it’s now sitting in 14th position in official odds. Despite this, many fans have still declared her as their pick to take out the title this year. ‘This is my winner,’ Dean posted on X.
This year’s UK Eurovision act is set to be announced by the BBC today, following reports country girl band Remember Monday had been selected.
It was previously said the BBC were expecting some backlash if Malta’s song was performed uncensored during the finals in two months.
Scott Mills previously said the BBC wouldn’t be able to play the song (Picture: Sarah Jeynes/ BBC)‘It’s not a great situation – it’s causing a few headaches,’ an insider previously told The Sun. ‘On the face of it there’s nothing wrong with the song but the way it’s sung could cause offence and there’s bound to be complaints.’
The source added: ‘If it wins it becomes an even bigger issue – especially if it charts. Eurovision winners traditionally do a press tour and perform their tracks all over but it’s a bit much for breakfast telly.’
Miriana also previously commented on the drama and how she ‘understands’ the BBC’s potential decision.
‘I saw the article on social media about the BBC thing, but I don’t have much to say,’ she told LovinMalta. ‘I do however understand their position as a radio station and as a country.’
Metro has contacted the BBC for comment.
A version of this article was originally published on February 17, 2025.
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