Over the years, particularly since their return to the Contest in 2011, it has been Italy’s undaunted attitude in sending entries which feel as if they refuse to cater to a Eurovision audience which has been the country's strength. It has also helped that they have delivered respected, proven acts with a genuine ability to perform live; big shoes newcomer Mahmood will have to fill when he takes to the stage in Tel Aviv.
He'll be performing Soldi (Money), a song which has already proved popular on streaming services such as Spotify and iTunes, and which has become a favourite among many of Eurovision's core fans.
Up until now, Mahmood's CV has consisted of appearances on Italy's version of The X-Factor in 2012, from which he was eliminated relatively early on. His victory at Sanremo was a surprise too, seemingly having been shunned by the public vote in the opening show. Even his final night votes came mainly from the press and jury rather than the public, leading to questions about his song's appeal to a wider Eurovision crowd.
Mahmood has said that Soldi is a very personal track which he relates to his father's departure from his life when he was a young child and how money can affect family ties. Compared to the majority of 2019's entries, it's probably the most contemporary, relevant and radio-friendly.
It's hip-hop without much hop, sounds as if it's a rap song - but isn't. Creatively, it suggests a poetic beginning moulded seamlessly to a backing track; Mahmood's vocal monotone in nature, imbued with emotive inflections.
Soldi could be one of those songs which is not only very dependent on the running order, but also on its promised Eurovision revamp. Picked to perform at the sweet spot or nearby and Mahmood could do very well. Ultimately, it probably isn’t the winner, but I think if he brings a convincing vocal and stage performance it will win through and maintain Italy’s sequence of creditable results. Picture: Bart Ryker [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Will it be 'hats off' to Francesca Michielin in Stockholm?
Ever since Sanremo winners Stadio declined the opportunity to represent Italy at Eurovision 2016, it had been something of a mystery what runner-up Francesca Michielin would take to Stockholm as the country's entry. Finally, in mid-March, the Italians announced that a reworked version of Nessun grado di separazione (her Sanremo entry) had become their official song.
The updated adaptation shortens this uplifting ballad to the regulation three minutes, but also includes an English revamp of the final chorus, enabling a change of title to No Degree of Separation.
Purists seem to hate the alteration - Italy has been one of those nations which stubbornly refuses to send English lyrics to Eurovision - but for those who do not want to rely on the melody alone, they do help to make sense of the song.
The original version has already been very popular in her homeland, hitting Number 1 on the Italian charts, going Gold in the process. The question is "Can Francesca replicate that success at Eurovision?"
Well, the lyrical content embraces a well-trodden path at Eurovision: a difference in culture should not cause a distance between people. In other words, love, peace and harmony, man. The important thing though is how that message is wrapped up. No Degree of Separation is no A Little Peace (Ein bißchen Frieden) and we are far from the East/West Cold War which inspired that 1982 winner. There is still a much-needed imperative for those principles, but its doubtful that Francesca's song has the emotive hook to reel in the required number of votes for a victory.
What isn't in doubt is that No Degree of Separation possesses an alluring melody with a wonderful chorus. On its own, though, it just doesn't have the immediate impact that's required of a Eurovision winner. But we are promised a spectacular staging of the song from a renowned creative director; visuals are half the battle, so that may be the element which pushes this song into a deserved Top 10 finish.
In the UK, the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest was all about Olivia Newton-John's chances of capturing the country's third victory with a song she later admitted that she hated, Long Love Love.
Viewing that year's Contest through a wider lens, however, it looked as if Olivia would have some very hot competition. Several potential victors were about to take the stage in Brighton. Something quite rare for most Eurovisions.
Big names in Eurovision '74
Apart from Olivia, other well-known names on the European circuit were there; among them Mouth and MacNeal (The Netherlands), Tina Reynolds (Ireland), Ireen Sheer (Luxembourg) and Italy's 1964 winner, Gigliola Cinquetti.
Gigliola Cinquetti Returns to the Contest
Si - 1974 record sleeve
As was usual back then, Italy's state broadcaster, RAI, selected both the singer and the song to go forward
to the final. They had chosen well. Gigliola obviously had Eurovision pedigree following her victory a decade earlier and the song was soon to become considered a classic among the Euro fraternity.
It's easy to understand why. Apart from the fact that Gigliola had blossomed into a stunningly beautiful woman, it was evident that her vocals had matured in tandem. Although seemingly nervous on the night, she gave a superb rendition of the emotionally-charged and superbly dramatic Si. It was the last of the sixteen songs to be performed and it looked as if she may have just clinched the competition on a photo finish.
ABBA Win the Battle
ABBA in 1974
No-one had reckoned with ABBA, of course. At least, not until their glam rock-inspired performance of the evening.
As good as it was though, not everyone was impressed by Waterloo, Sweden's inaugural winner - not least, we Brits. Famously, the United Kingdom jurors did not award the song a single point, instead preferring to give their highest score to Gigliola. Even the Italian jurors were indifferent to the now-famous Swedes. They followed the UK's lead and ignored them altogether.
For all that, Gigliola still found herself in the runners-up position. ABBA had scored consistently with almost all of the other juries, while half of Italy's eighteen votes were composed of those given by the UK and Monaco alone.
A UK Commercial Success
Even though the British jurors awarded Waterloo a big fat zero, the great British public loved it and sent it to No.1 in the UK charts. Thankfully, we Brits also agreed with our jurors, buying enough copies of Go (Before You Break My Heart) - the English version of Si - to deliver a Top 10 placing in late May 1974.
It remains one of the very few songs not to have won the Contest to make such an impression on the UK charts, as well as affording Gigliola Cinquetti a place in the Eurovision history book. She is still just one of a handful of artists to finish in both first and second places in the competition. Still a very impressive accomplishment.
Italy Meets Its Waterloo
If not for ABBA though, it should (and would) have won - giving Ms. Cinquetti an even more impressive entry in the book: the first double winner.
Never mind, Gigliola. In many people's minds, you were and still are the winner. It's just a shame you found yourself up against the runaway freight train that was ABBA - meeting your Waterloo in the process.
Although I'm an ardent Eurovision fan, the Junior Eurovision Song Contest has never really appealed to me. It was with some trepidation then that I tuned in yesterday to a rerun of the Maltese show online.
I'm glad I chose to watch it this way, because I was able to fast forward through all of the irrelevant bits. In hindsight, it would probably have been advisable to have just watched the voting.
I know they are just kids, but Junior Eurovision should really sound better than this year's extravaganza. That's not the fault of Malta, which actually staged a very polished show. It was more to do with the quality of the singing.
I hate to criticise a kid's best efforts - as does the EBU apparently, in refusing to award any of the acts nul points - but 95% of those chosen to sing live were not able to do so on the night. For the most part, many sounded like the bad auditions from the early rounds of The X-Factor.
It was with some surprise then that 14-year-old Vincenzo Cantiello captured first place with a typically rousing Italian ballad called Tu primo grande amore (Your First Great Love). I say "surprise" because for the majority of his performance his vocals were akin to a cat being strangled, particularly as the key changed to a higher register and the song dictated that he become even more shouty.
The song itself is not too bad. It's the sort of ballad you might have expected to hear from Whitney Houston. It just required someone a little more mature and with more experience to handle the vocals.
Nor, in my opinion, was it the winning song. Yes, there's a rush of strings and it builds to a powerful conclusion, but there's no real hook to reel you in. Its first place, I feel, had more to do with young Vincenzo being the only male representative rather than the overall quality of the song.
In my humble opinion, I felt the Bulgarian entry should have taken the prize. Three very talented kids presented Planet of the Children but, like so many on the night, Krisia's vocals let her down.
In the meantime, here's the studio version of the Italian winner. What do you think of it?
In a departure from Italy's usual way of picking its Eurovision entry (the San Remo Song Festival), Italian broadcaster RAI has instead decided to make its selection internally and will send Emma Marrone and the song La mia città(My City) to Copenhagen.
Emma Marrone (or simply, Emma) has become one of Italy's most successful singers of recent times within her own country. Four Italian chart-topping singles, a number replicated on the album charts, has pushed her into superstar status. Schiena, which was her last platinum album release, cemented her place as the best-selling Italian female artist of 2013.
It is from that album that La mia città is taken.
The track is characterized by power drumming, rock guitars and an orchestration driven by Emma's voice. In many ways, it harks back to the power-pop days of the 1980s: Pat Benatar vocals mixing with guitars that sound as if they could have been lifted from a Duran Duran track. Those first few chords do sound very familiar...
Nonetheless, the entire production is a demonstration in how to separate yourself from the crowd. La mia città is obviously not a song written with Eurovision in mind and, to this end, is quite possibly too good for the competition. The same was said of The Netherland's entry last year. While Birds did well - Anouk's track did not characterize the typical Eurovision song - it ultimately failed to bring home the win.
Similarly, Emma's power-pop does not have an immediate hook and will require several listens to really appreciate it. Unfortunately, as one of the Big 5 countries, it will not benefit from repeat plays so a memorable staging is a necessity.
As I write, it's my favourite and I'm hoping that it does well. The energy and drive of some pop-rock will at least shake up the Contest, but the fear remains that it may not appeal to Eurovision's core audience.
Marco Mengoni was the winner of the Sanremo Music Festival in February 2013 and was selected by a jury as the Eurovision representative for Italy with his winning song L'essenziale (The Essential One).
Marco has had a very successful career in Italy since winning that country's version of The X-Factor. Already with three Number One albums under his belt, along with an EP that hit the top of the Italian charts, Mr Mengoni looks set to take Sweden by storm. His Eurovision song has already gone double platinum at home, spending several weeks atop the singles chart there.
Mengoni has described L'essenziale as a typical Italian ballad. It's certainly that, but it's also a very classy ballad that is full of charisma. It incorporates a powerful vocal that caresses the Italian lyrics and this has already brought praise in Eurovision-ville. His "easy on the eyes" looks won't hurt his chances with certain sections of the voting public either. 9/10.
I'm looking for a Top 5 placing on the evening of May 18 when Italy competes in the final. What do you think?
L'essenziale is included on Marco Mengoni's latest album #prontoacorrere.
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