Ever wondered what Whitney Houston, One Direction, Queen, Britney Spears and Kylie Minogue all have in common? They've all performed as international guests at the famous Sanremo Music Festival!
Italy's most prestigious and historic music competition, has long attracted global attention for its celebration of musical talent and cultural significance.
Over the years, the festival has served as a stage for numerous international superstars, with artists from all corners of the world showcasing their talents and captivating audiences. Sanremo has continuously drawn renowned musicians eager to be part of its storied legacy.
This article was inspired by X (formally Twitter) user @zsokapados who reminded us of some iconic moments lost to time and inspired a revisit!
Check out some of the most iconic performances:
Whitney Houston - All at Once (Sanremo 1987)
A performance that is still talked about nearly four decades later - Whitney Houston took to the stage and absolutely blew the roof off Ariston Theatre with her once in a generation vocals. Her performance was met with standing ovation and jubilant cheers for an encore!
Shakira - Whenever Wherever (Sanremo 2002)
On the third evening of Sanremo 2022 - Shakira delighted the patrons of Ariston Theatre with an iconic performance of her global smash hit Whenever Wherever which had previously gone #1 in Italy. The song went on to take out the end of year title locally.
Hozier and Meduza - Medley of Piece of Your Heart, Lose Control, Paradise & Tell It to My Heart (Sanremo 2022)
It's not often the whole of the Ariston Theatre is on their feet dancing for 7 minutes but Hozier and Meduza were LOCKED IN! For me, this goes down as the single greatest guest performance in Sanremo history (a big call I know but indulge me).
Meduza are local house music group from Milan, world renown for their gritty and catchy sounds and hits. Hozier hails from Ireland which made for quite an amusing post-performance interview when he didn't understand any Italian being said between the hosts and Meduza. Bless his soul, he still manged a "grazie mille" for the crowd.
One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful (Sanremo 2012)
If you lived in the early 2010s it was impossible to escape One Direction's international dominance - Italy wasn't immune to this wave, hosting a notably young and baby faced One Direction on cover night of the 2012 edition of the festival.
INXS - Need You Tonight (Sanremo 1998)
One of Australia's most popular exports INXS was met with rapturous cheering and applause at the 38th edition of the festival. The new wave hit was certified gold in Italy and maintains legendary status back home for us Aussies.
Queen - Radio Ga Ga (Sanremo 1984)
One of the more controversial moments at Sanremo - Queen wanted to sing live but the festival creative director under pressure from the record companies forced them to lip-sync. In protest, Freddie Mercury performs a good chunk of the song with the microphone completely away from his face!
Britney Spears - I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman (Sanremo 2002)
Britney went to her back catalogue and pulled out the most "Sanremo" song she had. I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman debut a few weeks before the festival and peaked at #16 in Italy.
Frankie Goes To Hollywood - The Power Of Love (Sanremo 1985)
Almost better known for one of the more awkward introductions for an international guest at Sanremo! The introduction began with asking front man Holly Johnson if he was Frankie, which was met with confusion. Followed by "What is your group called Frankie Goes to Hollywood?" with even more confusion.
The most notable part of the whole performance was the distinct lack of a microphone on stage! It was just 5 minutes of vibes, lip syncing and throwing roses to the crowd. Iconic.
Andrea Bocelli with Christina Aguilera - Somos Novios (Sanremo 2006)
Much to the surprise of many international fans - Andrea Bocelli himself was a multiple Sanremo competitor, winning the Newcomers' competition in 1994 and placing fourth with Con te partirò at the 1995 festival. He was joined on stage in 2006 with the powerhouse vocal queen Christina Aguilera for a duet of Somos Novios, she sung entirely in Italian!
Dua Lipa - Don't Start Now (Sanremo 2020)
A month before Dua Lipa was catapulted to international fame with her second studio album Future Nostalgia she gave us this ICONIC moment of Sanremo history. Her little "Sanremo" address mid-performance has been held warmly in the memories of fans ever since.
Kylie Minogue - In Your Eyes (Sanremo 2002)
Australia's very own Kylie Minogue has graced the stage of Sanremo! In Your Eyes went #1 in Australia and a respectable #7 on the Italian charts. She appeared on stage in a 2000s Versace-esque minidress with thigh-high black boots - slay.
Katy Perry - Hot n Cold and Don't Stop Me Now (Sanremo 2009)
You have to dig pretty deep into the depths of the internet to find evidence of Katy Perry's 2009 appearance but it did happen! Perhaps it because Katy thought good vocals were optional in Italy... Enjoy this snippet of an interview with Paolo Bonolis followed by some vibing out to Queen's 1978 hit Don't Stop Me Now.
Backstreet Boys - As Long as You Love Me and All I Have to Give (Sanremo 1998)
The lads appeared on stage in brown trench coats with fold out chairs, bopped around for a ten minutes, collected their pay cheques and called it a day. The crowd was particularly rowdy with high-pitched female screaming through most of the performances.
Madonna - Take A Bow (Sanremo 1995)
Madonna appeared at the festival in an-eye catching purple number complete with a feather boa! A paired back and captivating performance from her.
Village People - Sex Over the Phone (Sanremo 1985)
The undeniably iconic Village People absolutely ate at Sanremo 1985 with a funky and attention grabbing performance of Sex Over the Phone. They were joined by many other big names of the mid 1980s taking to the stage that year including: Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Mr. Mister and Chaka Khan.
Jennifer Lopez - (What Is) Love? (Sanremo 2010)
(What Is) Love? appeared on the soundtrack to The Back-up Plan (2010), a film in which Lopez stars. Her performance at Sanremo made a small splash on the fourth evening of the festival. The song was later included on Lopez's seventh studio album Love?
Hilary Duff - Wake Up (Sanremo 2006)
One of the performances that didn't stand the test of time - tween popstar Hilary Duff hit the stage with Wake Up from her first compilation album Most Wanted. The bubblegum pop doesn't quite work with the vibes of Sanremo.
Novak Djokovic - Terra Promessa (Sanremo 2020)
Not exactly "a world famous singer" - but Novak deserves a mention for how iconic his singing was! In 2020 he attended Sanremo with his wife Jelena before joining the hosts Fiorello and Amadeus on stage. He was subsequently interviewed and demonstrated his own singing credentials by performing Terra Promessa, a hit single from 1984 by Eros Ramazzotti.
Céline Dion - The Reason and My Heart Will Go On (Sanremo 1998)
Céline Dion is one of the few international guest performers at Sanremo be be afforded time to sing two songs for the Italian public! An assured mark of her presence and respect in the Italian community. She performed The Reason followed by the international hit My Heart Will Go On which was met with a standing ovation.
David Bowie – Little Wonder (Sanremo 1997)
Not David Bowie's best vocal performance or tune but it made for a memorable performance nonetheless!
Spandau Ballet - I'll Fly For You (Sanremo 1985)
New wave and new romantic was firmly in vouge in 1985 and that extended to Sanremo's festival! I'll Fly For You actually charted the highest globally in Italy at #6 - even higher than their home nation of the United Kingdom. The performance is an iconic time capsule. They returned to Sanremo as guest performers 20 years later in 2015.
Eminem and Dirty Dozen - Medley of I'm Back, Purple Pills and The Real Slim Shady (Sanremo 2001)
Eminem caused quite a stir in the leadup to Sanremo 2001. In a letter to the president of Italian broadcaster RAI, a board member had asked to suspend the singer's participation in the festival due to the perceived risks of platforming an artist that "can contain messages of violence, rebellion and even matricide". Eminem's performance went on without event and we saw the most English swearwords on stage in one night of Sanremo in history! It also marked his first performance ever in Italy.
Destiny's Child - Survivor (Sanremo 2002)
Girl group Destiny's Child brought their smooth vocals and upbeat chorography to Sanremo 2002 - the song peaked at #9 locally in Italy.
Ricky Martin - Nobody Wants to Be Lonely and She Bangs (Sanremo 2001)
The Puerto Rican singer is one of the most regular international guests of Sanremo! A personal favourite appearance of his was in 1998 where he had the whole theatre grooving to La Copa De La Vida (unfortunately footage of this is scarce at best!).
He returned in 2001 and ate it up with Nobody Wants to Be Lonely and She Bangs. Fluent in Italian he always goes down well with the hosts and locals, his most recent appearance was Sanremo 2017 where he performed a medley of his greatest hits.
Bon Jovi - Wanted Dead or Alive (Sanremo 1988)
Bon Jovi's 1987 hit Wanted Dead or Alive was a unique and fun spectacle for the Ariston stage. The 1980s brought a period of diversity from international acts, lots of styles, genres and sounds not typically seen on Italian TV!
Cher - One by One (Sanremo 1996)
Cher is one of those artists that just makes sense performing on the Sanremo stage. The song is from her album It's a Man's World, released on January 5, 1996. One by One peaked at #16 on the Italian charts. Cher appeared on stage with her classic 90s style, midriff out and absolutely killed it.
Belinda Carlisle - Heaven Is a Place on Earth (Sanremo 1988)
The queen herself Belinda Carlisle rocked out and gave that performance everything she had (even if she was forced to lip sync)! On YouTube an upload has over 12 million views, turns out a lot of people remember this iconic performance and circle back to it. They don't make pop-rock like they used to!
Ed Sheeran - Sing & Thinking Out Loud (Sanremo 2015)
Ed Sheeran was off the back of his internationally successful album X released in the year prior and took his moment on the Italian stage well. The album is triple platinum in Italy and spent four years on the charts. It was inevitable that one day he would show up on the stage of the Ariston Theatre.
Robbie Williams - She's the One (Sanremo 2000)
The list just keeps going! 5 years after Take That appeared at the festival singing the hit Sure, Robbie wound up back at the festival during his solo, wilderness era. He opted to perform the saccharine She's the One which peaked at #8 on the Italian music charts.
Spice Girls - Wannabe and Say You'll Be There (Sanremo 1997)
The girls brought their usual kitsch, fun and upbeat selves to the Northern Italian stage in the late 90s. Wannabe and Say You'll Be There came from their iconic debut studio album Spice. The latter song unfortunately never made a splash on the Italian charts. The performance ended in Mel B proclaiming "What do we do now?" and the host replying "Girls, you can go home now". Iconic.
Bee Gees - Alone (Sanremo 1997)
An iconic group which has withstood the test of time - Aussies everywhere proclaim our stake in the group which immigrated here as children. They too, have had their moment on the Sanremo stage with the dreamy song Alone.
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