Life after Helsinki 2007 Eurovision

Un briciolo di allegria, or A bit of joy, is Blanco's new release hoping to continue the success he had with his debut album, Sanremo and Eurovision song contest 2022 he did with Mahmood until things turned sour this year in Sanremo.  But let's go in order. In 2021 Blanco released his debut album Blue celeste at the age of 18. It sold six times platinum. The singles of it sold additional 24 platinum worth. On top of that he was featured or released additional songs that sold 23 platinum discs worth including four #1's and a total of 15 Top-10 hits.  This week he has released his new album Innamorato hoping to repeat the success. But, a big BUT, he kinda angered most of Italy when premiering his first single Isole delle rose off the new album. Due technical problems (his words) he kinda lost it (all planned according him)  on stage in Teatro Ariston and destroyed the whole flower ornament decoration while audience booed and whistled. All that became apocalyptic dimension...

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.   Due grosse lacrime bianche (Two big white tears) wasn't the Sanremo 1969 winner but Iva Zanicchi (81) had won it with Zingara , a far better known song and that was also performed and shared victory with Eurovision veteran Bobby Solo . Maybe they should have sent Zingara after all as Iva managed only 13th place out of 16 in that crazy year of four winners. Apparently she chose Due grosse lacrime bianche over Non credere , a song that Mina then made one of the biggest hits of the year. Oh well.... Iva despite her age is still very much present with over 30 albums in Italian and in Spanish, over 60 singles, ten Sanremos (and three wins) as a regular presence in tv-shows as guest and opinionist. She's also done televison presen...

  Born in Saigon and having flourishing careers going on in both Italy and France Cocciante has been releasing amazing songs already for decades. He has enjoyed also fame and success in Spain and South America, especially with Margherita . I came across him in the 80's but really got into him after his Sanremo 1991 win with Se stiamo insieme . In late 90's he has great success with musical Notre-Dame de Paris in France, with megahit Belle . In 1995 he also released a Spanish cover of one of my favorite songs ever, William Sheller's Un homme heureux , that indeed fits his repertoire perfectly. Check out also

Israeli Idan Raichel would be an awesome Eurovision entry. Or at least interval act in Tel Aviv next year! Singer-songwriter and musician known internationally for his fusion of electronic and folk music, Hebrew, Arab and Ethiopian music and texts with some gypsy music, tango and jazz thrown in making a mix that is still easy to listen to, catchy and most of all very beautiful and melodic. Real music. He uses a lot of other vocalists on his songs making them all unique and bringing global success. As Israel is again using the talent show for their next entrant maybe he could at least the song for the winner...? After all he has written and collaborated with many other stars, including Italian superstars Mina and Adriano Celentano in Amami amami .  Listen to Po co ,   Chalomot shel acherim , Mon amour , Todas las palabras , and he also collaborated with Portuguese Eurovision opening act Ana Moura in Sabe Deus . 

Sanremo has its special night tonight. While the competition continues for the remaining newcmers and those Big in risk of elimination the other Big take it easy and perform something else. I am most curiously waiting for Bravi's take on Battiato and Zarrillo's Bosè! It's going to be an interesting night!                                      Al Bano - "Pregherò" ( Adriano Celentano )                    Alessio Bernabei - "Un giorno credi" ( Edoardo Bennato )           Michele Bravi - "La stagione dell'amore" (Franco Battiato)        Lodovica Comello - "Le mille bolle blu" ( Mina ) Gigi D'Alessio - "L'immensità" ( Don Backy ) Elodie - "Quando finisce un amore" (Riccardo Cocciante) Francesco Gabbani -"Susanna" ( Adriano Celentano ) Chiara...

If the Italians really sucked in the annual most sold singles  chart they take a sweet revenge in albums, when only Coldplay makes the top10, and only David Bowie and Adele are featured in Top20. Marco Mengoni has three albums in the chart: 14th, 15th and 70th, only one of them released in 2016. Laura Pausini has two albums in Top20, the recently released Christmas album making it to 6th! Il Volo's classic album is at 22 and the previous pop album at 52. Also Vasco Rossi has two albums in Top20.  Top15 includes also Eurovision veterams Riccardo Fogli (with I Pooh) and Gianni Morandi (with Claudio Baglioni).  Emma's latest effort is at 23 and Francesca Michielin makes it to n.o 55 just ahead of Raphael Gualazzi's latest at 57.  Check out more videos from top selling albums after the jump....

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 summer is ending even in Italy (maybe not weatherwise...) and people's favorite past time is here: gossip. And if it's about Sanremo even better. The first name given as certain to be participating in next year's festival is Gino Paoli. He's a youngster of 76. The winner of 2011 edition Roberto Vecchini (68) is a baby compared to him and he wouldn't figure out even among the Buranovskiye Babushki... This said the man has a remarkable career that covers already seven decades and one of his best known songs is from 1959, Il cielo in una stanza . Dozens of versions have been recorded ever since Mina made the song a hit until these days by Carla Bruni Sarkozy , Franco Battiato , Mike Patton of Faith No More and others. Another classic is  Sapore di sale .  This would be his sixth Sanremo following the participations of 1961, 1964, 1966, 1989 and 2002 where he came third with Un altro amore . His latest album is from 2009.  The names of ...

Anna Eriksson was chosen by Seal to duet with him in You get me off his new album. This version will be released in Finland and Norway, as Seal is using the old trick of recording with several artists for various markets. In Italy the song gets a treatment with legendary Mina . For the latin market there's Concha Buika . This is not the first time Seal duets with European stars. Les mots with Myléne Farmer is a classic masterpiece in my books. Maybe we will get Mrs Seal or Heidi Klum to present Eurovision 2011?

This day, May 12, in 1995 or 15 years ago Mia Martini died alone. She was found dead in her apartment only two days later. Incredible artist with a very eventful life with its ups and downs. We all remember Rapsodia , her second Eurovision entry but so many songs were left unrecorded, amongst them a duet with Mina and this Attimo x attimo , later then recorded by Anna Tatangelo. Some of her most memorable recordings include jewels like  Minuetto , Almeno tu nell'universo , E non finisce mica il cielo , Donna , Piccolo uomo , La nevicata del '56 and my personal favourite Cu'mme that gives me the shivers everytime she enters the stage....