Life after Helsinki 2007 Eurovision

  Anna Oxa debuted in Sanremo 1978 with a true evergreen Un'emozione da poco with rather revolutionary look and sound for the times. She placed 2nd and would return to Sanremo another 14 times holding the record with Toto Cutugno, Al Bano, Milva and Peppino Di Capri. Should she return one more time..... She has scored two wins (1989 with Fausto Leali, and 1999) and another 2nd place (1997).

After the list of those who made it to the festival the media is announcing the ones who didn't make it this time around, among them Eurovision veterans Jalisse who were not taken for the 26th year in a row! Now that's a record to beat. But they are not alone. The list of excluded ones includes names like Mietta, Paola Turci, Syria, Dolcenera and Marcella Bella, for the zillionth time. But also names like Elettra Lamborghini, Francesca Michielin, Michele Bravi, Annalisa and Eurovision veterans Francesco Gabbani, Raf, Fausto Leali, Ricchi e Poveri, Alan Sorrenti and Albano. Add names like Eiffel 65, that would have filled the nostalgy slot nicely. Without further notes here's the list combined from various sources of names that didn't make it this year: Alan Sorrenti, Albano, Alex Wyse, Andrea Sannino, Annalisa, Antonino, Auroro Boreolo, Baby K, Beba, Bresh, Bugo, Chadia Rodriguez, Clementino, Daniele Silvestri,  Ditonellapiaga, Dolcenera, Drusilla Foer, Eiffel 65, Elett...

Italy took its well deserved third victory - finally! - at the Eurovision song contest 2021. Over the years several other Italian entries would have been worthy winners. In this series I will go through all of them from the worst ranking to the winners. Fausto Leali (77) and Anna Oxa (60) joined forces for Sanremo 1989 and I recall them stating somewhere they did it so they could go to Eurovision. Or at least Anna did. And indeed they won with Ti lascerò . For Eurovision they instead brought re-write of that titled Avrei voluto . After a very slow start at the voting they finished rather disappointing 9th out of 22. Fausto Leali has been around since 1960 in the music business first in various bands and then solo. Big success came in 1967 and has lasted with ups and downs until these days as he's still around, for example in Big Brother VIP 2020 where he's disqualified for using the N word...... Thirteen Sanremos to his credit, with eight of them with a Top-5 finish between 1...

Rai1 launched a new show this summer Ora o mai più or a second chance for those forgotten singers of the 80s and 90s to retake their spotlight and maybe place in the charts. Four prime time shows and an album to be released on July 10 in every Italian newspaper stand. Plus dueting with the big names of the business who were their coaches and doing covers. And finally in the last episode a new song that should relaunch their career.... Inviting, isn't it?  This blogger has been following Italian music since very early 80s so the whole cast was very familiar (with the exception of Stefano Sani, tbh) and I even own most of the hit records they had made in the past. From the very first episode Lisa was a front runner winning the first and second show - there were coaches like Marco Masini, Loredana Berté, Zarrillo, Marcella Bella and Patty Pravo with Eurovision veteran Fausto Leali who voted along with the public - but Eurovision veterans Jalisse stormed to victory in the third...

Ermal Meta & Fabrizio Moro are already Italy's 8th duo in the Eurovision song contest over the years. That counts also then happily married Al Bano & Romina Power who did it twice, and another stilL happily married couple, Alessandra Drusian and Fabio Ricci aka Jalisse, while the other duos have been formeD for Sanremo, or Eurovision song contest in mind. And the interesting fact is they all ended up in top-10! This is as good an eXcuse to relisten and watch all these beauties.... 1975 - Wess & Dori Ghezzi - Era - 3rd 1976 - Al Bano & Romina Power - We'll live it all again - 7th 1984 - Alice & Franco Battiato - I treni di Tozeeur - 5th 1985 - Al Bano & Romina Power - Magic oh magic - 7th 1987 - Umberto Tozzi & Raf - Gente di mare - 3rd 1989 - Anna Oxa & Fausto Leali - Avrei voluto - 9th 1997 - Jalisse - Fiumi di parole - 4th 2018 - Ermal Meta & Fabrizio Moro - Non mi avete fatto niente - ?

Fausto Leali releases his first album in seven years and this time it's fashionable duets album. The lead single is A chi mi dice , originally adapted in Italian by Tiziano Ferro for Blue , originally Breathe easy . Leali belts it out with legendary Mina (last public concert in 1978, but has released dozens of top selling albums since, 1-2 per year generally), the only lady on the album while other duets are with Eurovision veterans Enrico Ruggeri and Umberto Tozzi , and Spandau Ballet's Tony Hadley , just to name a few.  Two years ago he released an autobiography Notti piene di stelle (Nights filled with stars) that celebrated his 50th anniversary in the business. The story continues now.....

The rumour mill for possible Sanremo 2016 Big artists is in full swing and Carlo Conti told the press today there will be 20 instead of 18 Big artists, and 8 newcomers. The newcomers or Nuove proposte will be selected and announced tomorrow night in a live show on Raiuno at 21.20 CET. Twelve artists will fight for the six places, and the two names from AreaSanremo selection will be also announced so by the end of the evening we have already all the eight newcomer arists and also their songs out. As always the songs by the Big won't be heard until they are being performed for the first time onstage in Teatro Ariston in Sanremo. Let's see the most talked about names. Conti already made a wish to see both of his co-hostesss last year Emma and Arisa back, and it seems at least Arisa is game. It also rumored she's dropped the song she was already proposed and accepted and is now looking for something poppier, and perhaps more Eurovision friendly? We know she's dyi...

Fausto Leali shot to the fame already in 1967 with A chi , and got known for his special voice. The year after he was already in Sanremo with Deborah , one of his biggest hits placing 4th. He repeated his 4th place the year after with Un'ora fa . Then followed some less succesful participations: 1970 Hippy (12th), 1972 L'uomo e il cane (non finalist), 1973 La bandiera di sole (8th). Then a 15-year break and new success with Io amo in 1987, written by Toto Cutugno and 4th place. Mi manchi came 5th the year after. Then came 1989 when he united with Anna Oxa "as we two never win anything" et voilá, they won with Ti lascerò . They also went to Eurovision together with rather similarly built Avrei voluto placing 9th. In the 1990's he was back to Sanremo twice; in 1992 with Perche (9th) and 1997 with Non ami che te (10th). Three participations also in the 2000's: 2002 with another duet, this time with another foxy lady Luisa Corna and Ora che ho bisogno ...

Anna Oxa is furious (again). As we know she was running to be included to the list of the Big ones but in the end wasn't on the list. Concidering back in 1989 she was quoted saying she wanted to win Sanremo just that she could go to Eurovision (which she did, with Fausto Leali and Avrei voluto ), could this be behind her stronger than usual reaction to rejection?  Whatever the reason, even her fans organized a sit in protest outside RAI's studios earlier this week. Anna, arriving at the spot commented: "I have always chosen myself if I go to Sanremo or not. I won't go to a festival where they don't even listen to your song. They haven't even listened the songs of those selected! And they said they would not take anyone from the reality shows and look at the list now!" Further she promises she won't disppear like she did in 2006 as a protest continuing: "Everything is being decided for the public. No one has a chance to choose for himself anyt...

The first names are out for Sanremo 2011. Gianmarco Mazzi, artistic director gave these names for sure: Nina Zilli, Max Pezzali, Anna Oxa, Roberto Vecchioni and Emma Marrone. Nina Zilli, the moral winner of newcomers 2010 where she came 2nd behind Tony Maiello returns for a revenge. She has had a very succesful year. Max Pezzali, ex-883 debuts as soloist but he did Sanremo already in 1995 with 883. Anna Oxa tries a comeback and this will be her 14th Sanremo. Two victories (one with Fausto Leali though), two second places and nine top-10 placings but her latest participation in 2006 didn't go that well... . Roberto Vecchioni returns after 38 years, his one and only previous participation is from 1973. Emma Marrone, yet another star from Amici talent show will be with group Modá as widely speculated or solo. Another Amici, Alessandra Amoroso is also highly tipped to be there.

Eurovision returned to Switzerland after a break of 33 years when Lausanne hosted the show on May 6, 1989. The opening was the longest ever and it took forever before Celine Dion took the stage to mime a part of her winning entry the year before and then belting out her very first single in English. She really put the Berlitz language school into good use! The big favourites were Israel and France, both sporting a 12-year-old singer. Luckily they propably ate each other votes and neither of them won, and caused a new rule: artists must be 16 years old. Italy send two big names, Anna Oxa and Fausto Leali. Anna declared she wanted to win Sanremo only to be able to do Eurovision! Unfortunately they ended up only on shared 9th place, scoring next to nothing in the early part of the voting. Switzerland sung for the only time ever in the country's fourth official language: retoromanisch. Austria and Germany shared the songwriters when Dieter "Modern Talking" Bohlen wrote both ...

The third Eurovision veteran in Sanremo 2009 is Fausto Leali (64). He participates for the 9th time and 7 times he has finished in top-5! He won with Ti lasceró in duet with Anna Oxa and they went on to represant Italy in the Eurovision as well, but with another song, Avrei voluto . 1968 Deborah (4th) 1969 Un'ora fa (4th) 1970 Hippy (12th) 1973 La bandiera di sole (8th) 1987 Io amo (4th) 1988 Mi manchi (5th) 1989 Ti lasceró - with Anna Oxa (1st) 1997 Non ami che a te (5th) 2002 Ora che ho bisogno di te - with Luisa Corna (4th) 2009 Una piccola parte di te http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXJEd5adaWA