Eurovision 2025 Italy profile: Volevo essere un duro by Lucio Corsi

We profile the 2025 entry from Italy, including details on the artist, song, how it was chosen, odds, fan reaction, and how the nation has fared at Eurovision.

Italy debuted in Eurovision at the inaugural contest back in 1956 and have claimed victory three times with Gigliola Cinquetti’s Non ho l'età (1964), Toto Cutugno’s Insieme: 1992 (1990) and of course Måneskin with Zitti E Buoni (2021).

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 contest, claiming two runner-ups with Raphael Gualazzi with Madness of Love (2011) and Mahmood with Soldi (2019). Of the last ten entrants, 50% have walked away with a top 5 result. In addition, since their return in 2011 Italy has only missed out on a Top 10 result twice.

With results like these, Italy has cemented itself as a consistently serious contender at Eurovision!

Representing Italy at Eurovision 2025 in Basel is Lucio Corsi with his song Volevo essere un duro.

You can find out more about Lucio Corsi and their entry below.

2025 entry: Lucio Corsi - Volevo essere un duro

• Lucio Corsi is prequalified for the grand final as Italy is a member of the "Big 5"

• My Eurovision Scoreboard ranking: 20th

• Odds to win ranking: 15th

• Aussievision team ranking: 28th

  
  

(Rankings as of 27 April 2025)

About the Artist

The 31-year-old hails from Grosseto, Tuscany - an important cultural hub in middle Italy. He grew up in a farmhouse with his family running a restaurant in nearby Macchiascandona. His parents professions were eclectic from painting, bricklaying and leather crafting. With such unique upbringing it is easy to see where some of his creativity comes from.

Similar to many of the great Italian artists - he grew up with a passion for musical composition and performance, he proudly wears the Italian badge of "cantautorato" (singer-song-writer). His musical style leans into a blend of indie, folk, and glam rock with David Bowie, Marc Bolan, Genesis, Lou Reed and Tim Burton sited as influences.

After graduating from senior school he moved to Milan to pursue career music.

In 2014 he released his debut EP Vetulonia Dakar. His glam rock style and unusual lyricism was met with positive critical reception. His first album Bestiario musicale, released in 2017, had themed tracks with each dedicated to an animal from his homeland of Maremma.

His second studio album Cosa faremo da grandi? released in 2020 featured his now trademark album artwork style by his mother Nicoletta Rabiti, whom is a professional artist. The album was nominated by Rolling Stone as the second best Italian Album of 2020.

This year saw Lucio perform and appear in many programs, gaining local momentum. He was a consistent guest on TV show L'assedio and competed at the Premoio Tenco, notable as he is one of the youngest participants in the festivals history.

His third studio album La gente che songa was released in April 2023 which was followed up with a summer tour.

March 2025 saw the release of his now Italian chart topping album Volevo essere un duro. The album was met with positive critical reception with Rolling Stone Italia commenting on the stripped down sound adding a more tender and personal dimension to the piece. His Sanremo and Eurovision 2025 entry Volevo essere un duro was derived from the album.

About the Song

Volevo essere un duro ("I wanted to be a tough guy") is a self-reflection on Lucio's struggle with personal and social expectations of others, it invites the listener to embrace their fragilities.

"...this world wants us to be infallible, solid as stones and perfect as flowers, without telling us that flowers are hanging by a thread." ~Lucio Corsi

He talks of the reality of dreams and how easy it is to let your dreams slip away. For many - what you wished for as a child is not possible and being an adult is a bit of a mess.

The sound leans into his rock and glam rock roots with a level of whimsy and warmth. The song is penned by Lucio Corsi and longtime collaborator Tommaso Ottomano who was featured on stage playing guitar at his Sanremo performance.

The song charted #3 in Italy and has claimed a gold certification. It is currently the most streamed Eurovision 2025 entry with over 58 million streams when including Spotify and YouTube. The album of the same name reached #1 on the local charts.

How was Lucio Corsi chosen for Eurovision?

Italy selected their Eurovision 2025 artist from this years Sanremo Music Festival. Unlike other "national final selections", the winner of the festival is offered the opportunity to compete at Eurovision, but is not obligated to do so.

The winner of the 75th edition of Sanremo was Olly with the song Balorda nostalgia - beating Lucio Corsi to the prize by just 0.45% of the final votes. Olly placed second with the juries and first in the televote, conversely, Lucio won the juries and placed second with the televote.

After much consideration, Olly declined the opportunity to represent Italy at Eurovision 2025, opting to continue with his already sold-out Italian tour through May instead.

At the discretion of Italian broadcaster RAI, they offered runner-up Lucio the honour of competing at Eurovision and he accepted. The last time the runner-up went on to represent Italy at Eurovision was Francesca Michielin whom represented Italy in 2016.

Italy will compete in the Grand Final of the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest on 17 May 2025 in Basel.

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