The singer as individual : pop singers, music and political propaganda in contemporary Maltese electoral campaigns

Abstract

This article examines the role of pop music in Malta as a tool of political propaganda in contemporary electoral campaigning. Renowned local pop singers have played a very important role in this campaigning. Through the analyses of a number of case studies, this paper will argue that the political message lies not only in the music and the lyrics pronounced by these singers but also in their life histories as members of the society to which they address their message. Who these singers are and the political backgrounds that they come from have become part and parcel of a song’s meaning. In all this, music mediates personal agendas with public political pronouncements, and the shifting of political allegiances with prospects of a promising future in terms of public exposure and the benefits it entails.