#also.. italians how is the sanremo going? is the sanremo going well? i have seen lots of posts so i’m assuming it’s going well

[seriebofficial]

[aprilskyforever]

Henny ranks Eurovision 2023 - before the show

i’m kinda late with this this year, i admit. reasons? I guess I can say i’ve been busy, but it’s not all, truth is i’m not that engaged about this year actually... of course there are songs i love, but it’s not a year where i struggle to make a top 10 you know? anyway. enough negativity. let’s take a look, shall we? oh and please not that the songs are not in a certain order within each category.

category: can’t we have two winners please?

Sweden - yeah i’m in my patriotic era again. this is euphoria chapter two, in a good way, and it’d be so cool if she won purely from a statistic point of view... howEVER........ 

Finland - wouldn’t it just be great with a winner that was... a little rough around the edges? dirty, gritty, would scare your grandma only to later make her nod and say it’s quite a bop afterall? and it’d be the proper reward for finland who has brought their absolut a-game to their national final for the past few years - even though they’ve in my opinion picked the wrong winner from it. until this year that is. yeah, i think i’d like that.

category: added to my playlist and played frequently

Norway - mgp really stepped up their game as well this year and sometimes i even question if queen of kings is my winner from it (there’s tresko, ekko inni meg, love you in a dream etc etc) but my god it just goes so hard doesn’t it? although WHEN are they putting the version with the intro on spotify?? WHEN!!

Slovenia - you know sometimes i forget carpe diem is a eurovision entry because it just sounds like something i’d hear from an average band in my library?? idk how else to describe it. i just love it. and i love THEM. bojan’s charisma is.... sigh

Austria - it bops and it’s so CLEVER i love it

Serbia - hello??? i’m obsessed

Portugal - as soon as the beat kicked in on my first listen i was hooked. it’s flawless. and it’s the first portugese entry i’ve been really engaged in since.... uh... i started watching?? obviously i’ve liked entries from them but i haven’t really cared. this time i do.

Czechia - go ladies go!! i really hope this will be as epic on stage as in the mv. please please please

Malta - this is a sort of recent obsession, i didn’t really get it right after the nf, so we’ll see how long this lasts but i’m always having fun listening to it

category: also in my playlist but not as frequent

Estonia - it’s beautiful! but maybe not so original. my winner of eesti laul was meelik /:

Switzerland - i actually don’t mind the lyrics and i love the chord intervals in the chorus

Croatia - chaotic fun. and sticks to your brain like glue. mamaaaa kupila traktora... SC!

United Kingdom - this song was like a bubble gum. lovely and fun the first few listens but i got tired of it kinda quickly, sadly

category: i can recognize the talent here but i guess it’s just not for me?

Latvia - i’ve seen so many people hyping this and everytime i listen it’s like yeah this is good! and then i don’t feel the urge to listen again

Spain - yeah the performance was captivating but... that’s where it ends for me

Italy - it’s nothing Wrong with the song itself but it didn’t grab me and i had so many other options from sanremo i’d rather see here than Another Male Italian Ballad and this time by a returning artist on top of it so uhhhh yeah

France - i’ve listened to la zarra before the contest so i had some hopes for her and they were not fulfilled )): i like the disco beat and the last chorus - because that’s when everything finally reaches a fullness it should have reached WAY earlier in the song. do you feel me?

Moldova - you know i think i just need a few more listens to this and i’ll get around to it

Ukraine - don’t have much to say about it but it’s alright!

Georgia - this is that kind of song that you only hear in eurovision but when you do you absolutely love it and she does have very impressive vocals, i gotta say

category: they’re fine i guess/i don’t care!!!!!!/no that’s definitely not for me

Belgium - song is kinda catchy i’m ngl. but i cannnnnNOT cope with his styling.

Azerbaijan - it’s cute! that’s about it

Albania - i’ve listened to this exactly once and it was alright but nothing core shaking you know?

Netherlands - this one i think is alright everytime i hear it and then i immediately forget how it goes after it’s done. i couldn’t sing it back to you know matter how i tried honestly

Denmark - yeah it’s fine

Cyprus - i don’t caaaare i don’t care it’s alright but i don’t caaare

Lithuania - ehhhhh why couldn’t we have had beatrich instead ):

Germany - i guess i see why people like it but yeah no this is Not my thing at all

Australia - same with this

Armenia - this could go in the other category above here but.. i don’t like it enough actually

Iceland - yeah no. i don’t get it

Greece - for the love of god couldn’t someone have paired him up with an experienced songwriter and/or producer here because there are many great ideas but they just sound like a mess? it sounds so unfinished?? and i think i really would’ve liked this if it just sounded more... polished. worked on.

Israel - again a mess of a song with too many ideas in it and a very weird build. can’t get around to it

category: good god no

Ireland - someone asked an ai to write the most generic song ever and this is what we got

Romania - dude. bro. no.

Poland - this could’ve been a very basic but somewhat ok entry had there just not been the whole story with how it was picked and what kind of person she is

San Marino - this song feels like a threat. and WHAT is with the singer’s posture?? STAND UP STRAIGHT jesus christ

and there we have it! how much do we agree?

[maki-makis]

I haven't seen many comments on Due Vite (Italy) and it's in my top 3 this year (yes, I am that person who falls for typical sanremo ballad™️ every year, sue me), so, here it goes:

I've really wanted to hear this song because it was overhyped and practically pronounced winner of Sanremo before it even started and then I did and thought - that's it? that's what the hype was about?

Heard it 5 times during the festival and didn't like it one single time, said to myself: oh well, I guess it was about time for me to dislike the winning song of Sanremo.

The next day, having already assembled my Sanremo playlist, I've excluded Due Vite. It was eating me inside though, so I've finally caved in and gave it another listen...and another...and then one more. Essentially, at that point, I feel like I've listened to it like 15 times and it still hasn't clicked for me.

Then, the following day, I have no idea what happened, but it just kinda became my favorite song overnight? Maybe it was the Stockholm Syndrome because I did imprison my ears with that song the entire previous day, but, I think I've just stupidly resisted this song because it was really hyped and I didn't feel the hype when I first heard it so I've scratched it off altogether. When Sanremo ended and it all settled down a bit, I was able to actually enjoy the song for what it is.

And it's one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. What's even more beautiful is how you can feel him living through every single note. I assume this song means a lot to him, you can tell from the lyrics that it's very personal, but especially from his live performance, where I feel he left his soul on that stage.

I still don't know what the song is exactly about, because, like I said, lyrics is very vague and feels too personal for anyone but Marco to know what it's really about, but, he did say this: "Due Vite is my neverending story. It's a journey from a phenomenal to a subconscious world. There is a dreamlike imagery, of course, and somewhat fantastic. There are also moments and pictures of my real life."

The way I interpret this song is that it speaks about the constant fight with oneself. "Due Vite", two lives, one that you live, one that you feel and the battle between the two. The way he sings it is sad, but at the same time angry and desparate, at moments bittersweet; you believe him that he's fighting with himself.

There's quite a bit of lyrics dedicated to not being able to sleep, or simply not sleeping ("and you don't sleep/and where will you be?/where are you going?/when life goes too far/all the running, the fighting, the mistakes you make/when something upsets you") and it truly encapsulates that feeling of tossing around in your bed at 3am, not being able to sleep and thinking about every single mistake you've ever made, every single mistake you're going to make and not knowing where to go or what to do.

Whenever I listen to this song (and that's literally every day), I get the feeling that he's struggling through the entirety of it. Not sure how else to explain it, but I feel as if I'm listening to someone living through a panic attack alone in the middle of the night while trying to calm himself down, yet it's getting progressively worse anyway.

To summarize this insanity: Due Vite sounds like an inner monologue of a person in pain. And whenever I'm listening to it while sad/anxious, it sounds like my inner monologue.

So, yes, this song has been quite a journey for me; it went from: "my least favorite Italian entry of the past decade" to one of my favorite songs of this year's Eurovision, if not my favorite.

[laurapausinifinland]

Album review: Anime Parallele

We have a new LP album! After highly successful and Latin Grammy winning Fatti Sentire / Hazte Sentir in 2018 we fans have been waiting for five long years for Anime Parallele / Almas Paralelas to arrive!

Promo in March 2023.

BACKGROUND:

Fair to say Laura has been treating us well during these albumless years with two tours (2018, 2019), Golden Globe winning Io Sí (Seen) and docufilm Laura Pausini - Pleased to meet you featuring new song Scatola / Caja. She's been also active on television hosting Eurovision Song Contest and Latin Grammy's last year respectively.

During the pandemic Laura did reveal that new songs and album are on the making. However in 2023 she told in her socials how she struggled during the pandemic to find her voice and felt lost after the Io Sí success in spring 2021. She calls this album the most difficult one to make during her long career. The album is also very fresh as it was still recorded during summer 2023.

Laura while making Anime Parallele / Almas Paralelas.

The new album is part of Laura's 30th anniversary of career celebrations. Instead of releasing another Greatest Hits collection she releases an album of almost 20 new songs!

PROMOTION:

The album announcement came early in 2023 . The highly anticipated first single Un buon inizio / Un bien inicio was released already in March and was performed during Laura's 24h marathon concerts on February 27th (actual 30 anniversary of Sanremo victory). Tour dates have been dropping along the way and we've already seen the magnificent shows of Venice and Sevilla last summer. The tour continues in December from Italy, to EU and from there to Americas. Meanwhile Laura toured Italian radio stations just like 30 years ago.

Laura during her radio tour in Italy in spring 2023.

Like many albums today, the songs were dropped little by little. We alreday saw this happening with FS / HS five years ago. Second single Il Primo Passo Sulla Luna in June, Durare / Durar in September and Davanti a noi / Frente a nosotros (Laura's & Paolo's wedding song) + Dimora Naturale / Hogar Natural (featuring daughter Paola) closer to the anticipated October 27th. Snippets of the rest of the songs were released 3 days prior to the album release on Tiktok. I chose not to listen to these snippets no to ruin the album experience. Zero / Cero was released as a single from the album in early November.

Personally I'm not the fan of this new way to promote the albums as I think the listening experience as whole tends to suffer. I miss the days when all was kept hidden and secret and we only had one song out when the album actually was released. Nowadays, things must be viral and trending - albums are not bought anymore as physical product and the power of media, radio stations have decreased. We're all part of this new way of consuming entertainment.

Laura performing at Sevilla in July 2023, one of the cities she's never performed for 30 years!

THE TEAM:

Familiar songwriters and makers returned for Anime Parallele / Almas Paralelas: Paolo Carta (now also the husband), Cheope (90s hits especially), Virginio Simonelli (The greatest hits), Edwyn Roberts (LDDC), Daniel Vuletic (rock songs over the years), Niccolo Agliardi (Invece no / En cambio no), Biagio Antonacci (Vivimi / Viveme) but also bunch of new ones arrived also. I like the new energy as Laura has a very distinguished way of writing especially with people she's worked in the past so getting some new blood, so to say serves much needed fresh air.

The song titles were interesting and aroused curiosity such as Zero, Flashback, Peró etc.

I will always prefer Laura in Italian however I do listen some of her songs in Spanish and Portuguese as well. But albums at first listen I always go for Italian version.

Promo for the album.

THE ALBUM:

The album stands strong and musically it's quite connected - I can hear a theme here. However it's a bit difficult to separate the songs from each other at one listen even though one might argue that this makes the perfect listening experience. This factor reminds me of PIA (2008) which also had the same dilemma (but which I love a lot!).

We haven't had up-beat album starter since Inedito (2011) and Zero does kick off things with a big bang! This is a load and full album. Laura's vocals are superb as always but arrangements feel heavy too.

We have a few rockier ballad here but nothing that can be compared to Frasi a metá / Verdades a medias (2018). I keep comparing individual pieces to FS (2018) and Simili (2015) even though I do think Anime / Almas might fall somewhere in their between. It's not as good as Simili from 2015 (I don't know if anything can be!) but still I find it better as a whole than FS (2018).

There's a lot energy, speed on this album and after the 16 songs one finds herself out of breath. I kind of miss the instrumental moments from Simili (2015) here. On this album Laura returns to her pop roots and steps away from the Latin sounds that we heard on her two previous albums (Nuevo 2018, Innamorata/ Enamorada 2015). This is such a disco album with lots of references from the 80's but also having modern electronic sounds. This is an album to be danced to or putting on while running, hiking on top of the mountain - when you need strength, energy and volume. This is something I'm not used to I guess even though I understand the musical need to evolve and grow.

Durare / Durar music video was shot in Sweden which makes it the second Nordic LP videoclip to day (after Incancellabile).

As a big fan of Biagio Antonacci's LP songs I had high hopes for Piú Che Un'idea. Even though Antonacci's sound can be heard on the piece the song hasn't ticked all the right boxes for me yet - even though it's not the weakest link of the album either. I would have wanted perhaps to hear Biagio's voice along Laura's on this one. The title song reminds me of the Biagio Antonacci duet from 2019 In Questa Nostra Casa Nuova. The new songwriters do pop out clearly for those of us who've been listening to Laura's music for years.

Ballad section speaks to me the strongest and Cos'é and Tutte Le Volte are definitely my favourites when Flashback inspired by domestic violence victim's story doesn't reach the same levels for me. Unfortunately I don't find equivalent for the big ballad Non é detto / Nadie ha dicho (2018) either - Durare / Durar is a decent effort but doesn't reach the same hights.

Laura described this as a difficult album to record - well it's also difficult album on my side. This reminds me of Inedito (2011) which was a positive album with lots of new sounds and rhythm which I also couldn't handle at the time. It took a few years to open to that one so I believe me and Anime / Almas are not done yet.

Promo for the album.

The most played songs: Cos'é, Tutte le volte, Venere, Oltre la superficie

Songs I tend to skip: Vale la pena, Il primo passo sulla luna, Davanti a noi

What do you think of Laura's new album? What are your favourites or did you have any disappointments?

[pochiperpe90]

Points of view – The Interview: Luca Marinelli

How do you approach your characters. 

Sometimes I also wonder how I get to the character. For “Non essere cattivo”, I had a very detailed script and a fascinating director at my disposal, so I didn't struggle to relate. It was a very brave script for the way it dealt with reality. At first my auditions went in the direction of Vittorio's character but also knowing the figure of Cesare, more than once I thought I would like to play him. I saw the auditions of others and I stopped to think how I could have done Cesare. Then at a certain point I remember that Claudio looked at Valerio and told him that it would be better to reverse the roles, to let me try Cesare, and so it went. When I read the script of “Lo chiamavano Jeeg Robot”, the first thing that struck me, besides the courageous imagination, was to understand how a film of this kind could be made. 

In the first part of your career, you brought an image of introverted and staid youth to the screen. Was this a choice. 

Absolutely not. Or rather yes, it was the choice of those who met me first. Perhaps a part of my personality has been seen that could best marry the characters in question. It happened both in “La solitudine dei numeri primi” by Saverio Costanzo and later with Virzì in "Tutti i santi giorni", then it can be said that with Casare of “Non essere cattivo” and the Zingaro of “Lo chiamavano Jeeg Robot” I was allowed to turn things around slightly, to play a character who had a disposition and behavior that was completely the opposite of what I had faced previously. 

What do you remember about your debut with Saverio Costanzo. 

He was my initiation into cinema, I came from the Academy and I had no idea what it was like to work on a set. The best memory, in addition to the experience of the film with him and Alba, is the first meeting, the first audition, where I really understood that I strongly wanted to work with him and that if this had happened I would have ended up in the hands of a great author. 

With that film you found yourself in the main competition of the Venice Film Festival. What memories do you have of that first time at the lido. 

Of a huge confusion and a big headache. We were tossed around from one interview to another and not only that, because the worst thing was always answering the same questions, and I was terribly worried not to make the situation even more boring for the machine operator, who never changed, and I don't think could take it longer to hear the same phrases over and over. Fortunately, Alba was there as well and saved me in more than one interview. The experience helped me because the following times I knew slightly more what I was going through and how to manage situations and keep stress at bay. Or maybe not yet, it's a long way. 

I noticed that when you talk about your job you do it using the verb “to play” (giocare). Is it a coincidence or the choice has a precise meaning. 

Perhaps it’s not a coincidence that in English the term recite is said precisely in this way because in my opinion to play, or the French jouez, represents the feeling of freedom and fun that is inherent in the job I do, better. As far as I'm concerned, the moment of the take is when the actor has to stop thinking, abandon worries, to be able to bring out the energy of his character. He has to play with the same seriousness and commitment with which a child does. I remember a piece of advice from Carlo Cecchi on the fact that in acting counts listening and the here and now. Being actively present to oneself and to others at that exact moment.

You have a method for achieving this condition. 

If someone asked me something about technique, I wouldn't know what to answer, apart from listening. On the set of Andrea Molaioli's film in which I am the father of the young protagonist, the actor who plays him, Ludovico, who is really good, full of talent and very smart, once asked me what was the technique to make the best of the character, and the only thing I felt able to advise him was to try to be present in that moment and then to let go, listen and not think about the rest. 

But I imagine that there are also practical aspects in the preparation that precedes the start of filming. 

As for me, I try to prepare as much as I can before arriving on set because at the start of the shoot it would be good to be ready. But not everything happens automatically, in the sense that you can’t always find the character immediately. However, I have always been lucky enough to have more or less long periods of rehearsal before starting a film. I remember this moment with Saverio and Alba, where we spent weeks among us and also with the kids who would have played us as children, to try the various scenes and to create a union and harmony between the characters. The same happened with Paolo Virzì, Thony and I, more than once we gather, facing the script, to clarify all the passages and moments of the scenes. 

And how did things go with Claudio Caligari. 

The same thing also happened with Claudio even though the illness made everything more complicated for him. He asked us to change our bodies, to participate in the auditions of the other actors. This allowed all of us, the cast, to integrate and develop a unity of purpose and a truly rare familiarity. So in front of the camera it seemed to me that the gang, to which Cesare and Vittorio belonged, was really part of my life, that it wasn’t hard to pass from Luca to Cesare, because I had found him. And always to identify with the environment of the story, I preferred a house in Ostia, and Alessandro often came to me from Rome to spend time between the two of us. Claudio, in addition to having reading meetings together, also showed us films that were a source of inspiration for him for this film, such as “Accattone” by Pier Paolo Pasolini, “Rocco e i suoi fratelli” by Luchino Visconti and “Mean Sreet” by Martin Scorsese.

Instead, I wanted to ask you what happens between takes, for example when you come home after a day of work. You stay inside the character as it happens to Daniel Day Lewis, or you put it aside and think of something else like Marcello Mastroianni did. 

I try to disconnect from the set. I try. I go home and try to do something else, but the last thought before falling asleep always goes to the next day's work plan and I leave myself a few minutes for the memory and concentration useful for tomorrow and then I close my eyes.  

We asked Roberta Mattei and we ask you too. During the processing you were aware of the exceptional nature of what you were doing. 

Yes. Let me explain: I saw with my own eyes that what was happening was exceptional, a man who was dying wanted to give his latest work to the public, to his audience, to his people, to people. This has no equal for me. Don't think about yourself in such a situation but about others.

Then it was the turn of Lo chiamavano Jeeg Robot. 

I shot Jeeg Robot in March 2014, and therefore before “Non essere cattivo”. The fact that Mainetti's film is only coming out now is due to the long post-production period necessary to assemble the shot with the special effects present in the film. 

Here as well it was an interpretation and a character who completely overturns the transparent and pristine image of the first part of your career. 

To make Jeeg Robot we had to convince each other, Gabriele Mainetti and I, about my success in the character. I pushed him towards a theatricality and Gabriele towards a real madness, a pure pain. In the end, I think we have found the right amount. 

The construction of the Zingaro was already very clear in the writing and it was up to us, however, to find its true aspect. 

Guiding him is this crazy and boundless ego, and the obsession with having to leave a mark. The Zingaro's eccentricity is partly reflected in his look, halfway between a rock star and a suburban bully. For the costumes and make-up we were inspired by the great rock icons. We dared in some choices, such as the black coat with pink leopard lining that characterize the wardrobe. For the aspects related to the way of performing, his model was Anna Oxa and in particular the video of her at Sanremo, when she sings “Un’emozione da poco”. 

In part you have already answered, but I wanted to know how you choose to accept the proposals that are made to you and if you have any foreclosures towards television, or more generally towards commercial cinema. 

I choose the proposals on the basis of love at first sight that must happen with the film, with its screenplay. Then figure out who will be leading the film, meet the director. I don't have any kind of foreclosure, let's say that if I don't like something I don't do it and if I like it I do. And it doesn't matter if it's cinema or television. 

As a spectator what is the cinema you love. 

I like films that have something to say and that I also choose based on who directed and starred in it. Usually when they ask me to name some titles I have a void. Think that the same thing happened to me also during the audition to enter the experimental center, when Lina Wertmuller asked me the title of a film I had seen recently. I was struck by a cosmic void and instead of naming her an authoritative and important film I left her stunned by citing Batman, I think Nolan's first, still a good film, but I still had Wertmuller in front of me... But to go back to what you asked me, I tell you that in general I always like to watch films that come from Sundance, of which I remember, for example “Like Crazy”, which I found disarmingly beautiful, the films of P.T. Anderson, Wes Anderson, the Cohen, there are many, and among the Italians those played by Alba Rohrwacher, Valerio Mastandrea, Elio Germano, Kim Rossi Stuart and directed by Alice Rohrwacher, Costanzo, Virzì, Sorrentino, Garrone, Salvatores. Without forgetting those of the great Joaquin Phoenix. But in reality I look at everything, let's say that I try not to lose anything of these. 

Despite the certificates of esteem you have received for your performances, the impression is that of an understatement that almost seems not to be aware of what you have achieved so far as an actor. 

Whenever I see a film of mine I always think there is something I could have done better. But basically I'm happy with what I've done so far. Having said that, I think that the films alone should be enough to explain everything and that the interviews don’t add anything new to what there was to say before making them. But when I am in the dance, when I need to promote, I am committed to doing it in the best possible way. I strongly think that in life and at work it’s important to demonstrate that you know how to do and not to show at all costs that you do.

DREAMINGCINEMA

Just wanted to translate this old interview for the non-italian’s fans ^^ (sorry for my English)

[betweenthetimeandsound]

Three Minutes to Eternity: My ESC 250 (#76-75)

#76: Maywood -- Ik wil alles met je delen (the Netherlands 1990)

“Ik wil alles met je delen, Wil alles voor je zijn, En als jij me wilt vertrouwen, Dan delen we de pijn...”

“I want to share everything with you, Want to be everything for you And if you want to trust me Then we'll share the pain”

From one sister act to another, we shift genres entirely towards something more classical, but without any less bite. Unlike with Azucar Moreno though, Maywood were at a crest in their career in 1990 and would later split up five years later because they both wanted to use the name "Maywood" in their solo careers.

Despite being better known for their uptempo songs, this ballad really cuts well. Alice May (the blonde's) songwriting shows here, as she composes a song about someone wants to share their life with their loved one. It's really endearing and sincere how the lyrics flow; I especially like the second chorus. What also makes this awesome is that it shows a Dutch language song could not only beautiful, but also grand! (The English version, "No More Winds to Guide Me", strangely has different lyrical content)

I like how it builds; the introduction gives way to a beautiful string section, which carries on through the rest of the song (Except for that muted trumpet near the end...hehe. Re-mastered versions will including what it is supposed to sound like). The performance at the national final has a cleaner arrangement, with the brass given more room to show off, but the one in Zagreb was just as good. Caren Wood's (the brunette’s) vocals were on-point, and the backing vocalists did their job well in the chorus. It's absolutely great!

Personal ranking: 5th/22 Actual ranking: 15th/22 in Zagreb

#75: Måneskin -- Zitti e Buoni (Italy 2021)

"Troppe notti stavo chiuso fuori Mo’ li prendo a calci, ‘sti portoni"

"I spent too many nights outdoors, Now I'm going around kicking on these doors."

One thing which stands out about our most recent winner is that it's an affirmation for themselves, and a statement of intent for the world.

While the song was initially written as a ballad, the lyrics do not hold back on what they set to achieve. They will mock those who tell them to "shut up and be quiet", ignore those who gossip about them (looking at you, people who still think they did coke--they're innocent, go home), and work hard to get to the top. Their journey to eventual worldwide superstardom essentially followed this prophecy--going from acting as buskers to the X Factor to Sanremo to winning Eurovision, ending the "Italy was robbed" chain which started since their comeback in 2011.

(That said, I find it quite weird how it took 71 editions for a rock group to take the crown in Sanremo. Considering the diverse realm of Italian music, was rock just not popular there?)

In accelerating the tempo, what we get is a powerful piece to accompany the lyrics. The glam-rock production of Zitti e Buoni has a simple structure, but it's enough to give each of the four their own little spot in the limelight: Damiano sings the song with gusto and a sense of urgency; Thomas' guitar solos are enough to get the blood running; Victoria's bass is cool and collected, but she stomps like mad; and Ethan's drumming just adds the touches of the cake.

I linked the Sanremo performance here, however, because Enrico Melozzi's orchestration is absolutely sublime. While both of Maneskin's performances in Sanremo and Eurovision are fantastic, Sanremo's with live music just adds a bit more depth to the composition. The strings at the bridge stand out the most, but those in the verses and choruses are just as good. I'm happy they found their way back to Youtube, so I can listen to them over and over.

While I have two more favorites from this year (which stretch back to the beginning of this season), Maneskin's win is quite important to Eurovision post-pandemic. Not only is it the first rock song in 15 years to win, but it also has seen significant amount of success for the group. They've garnered more notoriety for their English-language songs (and covers) than their Italian ones, but the latter has more depth and sincerity, with some thoughtful stories in them. Though I have faith with time, they'll write English lyrics just as poetically.

Along with lifelong success, I hope that they appear on Saturday Night Live sometime this season--that stage is calling them!

Personal ranking: 3rd/39 Actual ranking: 1st/26 GF in Rotterdam

[eurovision-del]

I’m back home after watching Eurovision with a friend, and I want to get my thoughts down!! (This is going to be a long post)

Top 5

Italy: Wow! I thought they could do it, but seeing them actually pull it off and win the whole thing is incredible! I can barely describe how happy I was when they won, I definitely found the voting a lot more stressful when my fave had a real chance at winning, but the payoff when they were announced as winners was worth it all! I’ve been a fan of Måneskin for a few years now, so seeing a band I like go from there to competing in Sanremo, to making it to Eurovision, to winning the whole damn thing is undescribable! Zitte E Buoni is such a fantastic song, and it’s going to continue to be one of my all time favourite Eurovision songs for many years to come!

Italy’s third victory was a long time coming, they’ve been consistently great over the past decade, but I’m very glad it was this song that did it for them! I also like it when a winner shakes up the perception of what a winning song should be, like Portugal 2017. This is the first time since 2006 that both a group and a rock act have won Eurovision, and personally I’ll be very glad if this causes a resurgence in both over the next few years. It’s also notable for being a song not sung in English, but I’ve got more to say on that later.

I always think it’s best when the televote winner is the overall Eurovision winner, so I’m very glad to see Italy topping the televote, and they did it by a decent margin, just over 50 points!

France: A very deserved second place. Barbara performed wonderfully and brought the magic to the Eurovision stage, she should be so proud of what she achieved. She was just unlucky that there was a better song this year, in another year Voila could have easily won. I wouldn’t mind seeing her, or especially her co-writer, Igit, who I’ve liked since he did Destination Eurovision in 2018, make a return to Eurovision, either as singers or songwriters.

Switzerland: I liked Tout l’Univers well enough based on the song, then it grew on me even more in the second semi final, so I was very happy to see it do well! Like Barbara, Gjon gave a brilliant performance tonight, and should be very proud of his third place! It’s great to see Swizterland, a country that struggled so much throughout the 2010s, pull off two top 5 finishes in a row at the turn of the decade. I’m hoping for more good things from them in the future!

Iceland: It’s such a shame that Daði and Gagnamagnið missed out on the chance to perform live in Eurovision, but thank goodness they were able to get that second rehearsal performance done as well as they did! The song and performance are so heartwarming, they utterly deserved this result. I’m really excited to see where Daði goes from here, I’ve actually already got tickets to see him live next year!

Ukraine: Like Italy, Ukraine managed to achieve the same result in the actual contest as they did in my personal ranking! I was worried the song would be too divisive, but the performance was perfect and elevated the whole thing, and Kateryna’s vocal perforamnce was flawless. Very pleased to see them achieve second place in the televote!

I’ve watched Eurovision since 2014, and I can say with confidence that this is the first time since that year that I’ve had no complaints about the top 5. I’ve also gone back and watched every Eurovision ever, and I’m struggling to think of a year that I’ve been this happy with the top 10, every place from 1 to 9 I think is either well deserved or better than I was hoping for! It’s not until you get to Greece in 10th place that I reach a song I think is mildly overrated in the results.

Other Countries

Finland: I won’t do a full run down on Lithuania and Russia, two of my other  favourites, as I’ve said it all by saying I’m so happy with the top 10, but I want to give a special mention to Finland. For a second I was really worried when their televote result was so high, as I thought it might indicate the vote for the two  rock songs had been split. I’m so thankful to be proven wrong, and for these results to show that not only is there a place for all kinds of rock and metal music in Eurovision, but that they can exist alongside each other and do well. I also really want to congratulate Finland on achieving their second best result ever! While I like it when countries switch things up I won’t complain if Finland look at their previous results and decide that they’ve found their niche in rock and metal music.

The Netherlands: My biggest disappointment in terms of result. I wasn’t too surprised, based on the neutral to negative reaction of the fans at large and the odds, but I still don’t really understand it. This song deserved a lot more than 11 points! In my ideal Eurovision I’d say this should be the sort of song juries reward, they should have the time to look at lyrics and composition and cultural influence and reward songs as good as this one. But apparently it wasn’t to be. I really hope no one gets discouraged by this result, and I’d be very happy to see more artists representing their stories and their non-European cultures at Eurovision in the future.

United Kingdom: Look, I have to talk about my own country. I’m honestly more worried about the backlash the media here is going to have than I am disappointed in this result. But I am still a little disappointed. I don’t think this song was the worst in the final, sure, it was definitely in the bottom half, but I can think of serveral songs worse than this. And the nil points was totally undeserved. That marks our second nil points, the only other being Cry Baby in 2003, and this song is leagues better than that ever was, putting them in the same category feels like an insult. That said, I can’t complain too much. This year was very strong, and I’m not actually sure where the points would have come from. Embers is a nice song, but it’s not strong enough or interesting enough to be anyone’s favourite, maybe it should rank in the middle for everyone, but why would it rank in their top 10?

I’ve seen an idea that maybe the BBC should just give the competition to ITV for a few years, and while I don’t think that would solve our problems, we do need a shake up. The BGM deal seemed like a good move, but if it’s only going to continue to produce ‘nice’ songs rather than ‘impactful’ songs, it’s not going to help us on the scoreboard. I fully believe that there’s no reason the UK shouldn’t do well at Eurovision. In an ideal world, we’d organise a national finla filled with unique entries, not the drivel that our last national final contained - I don’t think our strength is actually going to be in our pop industry at Eurovision, I think it’ll be in our less mainstream stuff. I’d love for us to also try sending a song in Welsh, Gaelic, or even Scots, something that’s full of cultural identity and couldn’t come from anywhere else in the world. It might not be a winner, but I think a song like that would have a far better song of catching people’s attention and doing well at the contest than songs our current strategy produces ever would.

Other Thoughts

This year was a victory for the unique and artistic, there’s not a single song in the top 9 that could be classified as a straightforward pop song. I also want to note that the entire top 3 is non-English, Italian and two French entries. This is the only time that’s ever happened since the language rule was abolished, and since the last few years of that produced English podium placing songs, it’s the first year it’s happened since 1995. I really hope that sends the message out loud and clear that songs in native languages can and do succeed at Eurovision!

In 2019 I talked a bit about the Juries vs the Televote, and how I wasn’t too keen on the Jury results that year. This year, aside from overlooking The Netherlands, I’d say they did their job pretty well. The combined results seem very fair, better than both the Televote and the Jury results individually, and I think that shows the system is working at its best. I’m very glad to see Portugal score well, I thought the whole entry was brilliant and it deserved the boost the juries gave it. Likewise I thought Lithuania deserved a top 10 result and was glad the televote responded to it enough to put it there. The best countries, however, scored well in both, I was happy to have a year without a surprise jury favourite. Switzerland was definitely a fair jury winner.

Closing Thoughts 

Eurovision 2021 has been brilliant! We got a really strong set of songs, some fantastic performances, and a set of results I generally really agree with, completed by my ideal winner! Maybe when the buzz has died down I’ll reconsider, but right now I’m very confidently calling this my favourite of the contests that I’ve watched live - maybe my favourite contest ever? Either way, it’s been a good one, and I’m already eagerly anticipating next year!

[eurosong]

Undo my ESC 2021 - Semi-final 1

Good afternoon, folks! Every year, I take a look at each semi-final and share what feasible change I would make – as small as changing a few lines of the song or an element of staging, or as big as a different song completely winning a national final – to make it even better (just in my own opinion of course!) This year will be harder than usual, but I’ll try to set aside my conviction that every 2020 artist should have been able to return to see how different SF1 might look. Let’s go!

🇱🇹 Lithuania: PiN was in the Roop's hands, and whilst I fell in love with some of the underdog songs they were up again, most notably Home and Never fall for you again I wouldn't take away the chance away from the Roop. There's nothing I'd change about Discoteque, and I love their nod to On fire, but the way that they also took things in a different direction to last time.

🇸🇮 Slovenia: I may be in a small minority, but I absolutely love Amen and I loved Voda too! Ana Soklič has so much presence and stunning vocals with so much texture and depth; she can sell me pretty much everything. My only change would be to insert Slovenian language lyrics!

🇷🇺 Russia: I was initially really disappointed that we wouldn't see the iconic Little Big on the ESC stage - but I commend the way they wanted to share the limelight with other artists. The unexpected Russian mini-NF ended up being a revelation and very diverse for its size. I liked all three songs, but I think that the best hands down won. There is nothing I have to change to Russian woman, one of the most powerful propositions of the season for me. I just hope juries will value it and we won't see a Telemóveis style situation!

🇸🇪 Sweden: After a year of being happy with the result in Sweden - I was always in Dotter's corner, but who can't love the Mamas? - we return to more familiar terrain of an MF result disgruntling me. Tusse has charisma and talent, but his song is lacklustre at best for me. My fav was, once again, Dotter, and I wish that either she'd taken the win or that the Mamas got their shot at ESC as main artists.

🇦🇺 Australia: I really enjoy Technicolour, one of the more out-of-left-field entries from Oz. I am so intrigued as to what the Diane Warren song offered to Montaigne was like, as I'm certain that this isn't it, but I'm glad she trusted her gut and went for something so distinctive. My one change would be to get rid of the unnecessary key change at the end.

🇲🇰 Macedonia: When there was a nationalistic furore with attempts to stop Vasil from representing MK, I was entirely on his side even though his song for me is one of the least appealing of the edition. I'd still want him to get his chance at ESC - but his Sudbina would have been such a more compelling entry for my taste.

🇮🇪 Ireland: Lesley Roy served nostalgic pop wonderment for the second year in a row, and another song that has etched itself already onto my life's soundtrack. I don't know what I'd change, except perhaps translate one of the choruses into Irish Gaelic - it'd make the message of a return to home even more resonant for me.

🇨🇾 Cyprus: Cyprus and I haven't seen eye to eye for several years now, and it's a shame as they were one of my favourite countries of the 90s. I do enjoy El diablo more than their last trio of songs, but I find it leans too heavy on a clear inspiration from Gaga, which takes away from some of the more original elements of the song. So, I'd rework the chorus, and also change some of the lyrics elsewhere because some lines just flat out make me cringe.

🇳🇴 Norway: I seem to have been in the minority of people delighted at MGP's final results! I had bigger favourites - the rambunctious sea shanty that is Vi er Norge, the kickass empowering Witch woods or the pulsating groove of Playing with fire - but I wouldn't take Tix' win away from him given how meaningful it was for him and what the guy has been through. My change? Revert partially or entirely to the Norwegian version, Ut av mørket; for me, it hits my heart harder.

🇭🇷 Croatia: Sincerely, my biggest disappointment of the NF season potentially - I wish Damir had been internally selected, not just because of my wish to see all ESC'20 alumni return, but because his was the best Croatian song for me since Moja štikla. Tick-tock is harmless but if we can't get a Damir return in this hypothesis, then I'd go for Rijeka, which captivated me with its epicness on first listen and has just risen in my estimation since. Though, given Nina's histrionics after coming second, maybe I'd have Albina perform the song instead.

🇧🇪 Belgium: I was prepared to not be on board with Belgium this year despite my long-lived love for the country - I found Release me, whilst orchestrated beautifully, entirely lacking in dynamism; and I really couldn't stand the way the band dumped Luka unceremoniously. And yet... this lush piece of art is one of my favs of the entire season. And there's something different and singular in Geike's voice. So the only thing I'm changing here are the dudes' attitudes to ESC so that they can value it more, especially Alex.

🇮🇱 Israël: As one of the most naturally charismatic performers of 2020, I had high hopes for Eden's return and the original idea of a mega-NF for her seemed really promising. Instead, we ended up with an uninspired strewing of songs, of which the best didn't even get the chance to be recorded by her. Set me free was my favourite of the three that got to the final, but I feel they've really worsened it with the revamp, in between the hail mary pass of the whistle vote and the extra emphasis on "I'mma". I would have Eden perform Shoulders instead - I don't know how it NQd and think it would allow her to showcase her personality a lot more.

🇷🇴 Romania: I really enjoyed Roxen's selection last year - small but quite diverse, and I felt the best song won. My change would be to have seen a similar national final with 3 or 4 other songs of hers this time, because I'm not convinced in Amnesia anywhere near as much as I was of Alcohol you.

🇦🇿 Azerbaijan: I wish they had gone with something at least a bit different rather than this cut, smudge and paste from last year that is so on the nose with its "you loved Cleopatra, so you will love this, won't you?" feel that it even namechecks the previous song. Efendi has a lot of talent and could have shown more diversity here.

🇺🇦 Ukraine: I'm getting used to the surprise revamp of Šum by now, but the question still remains for me, why did they do it? They needed to cut about a minute off the duration of the track, but to me, that doesn't explain why they also had to change the melody in large parts of the song. I'd be tempted to revert to a shortened form version of Šum version 1.

🇲🇹 Malta: Another unpopular opinion, but I'm just not that into the Maltese song this year. The lyrics are great and Destiny has poise and presence and PIPES and I'm sure she'll do well, but the style - a glammed up Electro-Velvet, essentially - doesn't heat me up, and I feel like the different parts of the composition are too dissonant from each other, like we have 2 or 3 songs in one here. My change would be for her to have gone with something more soul-ish in its sound, like AOML was.

And the AQs of this semi

🇩🇪 Germany: How did juries decide upon this, especially when there seems to have been many promising artists in the German selection? No shade against Jendrick who seems like a lovely chap, but the song sounds like the cheerful four chords on a ukulele you hear repeated as royalty free background music on Youtube tutorials, merged with a post-chorus breakdown taken from a Stefan Raab b-side. I would have gotten out my phone book and given Lilly among clouds a call - she gives me the vibes of being able to create something totally show-stopping.

🇳🇱 Netherlands: My original slight disappointment at this was more because of how high I have Grow than any fault of its own. It's another gorgeous composition from Jeangu, with probably the best set of lyrics of the year, and this is going to be a moment. I change nothing.

🇮🇹 Italy: I like Måneskin and their performances at Sanremo were brilliant - but they were far from being at the top of my favourites list. I would have given the win to Madame with Voce, or Ermal with Un milione di cose da dirti. Both would have been my #1 of the entire year, both move me deeply. Madame showcases contemporary Italian style with classic songwriting, whilst Ermal almost created a companion piece to Fai rumore - Diodato wanted to hear the sound of his loved one, whilst Ermal struggles to make a noise and say what he feels about his love.

Join me soon as I take a look at SF2 and its songs (and France, Spain and the UK, the auto-qualifiers from that semi!)

[white-eyed-girl]

Thoughts of the day after - MGP 2021 Okay  *inhale* *exhale* This will probably sound dramatic lol but I need to vent Of course, the fact that such a great song as Monument and such great performers as KEiiNO won't be taking part in Eurovision, and won’t be able to contribute to it being one of the strongest years ever and maybe even risk to win it, is by far the worst aspect about yesterday's disgrace I'm still not okay tbh and I won't pretend to be :” (I survived Loreen in 2017 and Madara in 2018 and this hurts like both of them combined for reasons that I’m still investigating myself) So here's a well-fed list of other things I hate about yesterday night, and some things I love (which sounds like a  very bad premise lol but there's positivity too I swear)

First of all I hate about this that I know myself, and I know that when disappointments like these come the only way I have to survive mentally is to pretend the object of my love in question doesn't exist, so that thinking about it doesn't hurt too much Which means I may have a big hard time going back to listening to them in the next few days (which is also why I preventively launched myself into KEiiNO-posting BEFORE this would happen lol) BUT I 100% want to overcome this because they deserve all the damn support we can give them and now that I found them (again, and for real this time) I really don't want to let them go, like I really don't

I hate about this that they deserved so much to try Eurovision again, the amount of sheer love and passion and dedication they put into what they do is unbelievable, and tbh I like when artists show up with the clear intention of trying to win Eurovision and are willing to do what they can do at the absolute best of their abilities to make it I hate that you could say this is the first time they fail as a group, and I hate how sad they probably are right now, even if they smile in pictures, because you can tell they believed in this project so much And I hate that now they might think that they don't really have what it takes to win Eurovision, which if you ask me is objectively not true Even though, realistically, can they create somehthing that could sound more monumental than Monument itself without it being a copy of it now? Will they even dare to try again? I don’t know But it took an EXTREMELY famous person to stop them, otherwise nothing would have stood in their way, and they, I believe, lost for reasons that are completely unrelated to music They can be so so so proud of themselves I lowkey wonder if this is what nrk wanted? I suppose they were aware of the amount of people who follow TIx but something makes me think they were still hoping for KEiiNO :” are they the self-sabotaging kind? Because otherwise wouldn’t it have been a good idea to have a jury to potentially counter such a massive fan wave? I don’t know, being Italian and remembering some weird things that have happened in Sanremo before we came back to ESC I’m fully aware of the damage idol mafias can make hhhhhhhhh sigh

Now enough of this and let’s talk about how damn ecstatic they looked when they were on that stage I hope they don't feel like there's something they've done wrong, because I have never in my life seen something done so spectacularly right They went on that stage looking badass and as bright as stars and one more fabulous than the other, and blew everything and everyone else away I don't know if it's unrealistic to wish in my heart that these three will never leave each other's side, but I swear to god I have been following them seriously for just about a month and they look and sound like that's where they belong They visibly give each other energy in a way that leaves me speechless, and they look at each other like they are each other's heroes I hope they are okay They already announced more music is on the way and this calms me down a bit, because it means it's not the end of their adventure yet And I know this time I want to keep following it

[borisbubbles]

28. ITALY

Diodato - “Fai Rumore”

And we’re back to our usual disconnect, where everyone pretends to love Italy and I don’t. I cannot wait for all the Italian crazies to be OUTRAGED by this ranking (28/41 is fine for an entry I don’t care about...?) and reblog this all over the tumblrverse and inflate my reader stats. 😈 but first, let’s discuss what we have on our hands here. 

Song Analysis

There’s no way this post *won’t* end up offensive to every Fai Rumore fan, so I will resort to brutal honesty. I never, ever, *ever* cared about “Fai rumore”. In fact, I’d even say it’s strongly overrated by the gross of the Eurovision fandom? 

Okay so here’s the deal. I will not deny that “Fai Rumore” has several things going for it. The song has emotional gravitas, Diodato has a great voice and acts very well. It’s technically precise and well produced. It is very competent at what it sets out to be, which is a very standard HQ Sanremo Power Ballad. 

But here’s where I feel like I deviate from the norm: You may think “wow Fai Rumore! How brilliant, meticulous and poised”, but I think “how expected, overtly earnest and unfun?” 

The problem is, this is Boris’s Bubble and Boris doesn’t enjoy songs that feel like they belong inside a trophy cupboard, and “Fai rumore” is exactly one of those songs, don’t lie. So “meticulous, poised and brilliant” you say, well *I* say “how overtly earnest, unfun and aloof”? I have a Spotify - if I wanted to listen to good music, I’d just use that? Or one of my like 15 Youtube Playlists containing non-ESC entries? Why would I watch Eurovision, or Sanremo for that matter, for the good music when there are so many other (and easier) options available for me that align better to my tastes?

The fact that “Fai Rumore” is *too* perfect for me (and therefore very hard to empathize with imo) is one thing, which leads to other thing I need to point out. I’ll let my friend Matthew take over here, who wrote this paragraph on ESCUnited right after Diodato’s selection: 

That final sentences is bone-chilling because it’s so, so true. “I AM A SOPHISTICATED MUSIC FAN BECAUSE I FOLLOW ~FESTIVALE DI SANREMO~” is such a common trope of elistism (like, replace “San Remo” with any quality newspaper, nobel prize winning author or classical music composer and you’ll find to be nearly universally applicable to snobs across the globe), but I find it specifically ugly in Eurovision.

You see, would the same courtesy be extended to a country of lower prestige if they got a Fai Rumore? Would the same courtesy be extended to a person of colour? or a woman? How about others songs that, like Fai Rumore, emulate their country’s musical traditions (Fai Rumore is SO italian you can smell the basil), except those traditions fall outside of the western European bubble? See, it doesn’t bother me that Italians like Fai Rumore and are proud of it. They’re Italians. Of course they are! I don’t judge them for it. I don’t rly care if the odd introvert finds solace in a song of this calibre. But as soon as Matthew made the aforementioned post, people who had previously rated Diodato as a 5/6 already started adjusting their scores to 10s and 12s and, well...

It bothers me that the same fanbase that DEMANDS cultural diversity (Diodato) and/or MOAR ETHNOBOPS (Efendi) refuse to accept a Solovey or an Origo -which are a thousandfold more layered, sophisticated and daring- as an equal. 

It bothers *even more* me that people are willing to immediately give Italy a plethora of chances (especially when they choose men! fuck institutionalised sexism!), while not doing the same for a Belarus. Belarus HAS no clear musical scene or funds to really produce good music, yet produced a ridiculously good NF (with a VERY righteous winner - yes, Chakras, but also: Chakras) I’ve seen snobs SLAM VAL, mercilessly despite being an excellent left-field pick (god imagine if Yan had won Eurofest for a sec. What a nightmare). Italy, otoh, also delivered a sterling NF, have *a VERY* rich musical tradition, tons of talent and money and production value... and they still went the lowest common denominator available, and yet they receive praise, without so much as a whisper of protest from our so-called “value seekers”. This level of hypocrisy and double standard wielding, all in the name of wishing to be taken seriously delivers *such* a toxic undercurrent to Eurovision and has absolutely soured me on Diodato. This isn’t his fault, but sadly he’s become a weapon of mass misconstruction and well just because I hate the guy who pressed the big red button more doesn’t mean I automatically like ICBMs. As we come near the songs I actually give a damn’ about, I will start calling the shitpociries out. Brace yourself for it, when I rank Solovey and Da Vidna inside my top five.

Want some examples specifically pertaining to the Diodato fandom? Sure, I’ll give you some:

EJEMPLO UNO: 

Diodato fanboys openly coddling him on social media post-lockdown all “PROTECT OUR POOR MUNCHKIN FROM THE CORONAVIRUS”. Like... he’s a *thirty-eight year old adult* he can take care of himself, BACK UP OFF HIM you freaks. 

EJEMPLO DOS: 

The relevant media having baptized Diodato as THE SAVING GRACE OF THE LOCKDOWN, ITALIANS SINGING ‘FAI RUMORE’ FROM THEIR BALCONIES IN DEFIANCE OF COVID-19, which is such a bullshit narrative it’s turned my hair from black to brown.  Yes, the Italians sang “Fai Rumore”. What they don’t tell you is that they also sang many other Italian and non-Italian songs, including humanitarian anthem “Roar” by Kety Perr (cue to Katy Perry being like “OMG I’M SO HONORED TO INSPIRE SO MANY ITALIANS ::hungarianflagemoji::” on twitter.). CNN Like, Eurovision related media LOVE portraying it as a ~life-chaning confort anthem~ - the reality is that “Fai rumore”, while playing its part, was merely a tiny spoke in a giant wheel. 

EJEMPLO QUATRO:

Well take a look at how many people will reblog this post and slam it for daring to point out, what I think are really obvious truths to anyone who doesn’t suffer from musical myopia. 

In the end, the song is okay and it’s okay to love it. But if you ‘love’ it because you’ve convinced yourself that you must, and not because it genuinely means something to you, I don’t think you have grounds to criticise to criticise anyone but yourself.

NF Corner

As I said, I didn’t follow San Remo live (I never do! *gasp* blasphemy, I know), but I did plan to check it for this write-up except RAI deleted every live performance? And they won’t let me embed the few remaining vids either? 

Anyway, this happened so right-click-open this a new tab and then return once you’ve finished it. 

Backstage feuds being fought out LIVE on the stage in front of millions of viewers 😍 Apparently Morgan and Bugo were at loggerheads for a while, and had a massive row RIGHT before their performance on the second night, which caused Morgan to stray from the script and sing all the insulting things Bugo told him *to Bugo* instead of the actual lyrics of their duet. 😍 😍 😍 Bugo IMMEDIATELY stormed off the stage to the point where Amadeus had to like... literally tell the gobsmacked audience that Bugo had left the building 😍 😍 😍. This is some god-tier pettiness and I’m completely in awe of it. DEITIES. 😍

aside from Sincerogate, I would’ve embedded vidoes that contained the DRAMA (Rancore), CAMP (Achille) and UNABASHED WEIRDNESS (Levante) of this year’s line-up, but I guess RAI really doesn’t like for people to have fun. Oh well. 

Italy 2020 vs Italy 2021

Diodato is male and Italian, so yeah, guaranteed top 10 in Rotterdam, no matter what happens. Search your feelings, you know it to be true. Cynicism aside, televoters WOULD have flocked to it without thinking twice (for exactly those two reasons), passing over many better entries in the process and well... I’m tired and exhausted and I think you can guess I am not very impressed by this likely outcome. 

Not sure what RAI’s strategy for 2021 is (lol it’s RAI - they don’t have a strategy. besides Italy have bigger fish to fry than the Eurovision Song Contest as you know), but I’m not very invested either way. I could imagine them internally selecting Diodato if he’s willing to do ESC in 2021, but if this was a one-off deal (which I think it was), they will probably select another plain white bloke for you to obsess over, so no worries :-) #TuttoVaPene

FREAKY! FRIDAY! FACTOR!

I’m sort of conflicted? On one hand, god Fai Ru*snore* is SO typical of “Italy in Eurovision”, not just from a musical perspective but from a point of reverence as well. On to the other hand, when are the fanbases *not* acting insane w/r/t Italy?

San Remo was  really crazy this year, enough for me to award Italy a couple Senheads. However... if I wanted to see nice and inoffensive triumph over a bunch of deranged, gimmicky, ott masterpieces, I’d just rewatch #London1977? (offensive take #16: “people that like Marie Myriam the most in 1977 do not understand Eurovision”) Ehhhh whatevs.

Score: 2 Senhits out of 5. 

[trilingual-babe]

Italian YouTube Channels To Practice Your Listening Skills

Hi guys!

This is my first blog post ever although this blog was created weeks ago (speaking of procrastinating) :D I’ve been self-teaching Italian for the past two months (YAY!) and somehow I’ve managed to reach a certain level of understanding of the language. Now, I obviously don’t understand 100% of what’s being said but sometimes neither I do in English for that matter.

Are you wondering how to pass the time while in quarantine? I think I might have a solution for you - one that is both enjoyable and a satisfyingly good investment in the long term (because you'll be polishing a new skill!). 

This post is all about Italian YouTube channels that I enjoy watching and would recommend to other learners of the language. I’ve chosen to share specifically them with you mainly because most would fall into at least one of the following categories which I find essential when on the lookout for my next favorite:

the YouTuber doesn’t talk too fast

the YouTuber doesn’t generally communicate with their audience in a dialect

the content is relevant and fresh (currently active channels)

Without any further adieu, here’s the list:

Learn Italian with Lucrezia - this one is, most simply put, a must-watch for all Italian learners. Lucrezia is a native Italian teacher who has videos on various grammar topics as well as lots of vlogs in slow Italian. All of them subtitled in Italian, some - in English, and other languages as well. Can’t recommend her enough.

Weilà Tom - another Italian teacher, this time a native English speaker and a polyglot, his video explanations being in English which can inevitably prove very efficient if you are a beginner beginner and would otherwise struggle to understand Italian if explained... well, in the language itself. So, recommend him as well. And he’s the last teacher of Italian on this list. All other channels are of Italians for Italians.

Breaking Italy - this one is pretty big in Italy. A channel with 600K subs, the focus is more on social issues and current hot topics. There are new episodes four times a week + a weekly live every Friday. Apart from the online show, there is also a Breaking Italy podcast.

Casa Surace - now, I wouldn’t recommend this channel if you’re not used to listening in Italian but they are just so funny I couldn’t not include them here. This is a comedy channel and a very popular one as well - with almost 950K subs, they are ICONS lol. Just watch and see for yourself. Ever heard of nonna Rosetta? If not, you’re missing on a lot. Beware of the usage of dialect in some videos - don’t freak out if you don’t get them, this will happen with time but what’s important is not to give up. Start easy with some of my other recommendations.

THE PILLOW - I would best describe them as a social experiment type of a channel. They go out on the streets and ask questions, go “undercover” pretending to be, for example, of other nationalities and ask people what they think about Italy and different aspects of Italian culture and society.

Fanpage.it - they are more of a news channel but there are also interviews with Italian celebrities and short documentary-style videos; also, a good chunk of the content I’ve watched was subtitled in Italian. Around this year’s Sanremo lots of their content was centered around the contestants, and this is when I discovered them.

Progetto Happiness - Giuseppe is an Italian vlogger who is currently on a trip around the world (which unfortunately had to be postponed a bit due to the Coronavirus pandemic). But, from what I’ve seen, he’s not just a travel vlogger - he actually interacts with the locals and (for example) ask them about their lives, culture, and country; he “wants to travel the world and find his formula for happiness” in his own words. I’ve been following his videos since his trip to North Corea which, I believe, truly kick-started his YouTube career.

matteo fumagalli + Ilenia Zodiaco - these are two different channels but since they are a little bit more “niche” and have a very similar topic, I decided to list them in a single point. Both are Italian booktubers, with Matteo making videos about TV shows and movies as well. If you like reading books or just watching someone discussing literature, I’d recommend their videos. 

CALLMEDIDI - she’s a young 22-year old girl, fresh outta college. Lots of her latest content was about her university life, last exams and graduation; she also has a bunch of storytime videos that kind of remind me of the “old days” of YouTube. I guess, she can be put in the category of the “relatable” vloggers.

This is all I have for you for now. I believe there’s a little for everybody. Pick a channel and enjoy watching, polishing your language skills in the meantime. Maybe in the future, I will add more YouTubers to the list, so stay tuned for more - not only additions to today’s topic but other language learning-related posts.

Until then, stay safe and #stayathome!

Baci e abbracci <3

[metamorotranslate]

It’s a long interview and i can’t put it under the “read more” but enjoy ♥ I: We promised you, we have him live on the phone: good evening to Fabrizio Moro, hello Fabrizio. F: Hello guys. I: Hello! Well met on "Rtr 99 Canzoni e parole fuori dal coro". We're talking about the event all week , because there are few hours left to your concert at the Olimpico stadium. Tell us about the preparations, what we're expecting from this concert, the guests, tell us! F: We were locked few weeks, actually few months in this shed near Tor Cervara. There was the stage set construction, we worked really hard, day and night, and so from the practical and technical point of view it's all right; from the emotional point of view i don't know yet because i didn't had the time to focus emotionally on this concept. It'll be two and a half hours of songs, there will be guests, Ermal Meta, Fiorella Mannioia, Ultimo. I worked really hard on the lighworks because it was designed by Jo Campana who is the number one for me, it's the best in Italy, he made the tour of Ligabue, Vasco Rossi, Gianna Nannini, there will be huge and crazy lightworks behind us, where will be projected repertoire images, graphics... I: So also a visual impact F: It's the first time i work so much on the production of my concert, because usually it was a rock'n roll production, i spent a lot of time- i focused my time on the musical words. The production was always accompanied by a black drape, that's all. I gave more importance to the music compared to the scenography. I: So this confirm also your artistic grow up, from this point of view, you evolve more and more. F: But actually i didn't have the means.I: Oh, sure, it is important as well. F: This year there is an important production, an importan agency that they're supporting me in every way. And also the production made a big step change. And also we're playing at the Olimpico- I: Well, i mean... I should say not. F: It's like going to a wedding with shorts I: You can't do it! The look is connected to the way it tastes. And you, Fabrizio, worked a lot and also collected big successes in these years, from your various partecipations to Sanremo Festival, with some songs like Pensa that it's in the music history; also Eppure mi hai cambiato la vita, Portami via, but the last success is with Ermal Meta and in fact he will be at your concert the next 16th June. What can you tell about this last Sanremo Festival? What you bring on that stage from the last experience that you had... Help me- F: In Lisbon? I: Yes exactly, in Lisbon at the Eurovision. F: You know why you didn't think about this word ? Because in Italy, i noticed this... I've never watched the Eurovision- I: You've never watched it before participating in it? F: Nope, i didn't even knew what it was, i swear. I: So you dind't expect all of that coloured artists- F: After i've participated, you know what happens, we italians didn't metabolized the importance of this european contest yet, in fact when we were there, there was a world-cup vibe, there was swedish with wine bottles, the same scenes you seen when the nations play. And there weren't italians there. We started to be passionate about this contest last year, for a couple of years. I: For a short time, yes. F: That's why you can't remeber the word. I: Haha, no that was a little slip of tongue. Well we are more participative in this event and why we understimate it, in your opinion? We consider it second-class, but in reality it's an important event. F: It's a cultural thing, because we have the Sanremo Festival in Italy, so we give more importance to it. In Sweden for example, i don't know why today i'm saying Sweden, there isn't a Sanremo Festival, there isn't a musical festival, the Eurovision is their Sanremo Festival. I: So they aim to that event. F: Exactly, and it happens in most of the european countries. This may be one of the reasons. I: Well we are traditionalists from this point of view, we like the tradition, the festival is the festival, is one, and it's Sanremo. And it's the one you won this year and we give you our compliments even though the trobles that you had to face in this festival. F: Difficulties are always there, we are used to them. We are used to overcome difficulties, do you remember Rocky Balboa? I: Yeah sure, today i red some news about you and Rocky Balboa, tell us. F: If i hadn't seen that film, especially the first Rocky when i was young, probably i wouldn't have done the songwriter, i wouldn't have taken a path full of pitfalls, full of challanges, full of tests, battle to survive, it's just like this, the musician path is very complicated, especially in Italy, in fact, after the concert, when the guys go in the backstage and they bring the auditions to me, i try to dwell to a thing and to give a really important advice, you must have a lot of patience, and also you must have a story to tell that conditioned us, in good and bad, and we can exorcise with music. The talent to write songs is the last one, it's a little bit strange but it's true. Just like footballers- I: So patience- F: Just like footballers, there are so many of them that don't have good feet, but they have stubbornness and strength, i'm thinking of Rino Gattuso with Rocky. There too it's talent, when people longed to emerge, of redress, it's talent in my opinion. I: Surely the determination and passion are the crucial ingredients, i like that you point out the patience, there's a wise man who says "Patience is the only weapon to get ahead, apparently, in a dead-end situation", so the patience is a weapon- F: you understand it after the fourties I: you say you understand it only after? But you should have it before, because young peolple are impatient. F: It's normal, when you're twenty it's right, it's also a biological question. I: Yeah, it's true. So Fabrizio is also young, you always speak to young people, who's better than you, so someone will listen to you and will take this advice with them, treasuring it. Even to bring all the way your passions and your goals. So you, i want to guess, you are a person who gets excited a lot, so express your anger, you a just like this F: Yeah, pretty much like this. I: But at the same time, i don't know if this thing is because of your fatherhood or just the fourties, you are a measured person. You follow your heart or your mind? F: This is a good question. I don't undestand it, sometimes the two of them cross paths, they are strictly related, and this is already an answer. I'm not able to use them separately. Surely, the heart is the first cog to go, when i make a decision, when i'm in front of a situation i have to face, the heart is the first cog to go and then there's the head, but this is not always good. Sometimes you should start with you head and then with your heart, especially when you're passionate, otherwise you there's a risk to screw up. I: Perfect. Fabrizio, before we let you go to your job and rehearsals, I want to remeber that he wrote important songs for Emma, Stadio, Elodie, Noemi, Mannoia that is a really important artist, and on stage with you there'll be Fiorella Mannoia, Ermal Meta and also Ultimo who revised with you your song "L'eternità", in this case "L'eternità il mio quartiere". How this collaboration happened? F: Well it's really strange the thing between me and Niccolò because, basically, we arrive from the same place in Rome, and this is already an important coincidence- I: Did you found out at Sanremo or- F: We found out- He come to see my concerts, when he was younger, and this thing make me laugh because one day he showed up, two yeard ago; I was going to do my concert in Rome at Palalottomatica, he brought me the sampler of the songs, he asked me to listen to them and if he can open my concert. I listen to the songs and i liked him really much, then i said "you can open my concert" I'm glad, he was a guy from my own neighborhood and i was happy it was me who can gave him this possibility, I'm proud and glad, especially if it's a good asrtist. He opened the concert, i saw him on stage, i loved him, he was really good, this guy had to do something, and in fact, after two years from that performance, he won Sanremo. He surpassed me, his concert are sold-out, and that's life. I: But sometimes they say you have to surpass you teacher, otherwise the teacher is not good. F: Yeah, yeah, i know. I was a friend, a big brother for him. He's really good and he's also a good guy. He has a beautiful eyes, i talk about the gaze, and Niccolò has a really good story with him wishes to tell. I: And i thank you for this story you told us, and also your meeting, we can all see that you have so much to tell with so much heart, so thank you also for the songs you give us. Happy concert with Fabrizio Moro at the Olimpico. You'll present the songs of your album "Parole rumori e anni" that is a collection. F: Yes, it will be a two and a half hours concert, and we're working on it for a long time, and there will be my dear friends on stage, and i wish i can give an indelible memory to all the guys who'll come saturday night at the concert because i know that most of them... It's an audience that represent me, i know that they have made sacrifices to buy a ticket and for this i thank them for life; thanks to my fan support I have the possibility to live this beautiful dream, to do my dream job. The thing that concerns me is to give an indelible memory every time there is a concert; i go on stage and i would like to have the possibility to not get off ever again. I: Well two and half hours are enough, then you come back soon, all right? We give you a break just like all humans, to eat, to sleep some hours, and then you'll return with new concerts. Don't stop Fabrizio, give us your songs always and thanks for today. We'll listen to your last songs with Ultimo, Fabrizio Moro, 16th June at Olimpico. Thanks Fabrizio! F: See you!

[pochiperpe90]

Trust your instinct. Interview with Luca Marinelli

“Unhappy the land that is in need of heroes” wrote Brecht. Let alone superheroes. The vices and problems of the characters, however, are extraordinarily human.

There are people enthusiastic about the film and others who have seen it and have told me: "You know, it's not my genre, actually I wouldn't have gone to see it, but I would have been wrong because it's special, it thrilled me". Because it's about something real. There is the suburban boy who lives for his own sake, who only thinks about how to turn the day, then the superpowers arrive and he wonders what to do, and it’s like if the question was addressed to the public. After will comes the love, that will change him, will makes him go further. Love is the greatest superpower. I don't know, maybe I’m too romantic but the superpower of love is a very strong one, that we all own and that changes the movie as well.

Is Lo Zingaro one of the many young people "sick" of social networks?

He uses the modern roads to arrive at what for him can be the success, to be seen by anyone, so he uses the channels of social networks. As a kid he had tried to become someone and they closed the door in his face, so now that the world is moving in this direction he wants respect, he wants his greatness recognized. In my opinion he has never really been seen, maybe this is the problem.

Is this why he loves to perform?

The character has always been like that and that's the thing that drove me crazy: his histrionic side. It was also for this reason that when I went to the auditions I greatly exalted this theatrical part of lo Zingaro, but Gabriele planted my feet on the ground saying to always remember his paranoia, his strong pain, his great and real need. Then we gradually looked for these things, to enhance his desire to be recognized by everyone on the street.

Cesare from Don’t Be Bad and Lo Zingaro: two outcasts, two fragile characters who harbor anger.

I loved them both but I find it hard to put them side by side, but the fact that there is this suburbs background is certainly the common starting point of the two. And I like how Gabriele wanted to respect this place and its inhabitants, without ever labeling, without representing Tor Bella Monaca as the den of pirates, the place of bad guys.

Ostia for Cesare represented a prison from which to escape, does Lo Zingaro want to escape from Tor Bella Monaca as well?

There is this desire to go out, it’s true, to succeed in something, to escape, to at least try to escape. The watershed of the suburbs is different, if one never grow up there, they will never understand it. It’s a question of sensitivity. Cesare chooses one thing or the other, he sees his friend taking a path but doesn’t believe it completely, perhaps because he finds the other much more concrete. There is a basic desperation there, there is the world that crumbles under his feet little by little, here instead there is something different: it’s the nature of lo Zingaro, the nature of wanting to be, he is there. It must be. Lo Zingaro wants to escape from there, but even if he had been born in the Parioli it would have been the same.

For his androgynous look, Lo Zingaro resemble David Bowie. When building a character, do you start from an external characterization?

As for me, when I approach the character I try to mimesis with the text, with the director's ideas, with my visions. This changes everything, from the physical to the attitude. The character becomes a robe. When you put on the character's clothes, you are him, then you take them off and really slowly you separate yourself from him, then he comes back the next day when you get dressed, and maybe you just keep him as a memory in your head in the evening, at home, when you want to do something with it.

How important is instinct instead?

Fundamental. Many times things have happened, that I don't know how to explain. You have to trust your instincts, always. It’s a bit of a form of self-respect. Many times when preparing a character you don't have to think about it too much. You need to think about it first, then you have to make a blank page, because what you need is permeated inside.

“Una parola detta piano basta già ed io non vedo più la realtà” (A word said slowly is already enough and I no longer see reality), reads the lyrics of “Un’emozione da poco”, the song you sing in the movie.

We were looking for a song that could catch the eye of lo Zingaro during his adolescence. And if you go to re-watch Anna Oxa's performance at Sanremo, her first festival at the age of sixteen, here, putting myself in the role of the character, but also in mine, I thought: "Wow! Look at that woman. Look at that force." From this comes the fact that this is his song, which it’s also his cell phone’s ringtone. What I also like is that all his explosive strength comes from our wonderful singers of those years: Loredana Bertè, Nada, Gianna Nannini and Anna Oxa. And it's nice that it comes from there: it‘s the strength of women.

I remember your featuring in a song by the hip-hop’s crew “Jagermasterz”. Do you also have a passion for music?

A friend, Dj Demis, asked me about it many years ago, and I enjoyed it a lot. I've always had a passion for rock music, when we were kids we had a band, we played funky: we covered Red Hot Chili Peppers, but mostly our songs, good times.

Did you imitate Anthony Kiedis?

I was a little more in tune (laughs). No, I actually played the guitar. I was the second guitar of the group. I still keep playing for me, though. Every now and then I tell some friends to get together and make a small group, but it's just moments where we get together and play some covers. An artist with a folk guitar is something that drives me crazy, I really like everything acoustic.

I know you used to watch a lot of movies with your grandmother as a kid.

With my grandmother I saw all the great classics of our past, but as a kid one of the first films I saw alone was “The Silence of the Lambs”: I found this videotape and I watched it, my parents thought I was playing and instead … But I wasn't scared, I saw the fun of those people and I liked that. That's what I find in my work right now. I feel like I could make a movie for a year, because waking up in the morning and knowing I can go to the set is a great luck, it’s never a burden to me.

Now that the journey of Don’t be Bad is over, how do you remember the journey with the Caligari’s band?

For me it's not finished, tomorrow I will have to meet some guys in Rebibbia because there will be a screening of the film. I still feel it intensely. We are still a strong group, I still like what Don't be Bad means. The Caligari’s band is always there, it's in the heart.

Don't you have the impression that with his death, Caligari was "canonized"?

It’s sad. A person who was only allowed to make three films and now people cry it a miracle, when he could have made many more. This is the greatest sin. But I say “always and in any case, cheers to Claudio!”. I have never lived an experience like this: a person who is dying and wants to give something to others. Seeing a person who isn’t afraid in this way, who wants to give but without knowing what he will receive back. Indeed, knowing how many doors in the face he had received. A crazy life lesson. In the end, it’s an attitude that does not surprise me, it gives me a little stomach ache but that's okay. The film remains, this is the important thing, what a whole crew carries in their hearts remains, Claudio and the Caligari’s band remain.

For sentimental reasons you have lived in Berlin for years. How is our cinema perceived from abroad?

We are always a great cinema. All our movies that were in Cannes last year are now in theaters in Germany, in short, we are there, we are always there. I am really convinced that last year some great Italian films were released, not many, not distributed at their best, but all films that make me proud. The thing I like least about our cinema is the lack of courage of the producers, if I think that Don’t be Bad risked not being realized, I get goosebumps: a film that took us to Los Angeles risked not being made. And the same story goes for They Call Me Jeeg. The truth is that only comfortable things are done.

Money, glory, passion, desire to recover from shyness: Luca Marinelli for what reason is acting?

It seems a simple question, but it’s not. Passion in the end means nothing. I would tell you out of necessity, but maybe that doesn't mean anything either. So I'd tell you why I like it so much. Just like the Roman say: me piace (I like it). I think I'm lucky to have chosen what I love to do in life, and to be able to do it. Because I can't imagine being able to do anything else. Of course, if in five years I can't do it anymore, I will have to invent something.

What?

I don’t know. Before this I thought I was an archaeologist, unfortunately with little success. I was making a mess, I even got the lesson times wrong.

minima&moralia

Just wanted to translate this old interview for the non-italian’s fans ^^ (sorry for my English)

[betweenthetimeandsound]

Three Minutes to Eternity: My ESC 250 (#150-141)

#150: Francesco Gabbani -- Occidentali's Karma (Italy 2017)

"Soci onorari al gruppo dei selfisti anonimi L’intelligenza è démodé Risposte facili, dilemmi inutili"

"Honorary members of Selfie Addicts Anonymous Intelligence is out of fashion Easy answers, pointless dilemmas"

I remember how hyped Occidentali's Karma was before the contest--it racked up views like a wind machine, and it looked like everything was going in its favor. And for good reason.

Even within the title (because it uses English possessives, rather than in Italian, Occidentali's Karma satirizes those in the West who romanticize or even appropriates East Asian culture and/or philosophy. Rereading the translation, it's curious because Covid-19 increased anti-Asian sentiment to the point of violence across the world. But there were so many good references.

Along with an upbeat tempo, the question going into rehearsals was where Italy was going to host the contest the following year. (It's not as hyped as Fur Alle, see #227 to see how that turned out and why their other entry was better) Unfortunately, that was not meant to be, as a combination of the three-minute cut (which is why I attached the Sanremo performance instead), Francesco's progressive tiredness with performing the song, and the staging sunk it from the top five completely. For some reason, the latter didn't bother me as much, though I could see why people would see it as more gimmicky in the end.

And with Italy's other entries in the future, it doesn't seem like it holds up as well. But the "Namaste, ale!" part doesn't fail to amplify a crowd.

Personal ranking: 2nd/42 Actual ranking: 6th/26 GF in Kyiv

#149: Youddiph -- Vechny Strannik (Russia 1994)

“Вечный странник, я твоя судьба, Знаю, помнишь обо мне Ты всегда в пути, но для тебя Яркий свет в моём окне,”

“Eternal wanderer, I'm your destiny, I know, you will remember me You are always on the way, but there is always A bright light for you in my window”

A bit eccentric from Russia, but it makes for a worthy debut, part of a three-song stretch of them towards the end. I like how the lyrics told a story about the two separated lovers, and they are really poetic!

But I sometimes get lost with the more relaxed verses against the explosive chorus. The former reminds me of an instrumental to beat poetry; I would sometime mimic "Poetry by Gary" there, whereas the latter feels like something that would be in other ballads during the time. It took multiple listens to reconcile the two; the orchestration really helps.

Youddiph switches between the two forms, well, going from , and the scarlet multi-functional dress is a highlight. Which way did she wear it is your favorite?

Personal ranking: 3rd/25 Actual ranking: 9th/25 in Dublin

#148: Mocededes -- Eres tú (Spain 1973)

“Como mi poema, eres tú, eres tú, Como una guitarra en la noche, Todo mi horizonte, eres tú, eres tú, Así, así, eres tú,”

“Like my poem, you are, you are, Like a guitar in the night My whole horizon, you are, you are Like that, like that, you are”

The lyrics are so pure—telling a loved one that they remind them of all the good things in life, all sung really well by a really professional choir. It touched me the first time I listened to it, and found it really sweet even after multiple listens. The instrumentation adds to that feeling, which makes it unsurprising that it has become a well-beloved classic even to this day.

Curiously, when they released the single internationally, they had the Spanish-version on the A-side and the English one on the B-side. The radio stations prefered to play the former, which led to it garnering fame across the Americas and Europe. It was even #9 on the US Billboard 100 at one point, making it one of the few non-English songs to do so well there. And it's been covered over and over again.

In addition, it still holds Spain's highest point total at Eurovision, with 125 points. And that's after multiple voting system changes and an increase of countries participating. Then again, that's its power!

Personal ranking: 4th/17 Actual ranking: 2nd/17 in Luxembourg

#147: Dulce Pontes -- Lusitana paixão (Portugal 1991)

“Mmm... fado, só quando a saudade vem, Arrancar do meu passado um grande amor...”

“Mmm... fado, just when the longing comes, Pulling a great love back from my past”

For the record, this is not a fado song, but rather a song discussing about the singer’s relationship with the genre in a standard early 1990s ballad. However, Dulce would go on to become one of Portugal's most famous fado singers, especially with the track Canção do Mar.

This doesn't mean that Lusitana paixao is anyway inferior, though!

As a result, the songs calming, but the lyrics indicate some yearning to convey the pain. The chorus is a bit weaker than the verses (despite being the rare example of "major-verse/minor-chorus"), but the orchestration in them, combined with Dulce’s vocals, makes it shine.

Personal ranking: 6th/22 Actual ranking: 8th/22 in Rome

#146: Conchita Wurst -- Rise Like a Phoenix (Austria 2014)

"You know I will rise like a phoenix But you’re my flame"

(Maybe I should've had Lusitana Paixao at #146 to keep up the Eurovision 1991 references, right? #allora)

If there's anything noticeable in Rise Like a Phoenix, it's how resilient and fierce it is, while establishing a sense of glamour.

It starts off with an orchestral intro, and the first verse is quiet, before it starts blooming further and further through the song. The lyrics have a sense of bite about them--the narrator is hurt, but they will use their pain to become even stronger. And the staging helps with the concept; through the use of lighting, we get to see Conchita more, from the silhouette in the beginning to her full form by the end of the song, decked in gold and fully assured.

Rise Like a Phoenix was one of the first Eurovision songs I listened beyond the 2016-7 timeframe (or at least, one of the first that I liked enough to draw some fanart). The whole piece doesn't get lost in a soundtrack (a lot of comments talk about how it could fit in a James Bond movie), and it holds itself firm and dignified. And while I'm not part of the LGBTQ+ community, I could understand somewhat why something like this is important.

And it's absolutely glamorous.

Personal ranking: =3rd/37 Actual ranking: 1st/26 GF in Copenhagen

#145: The Common Linnets -- Calm After the Storm (the Netherlands 2014)

“I just wanna know if staying is better than goodbye...”

Both Rise Like a Phoenix and Calm After the Storm weren't seen as contenders before rehearsals, as the former "leaned on a gimmick" and the latter wasn't "stereotypically Eurovision" enough and too low-key. It took a couple of great stagings; whereas "Rise Like a Phoenix" plays with fire and revealing who one is, "Calm After the Storm deals with the melancholy and tension after a relationship, and does so fantastically. (cries in 2018)

The following lyric is a pretty hard-hitting one from an otherwise serene-sounding song. The story in it also deals with this stasis; while "calm after the storm” implies a return back to normal, the lyrics also indicate an ambiguity towards the state of this broken ship. (Looking over it, I still can't believe how clever the title is) The fallout creates an emptiness, and sometimes the silence is louder than any shouting. It’s definitely worth a listen, and I don’t listen to country often!

(On whether Calm after the Storm would've made the better winner, I'm not sure. I can agree it's the more thoughtful song and would've opened the doors to more genres, but Rise Like a Phoenix had just as much of an impact. Of the winner-runner-up pairs of the 2010s, this is the one I'm down the middle about. Both are so good...)

Personal ranking: =3rd/37 Actual ranking: 2nd/26 GF in Copenhagen

#144: Dino Merlin -- Love in Rewind (Bosnia and Herzegovina 2011)

“One to a hundred, multiplied by you, It all looks great, it all looks cool, Healthy children go to school, My daughter's in love, my son loves too..."

If you ask most Eurovision fans on what's their favorite Bosnian entry is, it usually comes down to one of three options. Love in Rewind is the most recent of them, but still has its charms. (Don't worry, you'll find out what the other two are in due time...)

A happy song which relishes on the beauty of life, Love in Rewind has the narrator appreciate the little things in life, despite the minor-key(?) tone throughout. Dino conveys this cheery feeling well, and the people on stage definitely add to this familial scene, from the chorus to Maya's piano playing and everything else in between. It's really enough to give you those warm feelings inside. (And if you don't, what kind of person are you?!)

For a song which performed second in the final, Love in Rewind also did quite well, with a solid sixth place! Though in an average year like 2011, it deserved the win.

P.S: What did the juries not see in this song?

Personal ranking: 1st/43 Actual ranking: 6th/25 GF in Dusseldorf

#143: Cliff Richard -- Power to All Our Friends (United Kingdom 1973)

“Power to the boys who played rock 'n' roll And made my life so sweet And to the girls I knew before And those I've yet to meet”

It's funny I'm writing this now, because the most recent #Eurovisionagain was 1968, which featured the hit "Congratulations" and it losing Eurovision by one point, haha.

Cliff Richard’s second entry is a bit less remembered than his first, but I think it’s quite better. From the rock and roll vibes of this one to the celebratory lyrics, it brings a spark of joy and modernity to the 1973 contest. Speaking of modernity, Power to All Our Friends was the first song to use some playbacked elements--the orchestral drummers are doing nothing in the background during the chorus. Though the orchestra did help with emphasizing the grandness of this song.

Cliff’s dancing, on the other hand, hasn’t changed and still remains very awkward. He also stayed in the bathroom when the voting came along, and then Spain was now one of two countries which beat him. I'm kind of surprised that he never had a grudge against the country.

Personal and actual ranking: 3rd/17 in Luxembourg

#142: Rollo and King -- Never Ever Let You Go (Denmark 2001)

“I’ll never ever be the same since you left me lonely So please come back to me again”

Isn't this wholesome? From the opening harmonica solo, one can expect a really happy and warm song. Rollo and King deliver the joy in spades, and Signe's arrival in the second verse made the whole crowd at Parken cheer. What a moment.

I love how the duo's voices work and the lyrical content of the song (though sometimes I'm a bit confused about if the narrator changed or not...). It's very sunny and cute, which makes it shine at the end of the lineup. While it doesn't have the same "movie-ending" feel as In a Moment Like This (#164), it still does the job well. The ukelele parts also bring a bit of spice to it; "I even really liked "I Don't Feel Hate" from this year because of its similarities with their riff!

I actually like this more than "Fly on the Wings of Love", though they both share this comfy, acoustic vibe. But that's what Denmark does best in the contest--bubbly cute songs, and Never Ever Let You go is the best of them. (But don't worry, there's still more Danish songs to come!)

Personal ranking: 3rd/23 Actual ranking: 2nd/23 in Copenhagen

#141: Sergey Lazarev -- You are the Only One (Russia 2016)

“Won’t ever give up ’cause you’re still somewhere out there Nothing or no one’s gonna keep us apart”

The top three of 2016 all had something compelling about them, which made them shine from the bunch. They had songs of different genres, but the performances make them stand out from the rest of the crowd, with highly capable singers.

You are the Only One pops out right away with the opening bell, and follows through a dramatic arc about finding the one. While there are questions about how ”dated” the song is, the production is quite awesome and adds to the drama. I always imagine a cool music video where one traverses across the city and trying to find someone for comfort. It would make a very fitting soundtrack.

And Sergey is a great performer, handling the evolved wall staging with ease. There were some angles that made it give the fact away to the viewer, but seeing Sergey sing and climb and announce that someone was the "only one" wowed everyone, including me.

No wonder I listened to this so many times when I started following Eurovision!

Personal ranking: 4th/42 Actual ranking: 3rd/26 GF in Stockholm

[ilvoloflightcrew]

A beautiful flight of IL VOLO and we arrive in Palermo, there is the great concert of RADIO ITALIA LIVE.

Here, instead, there is the advertising of the concert, really very nice and the boys are very strong.

  P = You must come to the Radio Italia live concert, because … I = Why Radio Italia, it’s just Italian music … and then it’s not an advice … G = And what is a fennel? However, to get all the information, swipe up. 

Here is the video of the show’s rehearsals.

They try “MUSICA CHE RESTA”, but is someone missing? Ignazio did not arrive, but he will certainly be there for the evening.

Immediately after the rehearsals for the show, Piero and Gianluca are interviewed by Radio Italia.

Radio Italia News Article – Click Here

IL VOLO TO RADIO ITALIA LIVE. 10 YEARS OF CAREER: “AT THE END OF THE YEAR THE BEST WILL COME.”

Gianluca and Piero anticipate a new project.

Among the protagonists of RADIO ITALIA LIVE – IL CONCERTO in Palermo is IL VOLO: Gianluca Ginoble and Piero Barone did the rehearsals and went to visit us at our Foro Italico for a live interview with Mauro and Manola. Ignazio Boschetto is absent, but tomorrow (29 June) he will be on stage. “Sometimes it happens that due to unforeseen events we are not immediately present all three. Once, in 2012, we were guests at The Voice Portugal, but there was a snowfall and I couldn’t move from home,” explained Gianluca.

Celebrate 10 years of success around the world … “For us this is a special year, we were waiting with much anticipation 2019. The first song we sang together in 2009 was ‘O Sole Mio’. This year we celebrate 10 years of music, friendship and loyalty. A project will arrive at the end of the year, the best.”

Did you ever think or hope as a child that this would happen? “The important thing is never to lose being children, which sometimes helps you to keep your feet on the ground. We still have that desire to make music and have fun, especially on stage, where we are still those children who want to break everything.”

Did you ever think about the Japan tour and the Arena? “No, we just sang, just. We didn’t know each other, it was the producer of the program TI LASCIO UNA CANZONE  that has united us. Thanks to our manager Torpedine we are fulfilling our dreams.”

You were small but you already showed great self-confidence … “This is a little fun … Have you ever seen videos in Locarno where we forgot the lyrics?”

We are finally in the evening, everything takes place in the beautiful Sicily, in Palermo, we are at the Foro Italico, at the marina. There’s a lot of people. And here’s the short videos of their performances …

A CHI MI DICE

MUSICA CHE RESTA 

GRANDE AMORE

Great people participation!

  Immediately after the performance, a small, nice interview.

PR = At Radio Italia Live the concert, IL VOLO, welcome. G = Thank you, welcome back.

PR = Welcome back, very good, but it is also a welcome home, especially for Piero and Ignazio, because they return to Sicily. What is it like singing at home in Sicily? I = It is always beautiful, it is always nice to come back to Sicily, our land, our origins, especially to Radio Italia, the people are crazy, in today’s slang “fighissimo”. Then we will be back on July 21st here in Palermo. P = And also in Taormina on July 23rd.

PR = What did you give Piero for his 26 years? I = Do you really want to know? P = You know, they went to the greengrocer, they bought a broccoli and they gave it to me, in Sicily they say “broccoli roses”. (I think it’s a way of saying that they gave him nothing, Daniela) G = Sometimes we give ourselves little thoughts and gifts, even if there is no particular occasion.

PR = It is the best thing. (addressed to Piero) but is this really the gift? P = No, no, they are thinking about it ….. I hope !! G = First we must have the money. P = Yes, those of Mahmood.

PR = This year you celebrate 10 years of career, the best moments of these 10 years, maybe one each. P = When they met me. I = You know it’s hard to get one, maybe when we won Sanremo. G = Perhaps our first concert at Radio City Music Hall. P = I must say, the performance before Pope Francis in Panama for WYD.

PR = Three beautiful moments. You are international artists, we know you well, you are on tour all over the world, who better than you, knows the world. Three countries, those of your tour are also fine- which would you recommend for the summer 2019. G = To go on vacation? For summer? I, summer or not, would go to Japan immediately, it’s one of my favorite countries. I = We Italians, usually, for the holiday, we always try to go abroad, in Greece or the Maldives, but I think that in Italy, there are really beautiful places, starting from Puglia, the coast of Salento, even the Calabria, Sardinia, Sicily. G = Sicily is implied. I = Sicily, rightly, is implied. P = I advise you to go to Google and look for Scala dei Turchi, Agrigento, my house!

  PR = Gianluca said Japan. You have great success there too, you have just done the concerts, but do you know how to sing something in Japanese? (Piero and Ignazio begin to sing a nursery rhyme in Japanese) G = For two weeks they did so all the time, it’s a nursery rhyme, it would be like ours “If you are happy you know it, clap your hands”. The beauty is that we sang it even in concert, suddenly … P = After the Nessun Dorma G = …. and the people … (he claps his hands, very composed, like the Japanese do), beautiful.

PR = Since I see you a lot, the very last thing … I saw that for the advertising of the concert of Radio Italia, Ignazio made the dab (???) P = What is this dab? (Ignazio and Gianluca do, a pose) PR = I wanted Il Volo to greet Radio Italia with your dab. P = Do you know which would be our dab? (He moves his arms as if he were flying.) PR = You are right there is the personalized one for Il VOLO. IL VOLO, thanks !!!

And finally the whole video of the evening.

More photos – remember to click on each photo to view it at a larger size.

It was a good concert, the people of Palermo responded with great affection, they all sang “GRANDE AMORE” with every possible voice. This song has entered everyone’s heart.

Thanks guys: Daniela

And tomorrow in concert at Battiti Live !!

  Credit to owners of all photos and videos.

RADIO ITALIA LIVE, THE CONCERT by Daniela A beautiful flight of IL VOLO

[tashaloulou]

Rehearsal Rankings/Qualifiers...

Okay, so because the Eurovision qualifications effectively starts tomorrow (Jury votes), I’m going to add my rankings for the rehearsals from the two semi finals, plus who I thought did well in the automatic qualifiers. These lists were composed with the help of @deanwinchester-is-my-precious, so here goes! Please don't kill us...

Semi Final 1

Our Top 10: Albania, Georgia, Australia, Finland, Moldova, Slovenia, Armenia, Sweden, Iceland, Cyprus.

Despite this, realistically speaking, I think the only definite qualifiers from this list are Armenia, Sweden and Moldova, maybe Australia? As for the others, it’s an open park, as others that we feel didn’t perform/connect as well, such as Greece, Poland, Azerbaijan, Latvia and maybe Belgium, are likely to pass through. We couldn’t really place Portugal because although Luisa is a lovely singer, it is Salvador who will performing on Tuesday night. But given the hype/bookies predictions, he could also qualify, who knows.

Semi Final 2

Our Top 10: Bulgaria, Israel, Austria, Netherlands, Norway, Ireland, Denmark, Macedonia, Romania, Malta.

When did it become so hard to rank entries? I swear it was easier five years ago... 

Anyway, from this list, the only definite qualifiers realistically are Bulgaria, Austria, and maybe Denmark. I’m fairly sure Norway and Israel should pass through as well. However, again, it’s very open this year, and I feel that we might see some shock qualifiers. Each of the contestants have something to bring, whether it be the song, stage and performance, song quality, or just the fun factor (see Romania). I feel that countries such as Estonia, Hungary and Belarus might pass through, or will have a good chance at least. At the same time, countries we have in our top 10 (such as Ireland and Malta) might struggle with qualifying.

Big 5 + Ukraine:

Can I just say that this is one the strongest years for the automatic qualifiers I have seen in a while. Again, everybody is bringing something to the table. 

U,K.

Italy

Ukraine

Spain

Germany

France

Right, so @deanwinchester-is-my-precious and I spent ages arguing the crap over this (okay, so it was more a debate, but she’ll shut you down and fight you when she’s adding her opinions). Personally I’d have placed France in 3rd and swapped Italy with the U.K. Below are just some opinions on the performances up to now:

Levina (Germany) has made quite an improvement vocally, but the staging as of this moment is doing nothing for us, and the song is fairly dire. We do sincerely wish that Germany does not end up in last place again. Jamie-Lee did not deserve that.

For Alma (France), the song is good (@deanwinchester-is-my-precious thinks it’s too Spanish-sounding, but still), but given it’s musical style, I think a dancer might have been a good idea for her to interact with - you know, doing the Tango or something similar. The background is nice, reminiscing her video, but like someone has mentioned on Tumblr, after three minutes, the visuals do make you feel dizzy, and that distracts you from Alma. She should do well though, regardless.

Manel (Spain) is a little similar to Levina. Vocally he has improved (just see his Eurovision medley for proof that he can sing), and the song does not. feel half as annoying now compared to the N.F. But again the stage is not doing anything for us. 

I don’t know what to say on O. Torvald (Ukraine). For one, it’s the only rock song there, so it would stand out. My biggest concern for them right now, and this proved the same in the 1st rehearsal, is the backing vocals. I feel this, again depending on who qualifies, should finish mid-table, maybe on the high-side of the bottom half.

Ah, Francesco (Italy), one of many great Italian entries since their return. Not much has changed since his win at Sanremo. We still like the performance, don’t get us wrong, but the spark has worn off us a little. The backing dancers/singers feel a little off, and the background distracts you a little, but I’m sure camera angles will sort that bit out. Nevertheless, this should do very well. It might win, but we can’t see it ourselves. Top 5 for sure, though.

And finally, the U.K, our homeland. Firstly, when the hell did we start taking it seriously?? The last time I remember something like this was Jade Ewen, and we remember how we placed then. Okay, back to Lucie. The staging has definitely enhanced this, not to mention Lucie’s vocals. She clearly knows how to perform this, and I feel this will do incredibly well with the juries. I don’t know about the televote, coming from a nation of pessimists, but according to the comments, it’s mostly well received. I’m sure we’ll finish above the bottom 5 this year (we’re being realistic). We don’t think it will win, top 10 would be nice, but we’re proud of her regardless.

Final note, our personal winner this year is Bulgaria, but because I’ve typed so much already and I need to be at university early tomorrow, I won’t elaborate. You can guess our reasons, so just message either one of us :)