Life after Helsinki 2007 Eurovision

Angelina Mango won Sanremo 2024 and is set to represent Italy at the Eurovision song contest 2024 in Malmö with her La noia (Boredom). By winning Sanremo this soon 23-year-old talent managed to achieve what his father (or mother) never did despite being hugely popular and respected musician and singer. In a way at the time he changed Italian pop music the way Mahmood has been doing the past few years, bringing a new sound to charts and influence others.  Mango did seven Sanremos between 1985-2007 placing 5th, 6th and 7th at best. Strangely the songs that became his biggest Sanremo hits and among his biggest hits overall didn't do that well, 11th and 14th. He released 18 studio albums (two of them covers) debuting in 1976 with La mia ragazza è un gran caldo, but the three first albums didn't do so well even if his songs were so loved that legends like Mia Martini ( Se mi sfiori ) and Patty Pravo (Tu pioggia, io mattino and Sentirti ) wanted to cover them. Also Scialpi, at height...

 Matia Bazar have participated in Sanremo 12 times winning it twice. The line up has changed over the years as have the lead female singer since Antonella Ruggiero left in 1989. She was replaced by Laura Valente, these days better known my youngsters as the mother of Angelina Mango. When Angelina takes the Ariston stage she follows not only her mom's but also dad's footsteps and who knows will outdo them both? Anyways, Antonella's Matia was fabulous, Laura's rockier but I liked that version, too, and especially this song, Dedicato a te . Silvia Mezzanotte followed her and brought them their second Sanremo win, while Roberta Faccani is the latest lady. However, none of the original members is left...

  Late Mango, Angelina Mango's dad btw, participated 7 times in Sanremo. This Tu...si from 1990 may not be among his biggest successes despite placing 7th but it's a very dear to me. Mango left us way too soon, in a dramatic way mid song on stage but before that he somewhat changed Italian pop music and left his mark with his unique voice and musical style. Now let's see what his and another Sanremo artists Laura Valente's love fruit Angelina wuill give us in Sanremo..... 

  Matia Bazar was in my radar ever since their Eurovision 1979 but only in the 1984 album Tango I became a devoted fan - at least until Antonella Ruggiero was the lead singer until 1989. I also liked the early 90's version with Laura Valente in vocals but it was Antonella's amazing crazy vocals that made Matia what Matia was. Weirdly fantastic! Check out also:

This is a sad day. Giuseppe Mango, or simply Mango suffered a heart attack last night during his concert while singing his first big hit Oro and didn't survive. Italy has lost one of its greatest voices and song writers. This blogger is particularly taken by the news as Mango has been one of my top favorite singers since his hit Australia back in 1985. Since then he has created his own style and released some fantastic songs full of Mediterranean flavor and heat of the south. The 1990's in particular were fantastic but also in 2000's he scored hits like La Rondine , one of his best songs ever. I was always keeping up the hope to see him do Eurovision one day..... His songs have been covered also my many foreign artists. His wife and mother of his two kids is Laura Valente, once a Matia Bazar singer.....  He also wrote a lot of songs for other artists including Mia Martini , Loretta Goggi , Andrea Bocelli ,  Scialpi , fabulous  Andrea Mirò , Dennis Fantina an...

Silvia Mezzanotte returns to Matia Bazar with a new album and a tour in 2011. She was Matia's third lead singer (after Antonella Ruggiero and Laura Valente) and replaces again Roberta Faccani who stayed with the band from 2005 to 2010. "We met casually in TV and realized she's what we need for the songs we have been prepairing" told the guys of the band. "We never had a break-up in personal level, just professionally" comments Silvia. This is the formation that won Sanremo 2002 with Messaggio d'amore and scored other hits like Questa nostra grande storia d'amore and Brivido caldo . My guess they are aiming for Sanremo 2011....

Italy has already chosen its song for the OGAE Song contest 2010 ( Nina Zilli) and Finland is about to do the same. A lot of familiar names from come back Marion to Johanna Kurkela, from Laura Voutilainen to Jenni Vartiainen and CatCat's Virpi, Kuunkuiskaajat and Chisu.. Listen to all the songs here .

Roberta Faccani leaves Matia Bazar, the group that represanted Italy in Eurovision 1979 with Raggio di luna . Roberta was group's fourth female solist after Antonella Ruggiero (1975-1989), Laura Valente (1990-1998) and Silvia Mezzanotte (1999-2004). Ruggiero and Mezzanotte have moved on to a solo career and Valente married Mango , another fabulous singer that this blog admired deebly. Matia Bazar has participated 11 times in Sanremo winning twice; 1978 with ...e dirsi ciao! and in 2002 with Messaggio d'amore . They have also won the critic's award twice; in 1983 with Vacanze Romane and in 1985 with Souvenir .  Ti sento was an international hit for them, recently remade by Scooter ft Antonella Ruggiero . She also scored a solo hit with an old Matia Bazar song Un'ora d'amore . And here's Roberta's take on ...e dirsi ciao!