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"Hey Now" (stylised in all uppercase) is a song by Maltese singer Ira Losco featuring Maltese rapper Owen Leuellen. It was first released in Losco's fifth studio album No Sinner No Saint (2018) before being released as a single featuring Leuellen in 2019. The song was number one on Malta's singles charts for sixteen weeks.

A version of the song in Maltese was released in April 2023 titled "Illejla" (Maltese pronunciation: [ɪllɛːjlɐ]; transl. "Tonight").

Background and release

The song was released in June 2018 as the fifth single from Losco's seventh studio album No Sinner No Saint, a double album produced by Howard Keith Debono.

Losco performed the song at the X Factor Malta season 1 finale with contestant Owen Leuellen on 26 January 2019. Losco had mentored Leuellen, a rapper from Valletta, in the final phase of the show and helped him to place second in the competition. According to TVMNews+, the duet was "welcomed by many fans" leading to Losco's manager Howard Keith Debono inviting them both to record the song together. In the same year, Losco would also collaborate with the winner of the first season Michela Pace on her next single "Cannonball" whilst Leuellen would later release his debut single "My Time" in March 2020.

Critical reception

The song was number one on Malta's singles charts for six consecutive weeks between 7 December 2018 and 11 January 2019. The song reached number one again for another ten consecutive weeks between 22 February 2019 and 3 May 2019. David Grech Urpani of Lovin Malta described the song as having "dominating airwaves" for months in Malta after its release with Losco winning Best Female Artist, Best Pop Artist and Best Collaboration with Leuellen at the inaugural 2019 Lovin Malta Awards.

Music video

The music video for "Hey Now" was released on 1 November 2018 and was directed by Steven Levi Vella. It was shot by Matthew Muscat Drago in the south of Malta.

The intro of the song includes the text "There are always two sides to every story" and Losco going to see a fortune teller. Losco stated that she plays a character "who's wedding plans didn't go as planned" and instead spends time at home, "taking her love for her plants a bit too seriously ;-)". Losco added that the character eventually moves on in her life and looks to depart her hometown. The fortune teller makes a reappearance at the end of the video which also features a preview of the music video for Losco's song "Bad Habits".

Maltese version

A Maltese language version of the song was released in April 2023 titled "Illejla" which translates as "tonight". Ruxandra Tudor of Wiwibloggs stated that the song "sounds fantastic in both languages" and described the Maltese version of the song as a "perfect summer radio song".

Charts

References

1. Spiteri, Neville (23 June 2018). "Malta: Ira Losco releases "No Sinner No Saint"". Eurovision World. Archived from the original on 27 September 2024. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
2. ^ "Ira Losco releases new music video for single 'Hey Now'". The Malta Independent. 1 November 2018. Archived from the original on 26 September 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
3. ^ Vassallo, Alvin (2 February 2019). "Ira Losco and Owen Leuellen will record song they interpreted at X Factor Malta". TVM News. Archived from the original on 26 September 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
4. Saliba, Norma (13 February 2019). "Watch: The new version of 'Hey Now' by Ira Losco and Owen Leuellen". TVM News. Archived from the original on 26 September 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
5. ^ Urpani, David Grech (1 January 2020). "Ira Losco's 2019 In Photos Proves She's Still Very Much Malta's Pop Queen". Lovin Malta. Archived from the original on 27 September 2024. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
6. "Owen Leuellen Releases Debut Single 'My Time'". Josanne Cassar. 7 March 2020. Archived from the original on 27 September 2024. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
7. ^
   • "The BMAT PRS Malta Top 20 Airplay Chart 7th December 2018". The Malta Independent. Archived from the original on 26 September 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
   • "The BMAT PRS Malta Top 20 Airplay Chart 11th January 2019". The Malta Independent. Archived from the original on 26 September 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
8. • "The BMAT PRS Malta Top 20 Airplay Chart 22nd February 2019". The Malta Independent. Archived from the original on 27 September 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
   • "The BMAT PRS Malta Top 20 Airplay Chart 10th May 2019". The Malta Independent. Archived from the original on 27 September 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
9. Vautrey, Jonathan (5 November 2018). "Listen: New music from Ira Losco, Dilara Kazimova, Milan Stankovic, Eduard Romanyuta, Severina and Demy". wiwibloggs. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
10. ^ Tudor, Ruxandra (9 April 2023). "New music this week: Songs from Ronela Hajati, Francesco Gabbani, Gjon's Tears and more". wiwibloggs. Retrieved 26 September 2024.

• 2018 songs
• 2019 singles
• English-language Maltese songs
• Ira Losco songs
• Owen Leuellen songs
• Number-one singles in Malta
• Song recordings produced by Howard Keith Debono
• Songs written by Howard Keith Debono
• Songs written by Ira Losco
• Songs written by Owen Leuellen