Life after Helsinki 2007 Eurovision

As Mahmood has been announced as one of the co-hosts for the Sanremo 2025 fourth night this is as good as any excuse to have a some Friday night nostalgia and a closer look to his Sanremo participation history that is quite remarkable indeed. 2016 Placed 4th in Newcomer's with Dimentica  (behind certain Francesco Gabbani and Ermal Meta) 2018 Winner of Sanremo Giovani with Gioventú bruciata (won Critic's award) 2019 Winner of Sanremo with Soldi  (won awards for best performance and was voted the best by other artists) 2020 Author for Elodie's Andromeda (7th) 2021 Guest appearance           Author for Francesca Michielin & Fedez's Chiamami per nome (2nd)          Author for Noemi's Glicine (14th) 2022 Winner of Sanremo with Brividi together with Blanco          Author for Noemi's Ti amo non lo so dire (15th) 2023 Guest appearance 2024 Placed 6th with Tuta gold but had the biggest hit of the fe...

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. Francesca Michielin (26), a self declared Eurovision fan, got to Eurovision 2016 with her Sanremo runner up when the winners Stadio and Un giorno mi dirai declined the offer and said instead that Michielin should go. After a very long period - well, it felt like that anyways - Rai confirmed that they had chosen her indeed. She revamped and renamed her song, originally Nessun grado di separazione and travelled by bus (and social medias) to Stockholm but only placed 16th out of 42 with No degree of separation ..... Francesca shot to the fame after winning X Factor and has had a string of hit singles ever since, also in several featuring with various top rappers. In 2021 she was close to Euroviison again and placed second in Sanremo with...

It's summer time and Italian airwaves are filled with summer rhythms and beats. Enjoy! Fedez, Achille Lauro, Orietta Berti - Mille Emma, Loredana Berté - Che sogno incredibile Annalisa, Federico Rossi - Movimento lento Samuel, Francesca Michielin - Cinema

Alice will honor her late friend Franco Battiato in a very exclusive concert in Auditorium Centro Gaetano in Padua/Padova On June 6, 2021 singing his most beautiful songs accompanied by Carlo Guaitoli in piano, Battiato's long lasting collaborator. There's space for only 115 people in the intimate concert due Covid-19 restrictions. Alice will also tour Italy in July-August bringing his music to the people again.  The concert is a part of Padua's van Gogh exhibition, a continuation to the one in Bologna in 2014 when Battiato did a musical performance La ragazza con l'orecchino di perla linked to the exhibition featuring Alice and a young Francesca Michielin.  

Mahmood has released today the video for his latest effort Klan, already fifth single off his new album Ghettolimpo out next month. He certainly hasn't been doing nothing since placing second in the Eurovision 2019 behind Duncan Laurence with just a few points as this is his seventh official single besides several featuring here and there and co-writing song to other artists, like Elodie's Andromeda and this year's Sanremo runner up Chiamami per nome by Francesca Michielin and Fedez.  The video makes me think of some iconic Pet Shop Boys videos really...... 

The 71st Sanremo festival will take place next week against all odds and even if it will be for the very first time without audience in Teatro Ariston there will be an endless list of guests and co-presenters and all the extra we don't even know yet. Amadeus has promised five nights, five hours each of resurrection of entertainment and music after the year of pandemic.  This blogger will keep an eye as always but maybe I'll be blogging less than usual until the Friday's Newcomers final and the Grand final on Saturday. But over the week we will have a string of Eurovision veterans performing in both competition and as guests. First of all Diodato will open the week on Tuesday evening re-performing his winning entry Fai rumore from last year, Il Volo will be performing in a tribute to late legendary Ennio Morricone with his son Andrea Morricone. Francesco Gabbani will duet with Ornella Vanoni in Un sorriso dentro al pianto , a song he wrote for her. Mahmood is the latest...

Let's continue the series and kill some time having a look at the last decade and see who were the Top-10 best scoring countries in the Eurovision song contest in the past ten years. The ways to calculate are many and here I have used the simple average placement method (and it's not all so serious). Next up is Italy at n.o 2. Italy made a comeback to Eurovision in 2011 with a bang and a 2nd place finish. And Mahmood secured yet another 2nd place for Italy last year. Add Il Volo's 3rd place and four other Top-10s and you're left with one 16th place and one 21st place. And that 21st being the only one not linked to Sanremo but an internal selection. Five entries were Sanremo winners. one a runner up and one a Newcomers winner. Three of the entries among the most watched Youtubes ever on Eurovision platform, and also breaking Italian streaming records. Each and every artist still present and succesful, as most every one was already back then! Other countries take exa...

 

  Just like the past year's the Sanremo winner will be representing Italy in the Eurovision song contest 2020, but with a twist. If the rules have been rather loose before now it's all set with documents and signed papers. Namely, every Big participant and their record label has to sign papers if they wish to do Eurovision in the case of victory before the festival starts. Should the winner be one of those few who decides not to sign the paper, Rai will choose the represent by their own criteria.  All this will make things clearer and faster after the victory. Last year Mahmood said in the press conference the night after his victory "yes" only to withdraw his answer the day after and it took a few days to settle things and confirm it. Also in 2016 Stadio didn't answer right away and the day after said they wish runner up Francesca Michielin would take the job instead.  In Italy there's also every year the question of scheduling Eurovision gig with...

Francesca Michielin has released Bolivia , already a third single off her latest album 2640 following Vulcano and Io non abito al mare . Great song and very inteeresting video.... your guess is as good as mine what it is all about...?!

Sicilian tenor turned pop Lorenzo Licitra (25) won against all odds the 1th Italian X Factor beating in the final Måneskin lead by bad boy Damiano, who were expected to win after they already gained quite a following and even sold a gold disc before the final with Chosen .  Which one do you prefer? X Factor in Italy has give us winners Marco Mengoni, Francesca Michielin, Chiara, Michele Bravi and Lorenzo Fragola among others, and also Giusy Ferreri and Madh, so chances are we will hear about Licitra a lot in the future, and Måneskin also has its reasons to stay in spotlight.  I don't know why but I think Lorenzo screams EUROVISION!!!

  Francesca Michielin has released another single off her future album and Io non abito al mare is  already a hit. Well done. Michele Bravi has released Tanto per cominciare , yet another single off his highly succesful album, recently re-released with extra songs. Meanwhile he's  having his first sold out Italian tour going... Gionnyscandal didn't make it to Sanremo Giovani this year either, but this was his song, Malpensa . Certainly it would have been an interesting add to the line up IMHO. Tony Maiello 's latest is L'amore che conosco . Strangely he hasn't submitted a song to San Marino. Lol. 

Errr... Joci? Please explain... Svala, the lady in red Kristina, one happy lady in red! Vaclav superman Douwe the Bqb master  Dihaj the laundry master Imri the party boy (in Thailand) Claudia in Malta Pride (sadly not the Pride of Malta in ESC) Emma in Arena di Verona Francesca in Arena di Verona - who wears it better? Freddie in Croatia Hanna in Ketchikan, Alaska, honeymooning Michal in Vienna Naviband in Berlin Robin in Fuerteventura   Ilinca's Thursday face Isaiah's devilish face Nathan's angelic face Mr Lordi's new face drying off Last but not least, Serhat and Martha Wash! Now I'm curious.....

It's no secret Francesca Michielin is a Formula 1 fan and especially a fan of Fernando Alonso. She's been in Monza for days and today got the honor to belt out the Italian national anthem before the Italian GP. The past days she has met Alonso, driven in the safety car, helped to paint the finishin gline, met the fans... a dream come true for a fan!

SVALA goes for pastel fashion while Hovig has natural pastel colors Bubble Artsvik Camouflage Lidia Colorful Polina Sporty Ilinca  Edurne. Enough said. Dima looking fashionable Francesca  having a coffee before saying anything about the fashion choices.... Douwe in Lady & the Vagabond OMG. Ira is filming a new video.... as are Navi band. This week's covergirl is Claudia. How was your week?