Italy in Eurovision
Italy debuted in Eurovision at the inaugural contest back in 1956 and have claimed victory twice with Gigliola Cinquetti 'Non ho l'età' (1964) and Toto Cutugno 'Insieme: 1992' (1990). Italy took a hiatus from the contest after the 1997 competition and returned with a bang in 2011 - emerging as part of the newly minted "Big Five".
In more recent years Italy has been a powerhouse of the entire contest claiming two Runner-Ups with Raphael Gualazzi 'Madness of Love' (2011) and Mahmood 'Soldi' (2019). Of the last ten entrants - half have walked away with a Top 5 position, an additional third finished in the Top 10. With results like these, Italy has cemented itself as a consistently serious contender at Eurovision.
2021 Entry: Måneskin - 'Zitti E Buoni'
Grand Final: As part of the "Big Five" Italy automatically qualifies for the Grand Final. They are able to vote in semi-final 1.
My Eurovision Scoreboard fan ranking: 6th of 39 entries
Odds to win ranking: 5th out of 39 entries
(Rankings as of 7 April 2021)
About the artists
Måneskin are a four piece rock band born in the Italian capital Rome. Forming in 2016, the band consists of Damiano David (Main vocalist), Victoria De Angelis (Bass), Thomas Raggi (Guitar) and Ethan Torchio (Drums). To the surprise of many fans the band members rage between 20 to 22-years-old, making their fast rise to fame in Italy all the more impressive.
The group describes their aesthetic as rock with alternative, funk, rap, 'stoner' and glam influences. The band name was coined by member Victoria who is half Danish - after pitching some Danish words to the team they agreed on Måneskin translating to 'moonshine'.
Gaining significant local notoriety with their participation in the eleventh edition of X-Factor Italy where they eventually claimed runner up - their debut album 'Il ballo della vita' stormed to #1, going platinum three times over in 2018.
The group reached heroic status locally with their iconico win at this years Sanremo Music Festival - the ticket that allowed them to compete at Eurovision 2021. Their attendance was confirmed March 7. For those unfamiliar to the festival it is the pinnacle of the Italian music industry and notoriously difficult to win on first attempt in the 'Big Artists' section - Måneskin beat all odds taking home the top prize and joined the exclusive club of Sanremo winners.
Shorty after their victory, we were graced with 'Teatro d'ira: Vol. 1' - their second studio album. Once again going straight to #1 in the local charts, collecting gold status and also #13 in Switzerland. There is no denying they are popular young talent and have had an impressive start to their careers.
About the song
'Zitti E Buoni' translating to roughly 'Shut Up And Be Quiet' touches on the desire to stand out and sticking to your guns. The lead vocalist Damiano David manages to cram in fabulous variety between the more 'tame' opening, gritty rap section and powerful refrain at the end.
By the end of the song you've been taken on a 3 minute journey of a group walking the line between going insane by fame to wanting to throw sanity out the window, to rebel against the status quo, push up that hill and be primitive and authentic all at the same time.
The final verse completes with the band marching into their hand carved future of what is true and authentic to themselves. Coming to the conclusion that their 'hyper-expressiveness' will always have critics but "they don't know what they're talk about" and they quite frankly don't care.
Truly a piece of auditory and performance art with references to Greek myths, redemption, revenge, atheism, fame culture and social constructs. Notably the song stands on a hard rock bass with the inclusion of rap and glam with a charming Italian polish.
Aussievision podcast Italian episode
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