Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019
Italy participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019. Italian broadcaster RAI announced in November 2018 that the winning performer(s) of the Sanremo Music Festival 2019, later turning out to be Mahmood with "Soldi", would earn the right to represent the nation at the Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv, Israel.
| Eurovision Song Contest 2019 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country |  Italy | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | Sanremo 2019 | |||
| Selection date(s) | 9 February 2019 | |||
| Selected entrant | Mahmood | |||
| Selected song | "Soldi" | |||
| Selected songwriter(s) | Charlie Charles, Dario "Dardust" Faini, Alessandro Mahmoud | |||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Final result | 2nd, 472 points | |||
| Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
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Background
Prior to the 2019 Contest, Italy had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest forty-four times since its first entry during the inaugural contest in 1956.[1] Since then, Italy has won the contest on two occasions: in 1964 with the song "Non ho l'età" performed by Gigliola Cinquetti and in 1990 with the song "Insieme: 1992" performed by Toto Cutugno. Italy has withdrawn from the Eurovision Song Contest a number of times with their most recent absence spanning from 1998 until 2010. Their return in 2011 with the song "Madness of Love", performed by Raphael Gualazzi, placed second—their highest result, to this point, since their victory in 1990. In 2018, Ermal Meta and Fabrizio Moro represented the nation with the song "Non mi avete fatto niente", placing fifth with 308 points.
The Italian national broadcaster, Radiotelevisione italiana (RAI), broadcasts the event within Italy and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. RAI confirmed Italy's participation in the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest on 5 October 2018.[2] Between 2011 and 2013, the broadcaster used the Sanremo Music Festival as an artist selection pool where a special committee would select one of the competing artist, independent of the results in the competition, as the Eurovision entrant. The selected entrant was then responsible for selecting the song they would compete with. For 2014, RAI forwent using the Sanremo Music Festival artist lineup and internally selected their entry. Since 2015, the winning artist of the Sanremo Music Festival is rewarded with the opportunity to represent Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest, although in 2016 the winner declined and the broadcaster appointed the runner-up as the Italian entrant.
Before Eurovision
Artist selection
On 20 November 2018, Italian broadcaster RAI confirmed that the performer that would represent Italy at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest would be selected from the competing artists at the Sanremo Music Festival 2019.[3] According to the rules of Sanremo 2019, the winner of the festival earns the right to represent Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest, but in case the artist is not available or refuses the offer, the organisers of the event reserve the right to choose another participant via their own criteria. The competition took place between 5–9 February 2019 with the winner being selected on the last day of the festival.[3]
Twenty four artists competed in Sanremo 2019. Two of the twenty four competing artists (Einar and Mahmood respectively) were selected in the standalone Sanremo Newcomers competition that was held in December 2018. Among the competing artists were former Eurovision Song Contest entrants Il Volo who represented Italy in the 2015 Contest. The performers were:[4]
| Artist | Song (English translation) | Composer(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Achille Lauro | "Rolls Royce" | Achille Lauro, Davide Petrella, Daniele Deizi, Daniele Mungai, Edoardo Manozzi |
| Anna Tatangelo | "Le nostre anime di notte" (Our souls at night) | Lorenzo Vizzini |
| Arisa | "Mi sento bene" (I feel good) | Alessandra Flora, Matteo Buzzanca, Lorenzo Vizzini, Rosalba Pippa |
| Boomdabash | "Per un milione" (For a million) | Federica Abbate, Cheope, Rocco Pagliarulo, Angelo Cisternino, Alessandro Merli, Fabio Clemente |
| Daniele Silvestri | "Argentovivo" (Quick silver) | Daniele Silvestri, Tarek "Rancore" Iurcich, Fabio Rondanini, Manuel Agnelli |
| Einar | "Parole nuove" (New words) | Tony Maiello, Enrico Palmosi, Nicola Marotta |
| Enrico Nigiotti | "Nonno Hollywood" (Grandpa Hollywood) | Enrico Nigiotti |
| Ex-Otago | "Solo una canzone" (Just a song) | Maurizio Carucci, Simone Bertuccini, Olmo Martellacci, Francesco Bacci, Rachid Bouchabla |
| Federica Carta & Shade | "Senza farlo apposta" (Without doing it on purpose) | Jacopo Ettore, Giacomo Roggia, Vito "Shade" Ventura |
| Francesco Renga | "Aspetto che torni" (I wait for you to come back) | Bungaro, Francesco Renga, Cesare Chiodo, Rakele, Giacomo Runco |
| Ghemon | "Rose viola" (Purple roses) | Giovanni Luca Picariello, Stefano Tognini |
| Il Volo | "Musica che resta" (Music that remains) | Antonello Carozza, Emilio Munda, Gianna Nannini, Pasquale Mammaro, Piero Romitelli |
| Irama | "La ragazza col cuore di latta" (The girl with a heart of tin) | Giuseppe Colonnelli, Andrea Debernardi, Filippo Maria Fanti, Giulio Nenna |
| Loredana Bertè | "Cosa ti aspetti da me" (What do you expect from me) | Gaetano Curreri, Gerardo Pulli, Piero Romitelli |
| Motta | "Dov'è l'Italia" (Where is Italy) | Francesco Motta |
| Mahmood | "Soldi" (Money) | Charlie Charles, Dario "Dardust" Faini, Alessandro Mahmoud |
| Negrita | "I ragazzi stanno bene" (The kids are alright) | Paolo Bruni, Cesare Petricich, Enrico Salvi, Guglielmo Ridolfo Gagliano, Lorenzo Cilembrini, Francesco Barbacci |
| Nek | "Mi farò trovare pronto" (I will make myself ready) | Filippo Neviani, Luca Ciaravalli, Paolo Antonacci |
| Nino D'Angelo & Livio Cori | "Un'altra luce" (Another light) | Nino D'Angelo, Livio Cori, Big Fish, Francesco Fogliano, Mario Fracchiolla |
| Paola Turci | "L'ultimo ostacolo" (The last obstacle) | Edwyn Roberts, Stefano Marletta, Luca Chiaravalli, Paola Turci |
| Patty Pravo feat. Briga | "Un po' come la vita" (A bit like life) | Zibba, Marco Rettani, Diego Calvetti, Mattia "Briga" Bellegrandi, Luca Lenori |
| Simone Cristicchi | "Abbi cura di me" (Take care of me) | Simone Cristicchi, Nicola Brunialti, Gabriele Ortenzi |
| Ultimo | "I tuoi particolari" (Your particularities) | Niccolò Moriconi |
| Zen Circus | "L'amore è una dittatura" (Love is a dictatorship) | Andre Appino, Massimiliano Schiavelli, Karim Qqru |
Final
The 24 Big Artists each performed their entry again for a final time on 9 February 2019. A combination of public televoting (50%), press jury voting (30%) and expert jury voting (20%) selected the top three to face a superfinal vote, then the winner of Sanremo 2019 was decided. Mahmood was declared the winner of the contest with the song "Soldi". During the press conference that followed the final, Mahmood accepted to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest.[5] However, in an interview to La Stampa published on 11 February 2019, Mahmood stated that he was reconsidering his acceptance as he and his management had to consider "how much work it entails".[6][7] Finally, on 12 February 2019, Mahmood confirmed his participation at the Eurovision Song Contest via his social media.[8]
| Final – 9 February 2019 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draw[9] | Artist | Song | Expert Jury (20%) |
Press Jury (30%) |
Televote (50%) |
Average | Place |
| 1 | Daniele Silvestri | "Argentovivo" | 2 | 3 | 9 | 5.87% | 6 |
| 2 | Anna Tatangelo | "Le nostre anime di notte" | 18 | 18 | 18 | 1.08% | 22 |
| 3 | Ghemon | "Rose viola" | 5 | 9 | 17 | 3.16% | 12 |
| 4 | Negrita | "I ragazzi stanno bene" | 10 | 18 | 21 | 1.55% | 20 |
| 5 | Ultimo | "I tuoi particolari" | 7 | 6 | 1 | 12.92% | 2 |
| 6 | Nek | "Mi farò trovare pronto" | 17 | 20 | 14 | 1.49% | 19 |
| 7 | Loredana Bertè | "Cosa ti aspetti da me" | 6 | 1 | 3 | 10.35% | 4 |
| 8 | Francesco Renga | "Aspetto che torni" | 18 | 17 | 13 | 1.65% | 15 |
| 9 | Mahmood | "Soldi" | 1 | 2 | 7 | 13.30% | 1 |
| 10 | Ex-Otago | "Sola una canzone" | 8 | 11 | 16 | 2.58% | 13 |
| 11 | Il Volo | "Musica che resta" | 21 | 13 | 2 | 9.48% | 3 |
| 12 | Paola Turci | "L'ultimo ostacolo" | 9 | 16 | 15 | 2.11% | 16 |
| 13 | The Zen Circus | "L'amore è una dittatura" | 12 | 12 | 19 | 1.75% | 17 |
| 14 | Patty Pravo ft. Briga | "Un po' come la vita" | 18 | 21 | 22 | 0.85% | 21 |
| 15 | Arisa | "Mi sento bene" | 3 | 4 | 12 | 4.95% | 8 |
| 16 | Irama | "La ragazza col cuore di latta" | 12 | 10 | 4 | 5.60% | 7 |
| 17 | Achille Lauro | "Rolls Royce" | 12 | 7 | 8 | 4.09% | 9 |
| 18 | Nino D'Angelo & Livio Cori | "Un'altra luce" | 21 | 23 | 20 | 0.72% | 24 |
| 19 | Federica Carta & Shade | "Senza farlo apposta" | 21 | 21 | 11 | 1.52% | 18 |
| 20 | Simone Cristicchi | "Abbi cura di me" | 12 | 4 | 5 | 6.01% | 5 |
| 21 | Enrico Nigiotti | "Nonno Hollywood" | 12 | 8 | 6 | 3.53% | 10 |
| 22 | Boomdabash | "Per un milione" | 11 | 15 | 10 | 2.55% | 11 |
| 23 | Einar | "Parole nuove" | 21 | 23 | 23 | 0.68% | 23 |
| 24 | Motta | "Dov'e l'Italia" | 4 | 14 | 24 | 2.23% | 14 |
| Superfinal – 9 February 2019 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury (50%) |
Televote (50%) |
Total | Place |
| 1 | Ultimo | "I tuoi particolari" | 24.7% | 48.80% | 35.6% | 2 |
| 2 | Il Volo | "Musica che resta" | 11.6% | 30.26% | 25.5% | 3 |
| 3 | Mahmood | "Soldi" | 63.7% | 20.95% | 38.9% | 1 |
At Eurovision
The Eurovision Song Contest 2019 took place at Expo Tel Aviv in Tel Aviv, Israel and consisted of two semi-finals on 14 and 16 May and the final on 18 May 2019.[10] According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big 5" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. As a member of the "Big 5", Italy automatically qualified to compete in the final. In addition to their participation in the final, Italy is also required to broadcast and vote in one of the two semi-finals (the second one this year).
Voting
Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding two sets of points from 1-8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member, as well as the nation's televoting results, were released shortly after the grand final.[11]
Points awarded to Italy
| Points awarded to Italy (final) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Televote | ||||
| 12 points | 10 points | 8 points | 7 points | 6 points |
| 5 points | 4 points | 3 points | 2 points | 1 point |
| Jury | ||||
| 12 points | 10 points | 8 points | 7 points | 6 points |
| 5 points | 4 points | 3 points | 2 points | 1 point |
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Points awarded by Italy
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Split voting results
The following six members comprised the Italian jury:[11]
- Elisabetta Esposito – Chairperson – journalist
- Annamaria Annie Mazzola – digital entertainer
- Mauro Severoni – audio engineer manager
- Adriano Pennini – maestro
- Stefania Zizzari
- Paolo Biamonte – journalist
| Split voting results from Italy (Semi-final 2) | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draw | Country | Jury | Televote | |||||||
| E. Esposito | A. Mazzola | M. Severoni | A. Pennini | P. Biamonte | Average Rank | Points | Rank | Points | ||
| 01 |  Armenia | 7 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 15 | ||
| 02 |  Ireland | 3 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 16 | |
| 03 |  Moldova | 12 | 10 | 4 | 11 | 16 | 11 | 6 | 5 | |
| 04 |  Switzerland | 16 | 12 | 16 | 10 | 11 | 15 | 5 | 6 | |
| 05 |  Latvia | 2 | 11 | 10 | 5 | 14 | 6 | 5 | 17 | |
| 06 |  Romania | 11 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 07 |  Denmark | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 12 | 11 | |
| 08 |  Sweden | 13 | 5 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | ||
| 09 |  Austria | 14 | 18 | 13 | 14 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 18 | |
| 10 |  Croatia | 17 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 13 | ||
| 11 |  Malta | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 9 | 2 |
| 12 |  Lithuania | 8 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 7 | 14 | 12 | ||
| 13 |  Russia | 18 | 14 | 11 | 15 | 18 | 16 | 4 | 7 | |
| 14 |  Albania | 6 | 13 | 6 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 12 |
| 15 |  Norway | 15 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 17 | 3 | 8 | |
| 16 |  Netherlands | 9 | 7 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 3 |
| 17 |  North Macedonia | 5 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 1 |
| 18 |  Azerbaijan | 10 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 4 |
| Split voting results from Italy (final) | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draw | Country | Jury | Televote | |||||||
| E. Esposito | A. Mazzola | M. Severoni | S. Zizzari | P. Biamonte | Average Rank | Points | Rank | Points | ||
| 01 | Malta | 3 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 16 | |
| 02 | Albania | 16 | 10 | 6 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
| 03 |  Czech Republic | 5 | 6 | 17 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 22 | |
| 04 |  Germany | 17 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 10 | 18 | 25 | ||
| 05 | Russia | 23 | 21 | 14 | 22 | 24 | 23 | 3 | 8 | |
| 06 | Denmark | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 7 | 4 |
| 07 |  San Marino | 25 | 25 | 22 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 21 | ||
| 08 | North Macedonia | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 12 | |
| 09 | Sweden | 7 | 4 | 13 | 5 | 17 | 9 | 2 | 17 | |
| 10 |  Slovenia | 20 | 22 | 8 | 20 | 19 | 16 | 18 | ||
| 11 |  Cyprus | 12 | 19 | 15 | 16 | 20 | 19 | 20 | ||
| 12 | Netherlands | 11 | 13 | 12 | 15 | 9 | 12 | 6 | 5 | |
| 13 |  Greece | 24 | 23 | 10 | 18 | 12 | 15 | 23 | ||
| 14 |  Israel | 10 | 14 | 18 | 8 | 13 | 11 | 15 | ||
| 15 | Norway | 14 | 15 | 24 | 9 | 15 | 13 | 2 | 10 | |
| 16 |  United Kingdom | 19 | 16 | 20 | 19 | 21 | 22 | 24 | ||
| 17 |  Iceland | 21 | 18 | 11 | 25 | 23 | 21 | 4 | 7 | |
| 18 |  Estonia | 6 | 5 | 9 | 4 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 14 | |
| 19 |  Belarus | 13 | 11 | 23 | 12 | 18 | 14 | 19 | ||
| 20 | Azerbaijan | 8 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 1 |
| 21 |  France | 9 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 4 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 2 |
| 22 | Italy | |||||||||
| 23 |  Serbia | 15 | 17 | 16 | 21 | 16 | 20 | 13 | ||
| 24 | Switzerland | 18 | 12 | 21 | 14 | 14 | 17 | 8 | 3 | |
| 25 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Australia | 4 | 9 | 3 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 |
| 26 |  Spain | 22 | 24 | 25 | 23 | 22 | 24 | 11 | ||
References
- "Italy Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
- "Italy: RAI confirms participation in Eurovision 2019". esctoday.com. Esctoday.com. 5 October 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
- Robyn, Gallagher (20 November 2018). "Italy: RAI releases show format of Sanremo 2019, including 24 acts and no eliminations". wiwibloggs.com. Wiwibloggs.com. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
- Jiandani, Sergio (Sanjay) (22 December 2018). "Italy: Sanremo 2019 finalists unveiled; Il Volo are back in the competition!". esctoday.com. Esctoday.com. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
- Scarpone, Cristian (10 February 2019). "Mahmood wins Sanremo with "Soldi" and will represent Italy at Eurovision 2019". wiwibloggs.com. Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
- Panavello, Roberto (11 February 2019). "Mahmood: "Italiano al cento per cento, ma all'Eurovision non so se ci andrò"". La Stampa (in Italian). Retrieved 11 February 2019.
- Gallagher, Robyn (11 February 2019). "Italy: Mahmood performs studio version of "Soldi" on Italian television". wiwibloggs.com. Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
- Luukela, Sami (12 February 2019). "Italy: Mahmood confirms Eurovision 2019 participation with "Soldi"". esxtra.com. Escxtra. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
- Rossino, Federico (9 February 2019). "Sanremo 2019: la scaletta della quinta serata. Apre Silvestri, ultimo Motta". Retrieved 9 February 2019.
- "Tel Aviv to host Eurovision 2019! - Eurovision Song Contest Israel 2019". eurovision.tv. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
- Groot, Evert (30 April 2019). "Exclusive: They are the judges who will vote in Eurovision 2019!". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
| Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest | |||||||||||||||||||
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Note: Entries scored out are when Italy did not compete | |||||||||||||||||||