Life after Helsinki 2007 Eurovision

Another song from the fantastick Park Hotel album, Volo di notte. Also published as B-side of Conoscerci single. It's a bit complicated with her singles as some were issued in Italy, some in Germany and other countries with different songs and B-sides. Written by Alice herself with Francesco Messina, produced by Messina, arranged by Alice and Messina,  played by Jerry Marotta, Tony Levin, Phil Manzanera and Michele Fedrigotti. When music plays at perfection! Ogni volta che vai in paesi lontani,, ogni volta che torni sai qualcosa di più Every time you go to far away countries, every time you come back you know something more

In 2014 Alice was ready to make an unexpected return to Sanremo with a song written once again by Franco Battiato and Manlio Sgalambro titled Veleni. But artistic director Fabio Fazio didn't accept it so it ended up highlighting her 2014 album Weekend instead. This would have been her fourth Sanremo participation.... L'avidità, l'odio, la rabbia, l'ignoranza La confusione, l'attaccamento, la gelosia Il possesso, la follia, il rancore Sono veleni, veleni Greed, hatred, anger, ignorance Confusion, attachment, jealousy Possession, madness, resentment They are poisons, poisons

Anin a gris is an award winning song with lyrics written by Maria Di Gleria in Friulian language, and music composed by Marco Liverani. The song is taken from her 1989 Il sole nella pioggia album.  For me this has always been a personla favorite and Friulian sounds very intriguing and beautiful. It's a language spoken by about 600.000 people in northeastern Friulu region in Italy. A nice mixture of Italian, German, Slovenian and Venetian. Anìn a grîs usgnot jenfri erbe e cjere. Anìn a grîs usgnot dongje il Tiliment. Let's go crickets tonight between grass and earth. Let's go crickets tonight near the Tagliamento.

  Un'isola is a single released in 1977 and written by Carla Vistarini and Luigi Lopez  and later included on her second album Cosa resta.... un fiore. It's a typical sing-a-long song of those years and quite catchy and one of my favorites from that album. It was a minor hit back in the day but her greater success was yet to come. Profumano l'aria tiepida I fiori di mandarino Il vento è una strana musica Che mi fa sognare di averti vicino The warm air smells of mandarin flowers The wind is a strange music That makes me dream of having you near

 Come un sigillo was originally a Franco Battiato song featuring Alice with lyrics like "And you just ran your thin fingers over the foreskin, Then you touched the glans and the senses celebrated their splendor" in his 2002 album Fleurs 3 written by Battiato with philosopher Manilo Sgalambro. Alice changed that line of lyrics about hair and touche and and re-recorded for her Viaggio in Italia album in 2003, and it also served as a single that also includes rare non-album tracks Rose e limoni and Col tempo sai.  Ponimi come un sigillo sul tuo cuore Come un sigillo sulle tue braccia E ponimi come un sigillo sul tuo cuore Pronuncio il tuo nome contro ogni sventura Place me as a seal upon your heart Like a seal upon your arms And place me as a seal upon your heart I pronounce your name against all misfortune

In 1998 Alice asked Skye from Morcheeba to join her in Open your eyes, a song written by herself with Francesco Messina, Juri Camisasca and Peter Hammill. I have heard rumors her original wish was none other than Kate Bush but then again it's just a rumour I heard back in the day. The song is taken from her Exit album as its first single, and would reapper in Personal Jukebox. The video was shot in London. Sono come rondini i pensieri ed a volte danno dispiaceri Se li guardi sono immagini All of life is self-discovery Thoughts are like swallows and sometimes they cause displeasure If you look at them they are images All of life is self-discovery

Lungo ritorno a casa is taken from Alice's 1992 album Mezzogiorno sulle Alpi, and it also appears on her official greatest hits Viaggiatrice solitaria that was her last album with EMI in 1995. This came after EMI has previously released a compilation Il vento caldo dell'estate that Alice didn't approve, especially as it included a disco remix of the title song she had nothing to do with.  Lungo ritorno a casa, witten by Alice, France Battiato and Rosario Cosentino is another album track that I have always loved for it's original arrangement, beautiful melody and lyrics. All of it in fact! But as far as I know she's never performed it live in her tours.  Così rinasce in te la nostalgia: scoprire il tuo passato.  Ritrovi ancora nel silenzio gli anni della primavera. Thus nostalgia is reborn in you: discovering your past. You still find in the silence the years of spring.

  A song Alice has recorded twice, with different title is Rumba rock from her 1980 Capo nord album that reappeared in 1987 in her Elisir album as Hispavox. It's another song penned by the trio Franco Battiato, Giusto Pio and Alice and it has always been a favorite of mine, but never a sngle or promotional song as far as I know. Really makes me think of hot summer heat, dusty road and lazy hot summer afternoons.... E dimmi, amore mio, che amore sei  Ti amo solo per quello che non mi dai And tell me, my love, what love you are I love you only for what you don't give me

Io voglio vivere, written by Stefano D'Orazio, Reanto Brioschi and Chrisitano Minellono, was originally released in 1975 in Alice's first album. And then again in her second album in 1978. In between it was released as a single and became a minor hit and maybe remains the best known Alice song of that first phase of her recording career pre-Battiato.  Alice recorded the song also in Spanish as Dices que he sido infiel, that remain the only Alice recording in Spanish,  and it became a hit in France as L'enfant des cathédrales by Eurovision veteran Gerard Lenorman in 1977.  Io voglio vincere quando ti arrenderai  per te combattere se tu ti fermerai. Io voglio vivere della mia libertà... I want to win when you give up for you to fight if you stop. I want to live my freedom...

Another gem Alice borrowed from Franco Battiato and made her own the way it is probably better known by her than the master himself. A kind of sequel to Il vento caldo dell'estate Summer on a solitary beach once again has unorthodox structure for a pop song, happens on the beach. Tkane off her award winning Gioielli rubati (1985) album. Alice and Battiato also performed the song as a duet in their 2016 tour and live album with Battiato's original arrangement..  As usual with Alice's releases the single was released in various markets with different styling and cover art and with official singles in different markets and promotional singles as well and no database to find them (or I haven't found) I only hope her soon to be published biography would also include a detailed discography! I'm going here with what images I find.  Mare mare mare voglio annegare portami lontano a naufragare Via via via da queste sponde portami lontano sulle onde A wonderful summer on a sol...

One of my all time Alice songs that has a special place in my heart as after all I consider Rome my second hometown. Taken off her 1983 Falsi allarmi album and written by herself both music and lyrics. It was one of album's four promotional singles. She reworked Notte a roma for the 1987 Elisir album. La notte è magica a Roma unica Le tue mani, stanche di aspettare, mi accarezzano Mi stringo forte a te perché, forse, ti amo Nel vento, ti amo The night is magical in unique Rome Your hands, tired of waiting, caress me I hold you tight because, perhaps, I love you In the wind, I love you

 It's September 2, 2024 and we have the first artist for Eurovision song contest 2025 in Basel, Switzerland. Cyprus announced that Theo Evan will be their entrant with a song that will be released in due time. I suspect it is based on choreography rather than vocals. Update: It took over six months but his entry was finally released on March 11: Theo Evan, yet another Berklee alum (Could someone do a list of all Berklee's Eurovision stars?). He has released songs on Spotify where he has 372 monthly listeners when writing this. The most listened song The Wall has just under 29.000 streams.  Born in Nicosia, Cyprus to a wealthy Greek-Cypriot family as Evangelos Theodorou (Ευάγγελος Θεοδώρου) he started dancing and singing at 7. After studies in Nicosia's English school he moved to the US to study in Boston's Berklee Collage of Music. His first single release The Wall was released in 2021. he has also starred as an extra in popular tv-series Euphoria.  In 202 he released S...

Il vento caldo dell'estate, Alice's first real hit and the first offering of Alice and Franco Battiato collaboration (with Giusto Pio and Francesco Messina) and with a rather revolutionary sound for the time of release in 1980. A real summer hit of 1980 Il vento caldo dell'estate, despite its rather dark lyrics,  has become an evergreen and Alice has re-recorded it twice: For Elisir album in 1987 and for Personal Jukebox in 2000. It's also included in the 2016 Live a Roma album.  The song is the main single off Caponord album, the first of Alice's new era.  Ho chiuso le finestre per non lasciare neanche l'aria entrare qui Nel buio della stanza si ferma la mia vita per te Le mie reazioni non le controllo più quanto mi manchi Il vento caldo dell'estate mi sta portando via La fine la fine la fine I closed the windows so as not to let even the air in here In the darkness of the room my life stops for you I can't control my reactions anymore how much I mis...

  A cosa pensano is another hit from Alice's freshly found success also aboard after Sanremo 1981. Taken off her 1982 album Azimut it was one of album's three big hits along with Messaggio and Chanson egocentrique. The song is written by Alice and Francesco Messina and would reappear in a new version in 2000 in Personal Jukebox album. The lyrics of the song are among the funniest ever recorded by Alice and the song in all is quite jolly and light pop tune. What do they think indeed, writers when they write, shop keepers when they sell, the teachers when they teach.... Something in the air! La vita interiore, i romanzi d´amore è meglio andare tardi a lavorare.  Anche le mamme fanno spesso l´amore ma in silenzio per non farsi sentire The inner life, romance novels it is better to go late to work.  Even mothers often make love but in silence so as not to be heard

Alice had success also abroad, especially in Germany after winning Sanremo 1981 with Per Elisa. The follow up single Una notte speciale continued and cemented her success and apparently at the time she was selling more abroad than in Italy. In summer 1981 she had two singles in German charts and especially Una notte speciale had a long lasting chart success as it stayed there for months.  Una notte speciale, off her 1981 album Alice (published abroad as Per Elisa) was written by the trio Alice, Franco Battiato and Giusto Pio. The song would reappear in the soundtrack of The House of Gucci film by Ridley Scott  starring Lady Gaga in 2021.  The song was re-recorded for 1987 album Elisir . Noi senza dignità oltre la montagna scopriamo l'amore Qui, qui senza falsità noi ci amiamo come la mente non sa We without dignity beyond the mountain discover love Here, here without falsehood we love each other the way mind does not know

In 1985, the year after Alice went to Eurovision song contest with Franco Battiato she recorded the first full album of Battiato's songs, Gioielli rubati or Stolen jewels. All songs were covers of his songs and it went on to win awards and became a commercial success providing some of her most loved songs. Luna indiana certainly isn't a pop hit but an elegant sophisticated song originally released by Battiato in his 1979 album L'Era del cinghiale bianco, his first "pop" album.  Luna indiana, loosely based on Beethoven's Moonlight sonata got new lyrics written by Francesco Messina for Alice and orchestration by Milan's La Scala Opera house. Interestingly Battiato himself apparently has had nothing to do with the album produced by Angelo Carrara with art direction by Messina. Luna indiana was released as a single, as well as Prospettiva Nevski's B-side in various 7" printings in different countries. Lunghe sere per scoprire luce della luna Che il t...

Dammi la mano amore written by Alice herself first appeared in her 1995 Charade album. Her Personal jukebox in 2000 and live album Lungo la strada in 2009 also have it. It was also released as a remix single in 1996. A simple gentle nostalgic love song.  Riportami ai profumi dell'infanzia quando i cicli della vita Vibravano continuamente in me Quando aspettavo che il tramonto ricamasse i suoi segreti nel mio cuore Take me back to the scents of childhood when the cycles of life Vibrated continuously in me When I waited for the sunset to embroider its secrets in my heart The song is also featured in Alice + Franco Battiato's joint live album Live in Roma 2016

Let's continue discovering Alice's fantastic recording career. Visioni was the lead single off her 1989 album Il sole nella pioggia, again written by Juri Camisasca. Camisasca along with Franco Battiato has written some of Alice's most fantastic songs. He started with progressive rock and collaborated with Battiato until 1979 when he entered a Benedictine monastery where he lived as a monk until 1987 when he movd out to an eremitical life at the slopes of Mount Etna. Besides now continuing his singer-songwriter life he also paints icons. And yes, his songs always have that something extra.  E più lontano vai sempre meno conosci / And the further you go the less you know

Incredible but true Alice turns 70 on September 26. Her voice and her beauty haven't changed since she hit it big by winning Sanremo 1981 and doing Eurovision song contest 1984 with late Franco Battiato. Even more incredible is she will publish her biography L'unica via d'uscita é dentro (The only exit is inside) in September as well. Always been so reserved and private it comes as a surprise for sure. But then again, if you stop and think about it it's kind of logical. Her partner in art and life Francesco Messina, who has already written books about Franco Battiato's life among others, is behind the project. But it's a real gift to her fans like me, 40 plus years by her side. I could easily do a 70 songs presentation of her songs as they have provided me my life's soundtrack and her Park Hotel album probably being the album I have listened the most times in my life of any albums by any artist. But that would be a bit too much I suppose so I will just go fo...

  Slimane was the fourth artist announced for the Eurovision song contest 2024 in Malmö, but the very first with the song Mon amour released at the same time and thus the first song of the season, when the whole package was revealed on November 8, 2023. This year France Télévisions dropped the national final and picked internally the biggest name instead. A bit like Italy last year with Marco Mengoni. Slimane Nebchi (34) is a French of Algerian descent through his grandparents. In 2016 he won the season 5 of The Voice but before that he had already gone through many talent shows: Popstars 2007, Nouvelle star 2009, X Factor 2011, Encore un chance 2012, Je veux signer chez AZ and also did Didier Barbelivien's musical Marie-Antoinette et le Chevalier de Maison-Rouge in 2015. His recording career started started after The Voice (except for an EP in 2011 that went nowhere) with his debut album hitting #1 and selling triple platinum. Since then he has released three more albums (last one...