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).

One of the true Italian music legends Milva has passed away. Besides her immense international career she also holds the record of Sanremo festival presences: 15. No other artist, male or female, has done 15 festivals solo. She also holds the record of consecutive participations: 9 (from 1961 to 1969. Her last participation was in 2007. Born Maria Ilva Biolcati in summer 1939 she won a contest organized by Rai in 1959 for new voices and the rest is history in Italian pop, German schlager and French chanson. Add theater, films, television, Brecht, Morricone, Battiato, Theodorakis, Vangelis.... She has recorded and releases a total of 173 albums, another record for an Italian artist, in various languages when counting studio (35), live and various compilations. She met success especially in Germany but also France, Japan, South Korea and Latin America.  To this blogger personally she's known thanks to her collaborations with Franco Battiato, and obviously Sanremo. of those entries my...

  I got to know about Milva thanks to Franco Battiato and she joined as my favorites next to Alice and Giuni Russo thanks to two albums he wrote and produced to her in the 80's (and he would do a third one in 2010) Natural step was to discover her better and her career in German and French as well. She has released 173 albums singing in various languages (studio/live/compilations) but is retired  since 2012 because of poor health. Milva holds the record of participations in Sanremo (with Peppino Di Capri and Toto Cutugno): 15 times between 1961 and 2007 with one 2nd place (1962) and four 3rd places (1961, 1968, 1969, 1973) and further six top-10 placements. One of the last true Divas. In a good sense.  Check out also

  Alice. My all time favorite artist of them all. I came across her in early 80's and never looked back. After Eurovision I started actively collect her old vinyls and also discovered artists she was connected to from Battiato to Giuni Russo, Milva, Camisasca and Rosario Di Bella. My unlimited love for her stays today despite gaps of 14 years between studio albums and albums with sacred music and Italian classics, new versions and all that. She's the soundtrack of my life and Nomadi maybe being The Song, and Park Hotel The Album of my life I never get tired of, after listening to it for 33 years already.... Check out also:

Today sees the release of a new book on Franco Battiato. The 320 paged one is written by writer and musician Fabio Zuffanti. Filippo Bardi has created a detailed Franco Battiato discography section in the book. Battiato, who represented Italy in the Eurovision song contest 1984 with Alice and I treni di Tozeur enjoy's a living legend status in Italy with his over 50 years in the Italian art scene. He has written music from experimental to pop, opera and films, being also a painter, writer. movie director and a lot more. This book tells his story from a little Sicilian village to the biggest Italian pop phenomenom that exploded in 1982 with his La Voce del Padrone album, one of the most sold albums in the Italian music history. The book also digs deep into his collaboration with Alice and his other female collaborators, most notably Giuni Russo and Milva . Still active in his various forms of art he's retired to his home by the mountain Etna and recovering from a broke...

In Italy they have this very popular Tale e quale TV-show on RAI1 were a number of singers/actors each week practice and then imitate in a live show other singers. This season among the ones we have for example Gigliola Cinquetti who has done already another Eurovision legend, Domenico Modugno . She's done also Milva so far. But the real surprise has been Mietta who we know as a dark husky voiced pop singer, winner of OGAE Song contest 1990 and has delivered some great tracks in Sanremo over the years ( Baciami adesso and Fare l'amore for example). The first week she did Ornella Vanoni , then Donna Summer and this week Maria Callas! And who thought she could sing like that???  Mietta won the second show as Donna Summer and came third in the third one as Maria Calla s while Gigiloa Cinquetti won that one as Gianna Nannini ! Next week Mietta will do Jennifer Lopes while Gigilola will be Gloria Gaynor! You can follow the progress of the show here . 

Anna Oxa turns 50 in 2011 and participates in Sanremo for the 14th time. With that she joins Toto Cutugno and ahead of her are only Milva and Peppino Di Capri who have participated 15 times. Anna, real surname Hoxha, of Albanian origin and relative of dictator Enver Hoxha debuted at the age of 16 in 1978 with an image that didn't pass without notice. Over the years she has changed her look and image in Madonna-like speed, changed husbands nearly as often but left behind several classics of Italian modern light music like Un'emozione da poco, È tutto un attimo and Quando nasce un amore . In 2000's she seems to have been a bit lost musically and in her personal life but maybe she has found the right way again?  Here's her Sanremo parade: 1978 Un'emozione da poco (nd.) 1982 Io no (finalist) 1984 Non scendo (7th) 1985 A lei (7th) 1986 È tutto un attimo (5th) 1988 Quando nasce un amore (7th) 1989 Ti lasceró con Fausto Leali (Winner) 1990 Donna con te (f...

Milva (71) says addio for live performances and maybe artistic life altogether. Non conosco nessun Patrizio , an album recently released in collaboration with Franco Battiato will be propably be her last album even if she leaves the door a little open for further recordings but she's done with live performances. "My voice isn't anymore as it was. I'm 71 and have been singing for 52 years non stop. My voice and body can't stand the physical effort it takes to stage a concert ." Milva has had a great career in Italy and most of all abroad from Corea to Argentina, from Germany to Japan. She has recorded in seven languages, about 100 albums, three of them with Franco Battiato. The latest and last includes one new song, the title track, and covers and new versions of her previous Battiato songs and Battiato's own songs like Le aquile (previously covered also by Alice ) and Segnali di vita . (The album's cover photo is taken by Battiato himself in a beach i...

Milva (71), the great lady of the Italian music, La Rossa, is releasing a new album in September and reunites with Franco Battiato (65) who has produced the album and also written the songs. Meaning they are covers but there might be a new song or two as well. The album Non conosco nessun Patrizio will be presented live in concert in Teatro Romano di Verona with Battiato on stage on September 8, 2010. Milva started singing back in 1959 and has participated in Sanremo a total of 15 times. She has made name besides pop in theatre singing Bertol Brecht and Piaf gaining success especially in Germany with several only German releases over the years. With Battiato she has worked previously in Milva e dintorni (1982) and Svegliando l'amante che dorme (1989) and both albums have been released also in either French, German or Spanish edition. The most known and memorable Milva-Battiato collaborations must be Alexander Platz , Potemkin and Una storia inventata . In Sanremo she debuted w...

Franco Battiato releases a new album on November 13, 2009. Or not really; it has new versions of his old songs and some new ones, like the title track Inneres auge - il tutto é piú della somma delle sue parti .  The other tracks includes a new version of Un'altra vita - also covered by Alice - as well as No time, no space that was the other song considered for Eurovision - and later covered by Milva -  but in the end he chose I treni di Tozeur .