SANREMO NIGHT 1 – Review by Fred Medeiros
First we start off with the 4 performances of the newcomers which has been into two separate heats and the remains 4 artists performing tomorrow.
NEWCOMERS HEAT 1
Eugenio - “Tsunami” (49.4%)
This hipster style alternative boy band has a very Eurovision feel with some interesting dance moves to pop. I quite like this, I could see this at Eurovision.
Tecla - “8 Marzo” (50.6%)
This is a much more traditional Italian ballad performed by the young girl, Tecla. What she lacks in experience she makes up for in vocals. Winning the first heat. I would of gone for Tsunami personally.
NEWCOMERS HEAT 2
Fadi - “Due Noi” (46.0%)
Beanie topped guy singing a mid tempo ballad. Some weird emotional emphasis of parts of the chorus possibly trying to make it more dramatic than it was.
Leo Gassmann - “Vai Bene Cosi” (54.0%)
Another mid tempo ballad by the curly top boy but this one has a better chorus. Real emotion comes across along with audience participation hand claps towards the end. Easily wins the second heat.
BIG ARTISTS COMPETITION
Tonight the songs are ranked by the specialist music fans to be added to the jury and televote in the final.
Irene Grandi - Finalmente 10 (4th place)
All black clad mature blonde female artist with a rock chick vibe. Feels a bit unnecessarily aggressive but she delivers it well.
Marco Masini - “Il Confronto” (5th place)
More mature male pianist who sounds like he’s more speaking the lyrics than singing them.
Rita Pavone - “Niente” (10th place)
Older blonde woman belting a shouty a dated 80s style mid tempo power ballad. Not convinced.
Achille Lauro - “Me No Frego” (9th place)
A barefoot beach blonde emo covered in tattoos wearing an oversized black cloak singing a moody song about not caring. This screams Eurovision along with a costume change to a nude colored low-cut crystal-covered leotard. Shame his voices don’t live up to the stage presence.
Diodato - “Fai Rumore” (3rd place)
Another all black clad artist this time with a trench coat. This guy is what I’d come to expect from an Italian selection moody-looking soft ballad with some good camera stares.
Le Vibrazioni - “Dov’é” (1st place)
This group of guys look like serious rockets but actually delivered a descent mid tempo ballad along with sign language interpretation.
Anastasio - “Rossio Di Rabbio” (8th place)
Italian rapper trying to deliver his message aggressively. Not for me.
Elodie - “Andromeda” (2nd place)
Finally a song I really like!!! This was the most modern sounding song of the night with R&B and dance vibes delivered by a statuesque female who knows how to deliver.
Bugo & Morgan - “Sincero” (12th place)
This is weird. Two mature guys with futuristic space age styling trying to deliver synth pop. Not sure how they got selected.
Alberto Urso - “Il Sole Ad Est” (6th place)
Really emotionally delivered operatic style ballad. This guy can sing.
Riki - “Lo Sappiamo Entrambi” (11th place)
I feel sorry for this guy. Clearly the youngest performer this evening with obvious nerves delivering an interesting ballad with a vocoding chorus not dissimilar to Cher’s “Believe.”
Raphael Gualazzi - “Carioca” (7th place)
This song sounds more Spanish than Italian but is pleasant. Unfortunately the artist looks like an Elton John tribute act.
Demoscopic Jury Result – Night 1
1. 1. Le Vibrazioni – "Dov'è"
2. 2. Elodie – "Andromeda"
3. 3. Diodato – "Fai rumore"
4. 4. Irene Grandi – "Finalmente io"
5. 5. Marco Masini – "Il confronto"
6. 6. Alberto Urso – "Il sole ad est"
7. 7. Raphael Gualazzi – "Carioca"
8. 8. Anastasio – "Rosso di rabbia"
9. 9. Achille Lauro – "Me ne frego"
10. Rita Pavone – "Niente (Resilienza 74)"
11. Riki – "Lo sappiamo entrambi"
12. Bugo & Morgan – "Sincero"
SANREMO NIGHT 2 – Review by Alan Tubery
Sanremo 2020:
For most of Italy, the Festival della canzone italians di Sanremo is a musical highlight of the year. For many there’s an awareness that it has something to do with Italy’s Eurovision entry. For others it is a show that is to too big, too complicated, and too impenetrable to understand; and following Melodifestivalen is a bit easer.
Since the early 2000 Sanremo has this special evening when artists in competition are performing massive Italian songs. Thursday is covers night! Each of the 24 acts paired up with a non-competing artist to duet on a cover of a Sanremo classic.
Sanremo Is Not For Eurovision
It’s said every year but it is worth stating that Sanremo may help elect the artist and song for the Eurovision Song Contest, but Sanremo is not for Eurovision… it is for the Italian music industry, the the Italian media, and the Italian public. I’d argue it has a similar hold over Italy as Melodifestivalen has over Sweden, but Melodifestivalen feels like a comfortable ‘Little Eurovision’ in terms of format and staging, whereas Sanremo is a unique beast.
Covers and Duets
Alberto Urso with Ornella Vanoni – La voce del silenzio
(Tony Del Monaco – Dionne Warwick, 1968)
Alberto is best known for winning the eighteenth edition of Amici de Maria De Filippi (They Will Be Famous) – the longest-running TV talent show in Italy. From then on, his stardom grew and he received a gold disc for his first studio album Solo.
"La voce del silenzio" is a 1968 song which premiered at Sanremo Music Festival with a double performance of Tony Del Monaco and Dionne Warwick, placing last but it ended up being a massive hit
The song later was covered by numerous (and Eurovision) artists including Mina, Aphrodite's Child, Mia Martini, Loretta Goggi, Paul Mauriat), Orietta Berti, Patty Pravo, Massimo Ranieri, Ornella Vanoni, Alex Baroni, Rita Pavone (who is participating this year), Anna Oxa, Iva Zanicchi, Renato Zero, Riccardo Fogli, Andrea Bocelli, Il Volo, etc.
Anastasio – Spalle al muro
(Renato Zero, 1991)
he is the favourite to win
Marco Anastasio is a rapper and singer. He’s best known for winning the twelfth series of Italian X Factor in 2018 and topping the charts with his debut single “La Fine Del Mondo” (The End Of The World).
“Spalle al muro” is a 1991 song from Renato Zero and from that moment on his career began to rise again. It finished 2nd.
Renato Zero has a career which spans a full six decades, from the 1960s to the 2010s, with 40 million records sold, one of the best-selling Italian music artists.
Elodie with Aeham Ahmad – Adesso tu
(Eros Ramazzotti, 1986)
Elodie (Di Patrizi) is an Italian singer and model. She first came to prominence as the runner-up of the fifteenth season of the show Amici di Maria De Filippi.
"Adesso tu" is a 1986 Italian song composed from Eros Ramazzotti, and won the 36th edition of the Sanremo Music Festival.
Ramazzotti is very successful and since 1984, He has released 11 studio albums, and sold over 60 million records His repertoire includes duets with artists such as Cher, Tina Turner, Andrea Bocelli, Patsy Kensit, Anastacia, Joe Cocker, Julio Iglesias, Luciano Pavarotti, Laura Pausini, Nicole Scherzinger and Ricky Martin.
Francesco Gabbani – L’italiano
(Toto Cutugno, 1983)
We don’t really need to introduce Francesco Gabbani! He won the Sanremo Music Festival 2017 with the song "Occidentali's Karma", and represented Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 finishing in 6th place.
And Toto Cutugno with "Insieme: 1992" was the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 1990.
"L'Italiano (Lasciatemi Cantare)" was sang by Toto Cutugno in 1983. It was his biggest international hit and is his best-known composition.
Marco Masini with Arisa – Vacanze romane
(Matia Bazar, 1983)
Marco Masini, is a singer-songwriter and has been around since 1982with mixed success, same with Arisa who rose to fame after her participation in the Sanremo Festival 2009
Matia Bazar is an Italian pop band formed in Genoa in 1975. They represented Italy in the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest with a song called Raggio di luna.
Their major hits were Solo tu (1978), Vacanze Romane (1982) and Ti Sento (1985), which peaked the charts in many countries. Vacanze Romane is one of my all time favourite song
SANREMO NIGHT 3 – Review by Rodrigo Ezequiel Stoessel
In the year of Pop Ballads, 24 finalists of the Italian selection 70th San Remo Music Festival performed their original entries which have never been performed in public before. One of them will act in Rotterdam next May during the 65th edition of Eurovision.
During the marathon third live show called " Sanremo 70 ", 24 artists of the "Campeoni" category sang covers of the most memorable songs that are part of the history of the Festival with guest artists. Then, they were put to the vote of musicians and singers of the Sanremo Music Festival Orchestra and this was the result:
01 • Tosca ft. Silvia Pérez Cruz* • "Piazza Grande" (Lucio Dalla - 1972)
02 • Piero Pelù • "Cuore matto" (Little Tony - 1967)
03 • Pinguini Tattici Nucleari • Medley de "Papaveri e papere" (Nilla Pizzi - 1952), "Nessuno mi può giudicare" (Caterina Caselli - 1966), "Gianna" (Rino Gaetano - 1978), "Sarà perché ti amo" (Ricchi e Poveri - 1981), "Una musica può fare" (Max Gazzè - 1999), "Salirò" (Daniele Silvestri - 2002), "Sono solo parole" (Noemi - 2012) y "Rolls Royce" (Achille Lauro - 2019)
04 • Anastasio ft. Premiata Forneria Marconi* • "Spalle al muro" (Renato Zero - 1991)
05 • Diodato ft. Nina Zilli* • "24 mila baci" (Adriano Celentano - 1961)
06 • Le Vibrazioni ft. Canova* • "Un'emozione da poco" (Anna Oxa - 1978)
07 • Paolo Jannacci ft. Francesco Mandelli y Daniele Moretto* • "Se me lo dicevi prima" (Enzo Jannacci - 1989)
08 • Francesco Gabbani • "L'italiano" (Toto Cutugno - 1983)
09 • Rancore ft. Dardust y La Rappresentante di Lista* • "Luce (tramonti a nord est)" (Elisa - 2001)
10 • Marco Masini ft. Arisa* • "Vacanze romane" (Matia Bazar - 1983)
11 • Raphael Gualazzi ft. Simona Molinari* • "E se domani" (Mina - 1964)
12 • Enrico Nigiotti ft. Simone Cristicchi* • "Ti regalerò una rosa" (Simone Cristicchi - 2007)
13 • Rita Pavone ft. Amedeo Minghi* • "1950" (Amedeo Minghi - 1983)
14 • Irene Grandi ft. Bobo Rondelli* • "La musica è finita" (Ornella Vanoni - 1967)
15 • Michele Zarrillo ft. Fausto Leali* • "Deborah" (Fausto Leali - 1968)
16 • Achille Lauro ft. Annalisa* • "Gli uomini non cambiano" (Mia Martini - 1992)
17 • Levante ft. Francesca Michielin y Maria Antonietta* • "Si può dare di più" (Umberto Tozzi, Gianni Morandi y Enrico Ruggeri - 1987)
18 • Giordana Angi ft. Solis String Quartet* • "La nevicata del '56" (Mia Martini - 1990)
19 • Elodie ft. Aeham Ahmad* • "Adesso tu" (Eros Ramazzotti - 1986)
20 • Alberto Urso ft. Ornella Vanoni* • "La voce del silenzio" (Tony Del Monaco - 1968)
21 • Junior Cally ft. Viito* • "Vado al massimo" (Vasco Rossi - 1982)
22 • Riki ft. Ana Mena* • "L'edera" (Nilla Pizzi - 1958)
23 • Elettra Lamborghini ft. Myss Keta* • "Non succederà più" (Claudia Mori - 1982)
24 • Bugo e Morgan • "Canzone per te" (Sergio Endrigo - 1968)
(*) Guest artists
Unlike the previous editions, these votes received by the members of the orchestra will be added to the final results... and what about the public preferences? Look at the next social media facts about each artist:
• On Twitter, the most commented topics during the third night were the #festivalsanremo2020 hashtag (93,6k), the presence of Cristiano Ronaldo in the auditorium (90,7k) and the duo of Achille Lauro and Annalisa (16,7k).
• On YouTube, the TOP 10 most viewed videos are:
- Achille Lauro canta "Me ne frego" - RAI - ( 3.690.017 views)
- Elettra Lamborghini canta "Musica (E il resto scompare)" - RAI - (1.606.423 views)
- Francesco Gabbani canta "Viceversa" - RAI - (1.281.133 views)
- Elodie canta "Andromeda" - RAI - (1.146.161 views)
- Le Vibrazioni cantano "Dov'è" - RAI - (1.002.538 views)
- Elodie - Andromeda (Sanremo 2020) (842.152 views)
- Elettra Lamborghini - Musica (E Il Resto Scompare) ( 738.405 views)
- Junior Cally canta "No grazie" - RAI - (645.230 views)
- Anastasio canta "Rosso di rabbia" - RAI - (593.051 views)
- Riki canta "Lo sappiamo entrambi" - RAI - (570.301 views)
• On Instagram, the TOP 10 artists with more followers are: @elettramiuralamborghin (5m), @elodie (1.4m), @about_riki (1.3m), @achilleidol (964k), @levanteofficial (666k), @albertourso_official (578k), @giordanaangi (464k), @anastasio_quello (449k), @enriconigiotti (406k) and @juniorcally (398k)
¿Who will be the 47th representative of Italy in Eurovision? Next Saturday we will know.
San Remo Music Festival is celebrated each year since 1951 in Sanremo, Italy, known locally as the 'city of flowers'. In the 2020 edition, the popular host Amadeus (Amedeo Sebastiani) is in front of the musical contest with the support of Albanian presenter Alketa Vejsiu and Argentine model Georgina Rodriguez. The live show takes place in the spectacular stage designed by the set designer Gaetano Castelli in the historical Ariston Theatre.
SANREMO NIGHT 4 – Review by Marcus Davey
SANREMO Music Festival 2020
So, this is my first year of properly watching the Italian Selection. Especially watching it without subtitles was also interesting. I will be reviewing the Jury selection show on Friday 7th February 2020.
Apart from a few local Italian artists, for me there were only a few stand out performances. I’ll be very interested in what the result will be tomorrow night. One thing that I think is quite special for this process is the use of a full orchestra and conductor. For me that adds a little more romance to the process (even if the song / singer really messes it up).
In addition to the 24 entrants, the festival also previewed another (what appeared to be from night one) the newcomers competition. This was four acts who performed in groups of two. They competed against each other via televote were narrowed down to two performers.
The finalists of this were;
Tecla (8 Marzo)- To be honest her song was ok, but the standout for me was her red dress
Leo Gassman (Vai Bene Cosi) - This song was good, and he got the audience involved
The televote revealed that Leo Gassman won at with 52.5% from the televote
Now to the contestants of the 2020 Sanremo Music Festival - The following is my personal and first impressions of the songs as I was watching. It should be noted that I was considerably impressed with the amount of mature age entries.
Paolo Jannacci (Vogolio Parlarti Adesso) - meh song was slow (sleepy time) He’s sitting on the stage (is that still a thing?)
Rancore (Eden) – Basically he spoke the whole song – A little like Mahmood but not as good and he gets shot at the end?
Giordana Angi (Come Mia Madre) – She wore a sensible pink suit? Lots of Talk / sing
Francesco Gabbani (Viceversa)- He plays the piano, not a bad song – could be ok for a win?
Raphael Gualazzi (Carioca) – Is a catchy song, has a band and he plays the piano. Little kids also playing piano and dancing.
Riccardo Zanotti (Ring Starr) – Pretty good song. Good tempo, good audience interaction, there’s a band as well in the background.
Anastassio (Rosso Di Rabbia) – He’s wearing a red suit, just talking, the guitar sort of helps but it’s still just talking.
Elodie (Andromeda) – He’s got a good look, song is ok to meh
Riki (Lo Sappiamo Entrambi)- Ok he’s cute, song is ok (auto tune as well?) I think the sound is better than the singing
Diodato (Fai Rumore) – He seems to be able to sing, which is refreshing, ballady song. Not too bad. Could be up there to win as well.
Irene Grandi (Finalmente IO) - not too bad, starts off like a lot of these songs (talk sing) but then moves into an actual singing.
Achille Lauro (Me Ne Fuego) – He has an interesting look, song is ok. A bit rock / pop. Conductor actually got involved 0nthat was kinda good.
Piero Pelu (Gigante) - more mature act, rock ish, a bit meh to be honest
Tosca (Ho Amato Tutto) – quite a sweet song, slow but ok by the end.
Michele Zarrillo (Nell’estasi O Nel Fango) – Ummm yeah this is not so great
Junior Cally (No Grazie) – He has the right in his delivery of this song BUT still looks a lot like Mahmood
Le Vibrazioni (D’ove) – the song not strong (lyrically), singing is ok.
Alberto Usso (Il Sole Ad Est) - sounds like a good voice, but of audience interaction
Levante (Tikibombom) – This song is ok, love the high heels. She can sing
Bugo e Morgan (Sincero) – Another mature entry, he’s not so great. Seems to have walked off the stage. I can’t speak Italian, so I don’t know exactly what’s going on. He’s been disqualified (still not sure why – maybe cause they didn’t complete)
Rita Pavone (Niente) – Another mature entry, song is not great. I admire her ability though she really got into it.
Enrico Nigotti (Baciami Adesso) – Ok he’s cute performer, song is fine. He’s not an amazing singer though
Elettra Lamborghini (Musica) – I LOVE her very flowy dress. Song is ok. Very Latin sounding. I’m not sure if she’s the strongest singer. Plus her name (amazing).
Marco Masini (Il Confronto) - Another mature entry. He’s a piano player. Singing is ok, song is fine (not amazing but not bad). When he goes into the higher vocal ranges, he struggles but normally his range is ok
At the end the Jury of the Press Room, TV, Radio and Internet selected the following
SANREMO NIGHT 5 – Review by Edward Till
Italy Final—Festival di Sanremo 2020
Saturday 8 February marked the climax of the 70th annual Sanremo Song Festival (70º Festival della Canzone Italiana di Sanremo 2020), Italy’s most important music competition which “helps” choose their entry for Eurovision. There were four shows prior to the final.
After six and a half hours of performances and much else besides on Saturday, 38-year-old singer Diodato emerged triumphant with his ballad Fai Rumore, or “Make Some Noise”. He has subsequently confirmed that he will represent Italy in Rotterdam, meaning we have an Italian entry after a very long week of competition.
The entry was picked from the “Big Section” of the contest. This featured 23 songs after the disqualification of Bugo & Morgan, after Morgan (aka Marco Castoldi) stormed off the stage in an earlier round after his partner changed the lyrics of the song.
There were two rounds of voting on the final night. In both cases, the result consisted of televoting (34%), the press jury (33%) and a “demoscopic” poll, i.e. a group drawn from the Italian public (33%). For the first round, the 23 finalists started with the scores achieved in the previous rounds apart from the televote, which was added on Saturday to determine who would enter the “super final”. Three acts went forward to this round—Diodato, Francesco Gabbani and Pinguini Tattici Nucleari—with all previous votes cancelled and fresh sets of votes obtained to decide the final winner.
The entries, presented here in the order in which they finished at the end of the night, were as follows:
1. Diodato – Fai Rumore
The winning song is a poetic and melodic ballad in slow tempo.
2. Francesco Gabbani – Viceversa
Gabbani needs no introduction to the Eurovision audience, having represented Italy (with human gorillas!) in 2017 with his song Occidentali's Karma. This year he presented another charismatic and up-tempo pop song with some whistling.
3. Pinguini Tattici Nucleari – Ringo Starr
There was more than a whiff of the Beatles in this crowd-pleasing uptempo production number.
4. Le Vibrazioni – Dov’è
A professional signer was given centre stage to interpret this soft rock song into Italian sign language.
5. Piero Pelù – Gigante
This was a flamboyant glam rock number, with some drama and a big ending. Piero even had writing in makeup on his chest.
6. Tosca – Ho Amato Tutto
This was a slow and dramatic ballad with a “late night” feel, delivered with a strong female vocal. It was quite unlike anything else in the contest and stood out as a result.
7. Elodie – Andromeda
This up-tempo dance track was written by last year’s Sanremo winner, Mahmood, and established itself as the Eurovision fans’ favourite.
8. Achille Lauro – Me Ne Frego
Achille gave us an androgynous look, featuring a ruff and underskirt in in the style of Elisabeth I, which came off early in this flamboyant rock performance. He subsequently flirted and then kissed the guitarist.
9. Irene Grandi – Finalmente Io
Irene showed up as serious “rock chick” as she delivered this up-tempo song.
10. Rancore – Eden
This was a hardcore rap number, with exciting staging. The song closed the show with a good bang!
11. Raphael Gualazzi – Carioca
Gualazzi was the first singer to represent Italy at Eurovision upon its re-entry in 2011. This time he delivered an up-tempo Latino number with a colourful jazz band and “mini me” children dancing and playing a small piano.
12. Levante – Tikibombom
This song was not the Eurotrash you would expect from its name. Instead, it was an engaging rock number with a dramatic edge.
13. Anastasio – Rosso di Rabbia
This was a somewhat angry rap in an “Eminem” vein with a strong background.
14. Alberto Urso – Il Sole ad Est
This was a more operatic number, performed by a young, but rather oddly dressed singer, who did a walkabout through the audience during his number.
15. Marco Masini – Il Confronto
This was a traditional ballad, performed in part at the piano by Masini.
16. Paolo Jannacci – Voglio Parlarti Adesso
This was a traditional slow ballad that resonated well.
17. Rita Pavone – Niente (Resilienza 74)
“74” refers not to ABBA’s year of success, but the age of the singer. She is older than Sanremo itself. We will all be doing well if we can rock out as much as Rita when we reach that age… true resilience!
18. Michele Zarrillo – Nell’estasi o Nel Fango
This song was performed first and established the soft rock, smoky voice vibe that pervaded many of the entries.
19. Enrico Nigiotti – Baciami Adesso
This slow tempo rock anthem allowed the singer to showcase his electric guitar skills as he performed a solo live on stage.
20. Giordana Angi – Come Mia Madre
This was a slow-rock number that was almost spoken in places concerning the singer’s mother. Unfortunately, much of the speaking seemed a little shouty, which detracted from the emotional content.
21. Elettra Lamborghini – Musica (E il Resto Sompare)
This had an ethnopop vibe, up-tempo and dancy. Indeed, Electra danced with the conductor during the musical break. Unfortunately, a near-miss wardrobe malfunction marred the end of the performance.
22. Junior Cally – No Grazie
This was a rap delivered in a formal lounge suit, with some singing in the bridge. While it was exciting as a number, its words had attracted criticism for being sexist, which might account for its low placement.
23. Riki – Lo Sappiamo Entrambi
Despite the youth of Riki, this entry felt dated and the vocal effects jarred badly against a mid-tempo pop song.
Watching Sanremo is not for the fainthearted, as your team of reporters from OGAE Rest of the World have all discovered over the last week! That said, the quality of entries is universally high, and I will be downloading a lot of songs. There is a live orchestra and little staging, leaving singers forced to sing flawlessly, night after night and in concert conditions and with TV audiences peaking at 11 million. For me, this shows why Italy does so well at the Eurovision and is something from which other countries could learn.