At an early age, she started showing interest towards singing and performing and eventually started attending singing lessons. This was followed by a string of successful participations in local song festivals. Her winning streak was formidable and her huge collection of trophies is full of memories from these past festivals when she was so young.
Her first participation in the Song for Europe Festival was actually at age 14 as backing vocalist. A year later she was also backing vocalist for William Mangion’s winning ‘This time’. She just missed participating in the Eurovision Song Contest of that year because of her young age.
In the mean time Olivia started focusing on various musical styles. Her preferred styles are R&B and soul. She likes listening to singers such as Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey and a host of other performers who have made their name in the black music scene.
After a few years, Olivia was encouraged to start training for jazz singing. This took most of her time, but results were soon to be forthcoming. In fact Olivia was the first Maltese singer to perform in the renowned Malta Jazz Festival together with the Paul Giordmaina Jazz Quarter. Her performance was memorable.
Olivia has participated as lead singer in the Song for Europe Festival since she was 16 years old. In the process she has collaborated with the best composers on the island such as Paul Abela, Dominic Galea, Paul Giordmaina, Philip Vella and Ray Agius amongst a host of others.
Her most memorable performances came in these last two participations. During last year’s festival she performed ‘Take a look’ which was written by Paul Giordmaina and Fleur Balzan. During this festival she was classified first by the jury and second in the televoting, just missing the top spot by a few points. ‘Déjà vu’, written by the winning duo Philip Vella and Gerard James Borg got 11,369 votes, coming second and missing the top spot by 500 votes.
Olivia has also participated successfully in a host of foreign festivals. She has sung in the UK, Italy, Romania, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Serbia and Montenegro, Kazakstan and a host of others. She placed first in the Lithuanian and Bulgarian festivals and second in the Kazakstan festival.
2005 marked the release of Olivia’s first cd-single which contains Déjà vu and also a remix of this song made by DJ Armani. She is currently working on her first CD-Album due out early next year.
Olivia is also a leading singer in the entertainment industry and her schedule is often packed with singing at events, hotels, concerts and other activities. She also participates in a daily television show called ‘Kalamita’ which attracts the highest viewership in the afternoon broadcasts on the island.
Vértigo
Olivia Lewis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And you're holding me down
Loving you gives me vertigo
I'm losing my ground
Giving in to your heart
Kissing you gives me vertigo
And I'm lost, then I'm found
And I turn, you're not there
I say yes, you say no
Loving you gives me vertigo
And I give, but you take (And I'm lost, then I'm found)
I made one big mistake (And I run, then I hide)
Gave you all, A to Z (And I turn, you're not there)
Then you came, now you go
Loving you gives me vertigo
You're lifting me high
Then you're taking me low
It's feeling like I'm getting vertigo
You colour me blue
Turn my passion to red
It's feeling like I've become indigo
And I give, but you take (And I'm lost, then I'm found)
I made one big mistake (And I run, then I hide)
Gave you all, A to Z (And I turn, you're not there)
Then you came, now you go
Loving you gives me vertigo
Am I crazy? Could it be maybe
Solo is the way to go?
And I'm lost, then I'm found
And I run, then I hide
And I turn, you're not there
I say yes, you say no
Loving you gives me vertigo
And I give, but you take (And I'm lost, then I'm found)
I made one big mistake (And I run, then I hide)
Gave you all, A to Z (And I turn, you're not there)
Then you came, now you go
Loving you gives me vertigo
The opening lines of Olivia Lewis's song Vertigo describe the overwhelming, dizzying and intense feelings the singer is getting from her lover. The chorus builds on this, explaining how even though she is losing her ground and giving so much of herself to him, he still leaves her feeling unsupported and alone. This emotional rollercoaster is reflected in the structure of the song, with the singer oscillating between feeling lost and found, running and hiding, saying yes and no to her lover's whims.
The fact that the song is called "Vertigo" is no coincidence, as it perfectly encapsulates the nature of the singer's relationship. She feels trapped, as though she is spinning out of control, with her emotions being tossed around like dice. Even though the singer is fully aware of how unhealthy and damaging her connection with her lover is, she still cannot break free from him. The song reaches its climax with the lines "Am I crazy? Could it be maybe/ Solo is the way to go?", as the singer starts questioning whether cutting herself off from love entirely is the only way to escape the unstoppable force of her feelings.
Line by Line Meaning
You're spinning me round
The singer feels disoriented and unable to keep up with the changes happening in their relationship.
And you're holding me down
The singer feels restrained and trapped by their partner's actions.
Loving you gives me vertigo
The singer feels dizzy and overwhelmed by the intensity of their emotions for their partner.
I'm losing my ground
The artist feels unsteady and unsure in their relationship.
Giving in to your heart
The artist is surrendering to their feelings for their partner.
Kissing you gives me vertigo
The singer feels lightheaded and swept away when they kiss their partner.
And I'm lost, then I'm found
The singer feels uncertain about their relationship and their partner's feelings.
And I run, then I hide
The artist tries to escape their emotions and the challenges of their relationship.
And I turn, you're not there
The artist feels abandoned or unsupported by their partner.
I say yes, you say no
The artist feels their desires and needs are at odds with their partner's.
And I give, but you take (And I'm lost, then I'm found)
The singer feels like they are giving too much in the relationship, and doesn't know where they stand.
I made one big mistake (And I run, then I hide)
The artist recognises that they may have made a poor decision in being with their partner.
Gave you all, A to Z (And I turn, you're not there)
The singer feels they've invested their entire selves in their relationship, but are not getting the same back.
Then you came, now you go
The singer feels their relationship with their partner is unstable, and they may leave at any time.
You're lifting me high
The singer feels buoyant and ecstatic when with their partner.
Then you're taking me low
The artist feels depressed and despondent when their relationship is not going well.
It's feeling like I'm getting vertigo
The artist experiences a feeling of disorientation or confusion in their relationship.
You colour me blue
The singer associates sadness or loneliness with their partner.
Turn my passion to red
The singer feels re-energised and passionate when things are going well with their partner.
It's feeling like I've become indigo
The artist feels like they are in a unique or unusual situation in their relationship.
Am I crazy? Could it be maybe
The artist feels unsure or self-conscious about their thoughts and emotions.
Solo is the way to go?
The artist is questioning whether they would be better off alone than in their current relationship.
Contributed by Vivian Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Ronno
One of my favorite entries ever. Never mind if Olivia sang out of tune. It has a catchy beat and chorus and epic verses like "you colour me blue, turn my passion to red, it's feeling like I become indigo"
Love the shirtless guys and the gong though. Deserved a place in the Grand Final.
Giovanni Scg
At least you admit your tastelessness
Jack Walker
Awfully underrated, always liked this song and it has a strong chorus. too bad Olivia blew it at the last note but her non-qualification and finishing 25th(4th from bottom) was another clear image that 100% televoting and one semifinal was quite poisonous, particularly for a tiny country like Malta pitted against 27 other countries mostly with plenty of neighbours.
Giovanni Scg
Malta qualified in 2004 with the same voting system. 2007 was just a shitty song
Anno
I don't understand this tbh, it sounds fine to me. She's a bit too high pitched, but I think she actually hits a quarter tone by accident and it actually sounds pretty cool. She sings more off key in other places in the song, but nothing that registered to me as super bad or that ruined the song for me.
It's not like her voice cracked or she was wildly off key.
Fábio Jesus
Agree with you, when you said: "Olivia blew it at the last note", but for me she was one of my favourites so far.
hukuk2004
I am a Turk and I am proud that my country gave this 7 points.
hope
Same bro
Sora esc
Really underrated, much better than all Maltese entries that managed to qualify
sheridan leon
this song is so painfully underrated, it's my 2nd favourite maltese entry. olivia should think about participating again!