So, there’s Sanremo going on. AKA the Italian national finals for Eurovision. We’re talking about a country that really aces in national finals. We’ve already seen a lot of fabulousness in the semi finals, like this lady dressed up as Donatella Versace/Thomas G:Son/both of those and Nicole Kidman showing up for a chit chat, which we couldn’t understand a word of, as it was simultaneously dubbed to Italian. And neither could she, probably, but she looked great in her newest botox, we’ll give her that.
Also, there is music. Great music. In fact, the Italians tend to take this contest so seriously the level of their national finals almost exceeds the Eurovision final itself. Not bad for a country that also gave us Eros Ramazotti.
We have been trying to figure out the qualifying system for a long time, but only lately realized that for that you either need a PhD in Sanremo or an expert like our good friend Eddy to explain it to you. We went with the latter. He told us there are three nights of final and altogether 20 entries. Of these, 15 qualify in addition to one that is chosen by televoting. Too bad for the 4 remaining ones, but you know, at least they tried. And maybe they got Nicole’s autograph.
The final is TONIGHT and we’re really excited to see who wins. Needless to say we’ll love the winner anyway, but we do have a few opinions, of course. Here are the contestants:
Francesca Michielin – Great artist that we’d certainly listen to on a rainy day. A bit boring, though. And would we want boring in Stockholm?
Alessio Bernabei – We figure Alessio really, really wants to be Marco Mengoni when he grows up, and that is not necessarily a bad thing. Get a haircut and call Ferragamo for a new suit and you’re almost there, hon.
Clementino – a small, pale person with a cap trying to be a gangsta’. How very cute.
Patty Pravo – Now, here’s a diva over 50. We heartly welcome her to Stockholm. With another song.
Lorenzo Fragola – The guy whose last name is strawberry. He can only be one thing, of course: delicious.
Noemi – Let’s not talk about her. See you in the bathroom.
Elio e Le Storie Tese – Are we meant to take this seriously or are they only there to make Berlusconi feel better about his age?
Arisa – We couldn’t consentrate during this one. Too focused on how the hell she was able to get hold of our sweater from 1995.
Stadio – Also a good opportunity to get that alcohol out of your system.
Annalisa – Foxy lady with a lot to give. Would be great if she hooked up with an even better tune, like one with a chorus.
Rocco Hunt – Our 8 year old expert is already singing this song in the shower, which should be a good sign.
Dolcenera – Not sure how much she paid the jury to get through, but must have been a lot. Let’s keep her and her noisy choir ladies out of Stockholm, please.
Enrico Ruggeri – Instead of his song, Rai shows a lot of talking here. We can only imagine there is a reason.
Giovanni Caccamo e Deborah Iurato – Nothing cheeky to say about this one. It is no less than a beautiful ballad delivered by highly skilled artists in great artists. And there is a giant goosebumps moment in the end. Bliss.
Valerio Scanu – Don’t know if anyone noticed, but GAWD, there are great men in Italy. This being absolutely no exception. Also, there is a great song.
So who do we hope to see in Stockholm? About half of these. Can’t Italy use their influence to change the system a little?
Buona fortuna, ragazzi!
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