Italy's Sanremo Music Festival kicked off this but the current favourite to win has Eurovision fans scratching their heads.
The 75th edition of Sanremo is two nights in and the favourites are starting to rise to the top.
So far there have been two nights of the five-day festival.
Night 1 saw all 29 acts perform with a top five revealed based on press jury (50%) and radio jury (50%).
The top five of night 1 were:
Brunori Sas
Giorgia
Lucio Corsi
Simone Cristicchi
Achille Lauro
Many fans were not expecting these group of five.
Today, was night 2 where 15 of the acts performed with a top five revealed based on televote (34%), combined press jury (33%) and radio jury (33%).
The top five of night 2 were:
Giorgia
Simone Cristicchi
Fedez
Achille Lauro
Lucio Corsi
The biggest surprises over the two nights have been Lucio Corsi, Brunori Sas and Simone Cristicchi.
None of these acts were in the top five of the odds going into Sanremo.
And the biggest mover of them all? Simone Cristicchi.
Simone Cristicchi becomes the favourite
Simone was sixth favourite with a 6% chance of winning at the start of the week.
He is now THE favourite with a 20% chance of taking out the title.
This is despite being 19th among Eurovision fans according to My Eurovision Scoreboard.
But why is Simone Cristicch the favourite?
For Eurovision fans from outside Italy, he seems the unlikely favourite.
The 48-year-old won Sanremo in 2007 and it appeared his most successful years were behind him.
However, his song Quando sarai piccola (Translation When You Feel Weak) has struck a chord with the audience in the theatre and at home.
It's a song dedicated to his mother and her illness and the role reversal of a child caring for their parent.
"When our parents grow old, they turn somewhat back to being children," he explained.
"We find ourselves having to care for them with the same attention one would give to their own child,"
The lyrics include lines such as:
I, who barely know how to make breakfast, will set dinner up / I'll repeat your name a thousand times until you remember it / And... It's just another day with you / To give you back all the good you gave me
And a powerful end to the song:
When you feel weak, I'll hold you really tight / So not even death frightens you / You'll give me your hand, I'll kiss / your forehead / Now it's too late, be a good girl / Sleep well.
It explores universal themes many can relate to whether their parent has Alzheimer's, dementia or any other condition impacting their lives.
The audience and TV host brought to tears
At the conclusion of the performance, many of the glamorous audience members were reduced to tears while giving Simone a standing ovation.
In an interview with Simone, host of PrimaFestival Gabriele Corsi became emotional speaking about the song.
"While listening to you during rehearsals, there wasn’t anyone who didn’t get emotional," he said.
“There are those who say shared pain is lighter. I don’t know if that's true, but I simply say thank you.”
Gabriele took a moment to recover before embracing Simone.
So will the emotion and universal themes take Simone to his second Sanremo victory and possibly to Eurovision?
We will find out on Sunday morning in Australia.
More on Sanremo:
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