Italy has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 48 times since making its debut as one of only seven countries to compete at the first contest in 1956, which took inspiration from the Sanremo Music Festival. Italy competed at the contest without interruption until 1980, discontinuing its participation on a number of occasions during the 1980s and 1990s. After a 13-year absence starting in 1998, the country returned to the contest in 2011. Italy has won the contest three times, along with an additional 16 top-five finishes. Italy hosted the contest in Naples (1965), Rome (1991) and Turin (2022).
On 2 December 2010, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) announced that Italy would compete in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011, set to be held in Düsseldorf, Germany. Italy returned to the contest after a 13-year absence, having last competed in the 1997 contest. The entry was organised by Italian broadcaster Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI) and finished second after the winning song from Azerbaijan.
Sweden participated in and won the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the song "Euphoria" written by Thomas G:son and Peter Boström. The song was performed by Loreen. The Swedish broadcaster Sveriges Television (SVT) organised the national final Melodifestivalen 2012 in order to select the Swedish entry for the 2012 contest in Baku, Azerbaijan. After a six-week-long competition consisting of four heats, a Second Chance round and a final, "Euphoria" performed by Loreen emerged as the winner after achieving the highest score following the combination of votes from eleven international jury groups and a public vote.
France participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the song "Echo " written by William Rousseau, Jean-Pierre Pilot and Anggun. The song was performed by Anggun. The French broadcaster France Télévisions in collaboration with the television channel France 3 internally selected the French entry for the 2012 contest in Baku, Azerbaijan. Anggun was officially announced by France 3 as the French entrant on 29 November 2011 and later the song was presented to the public as the contest entry during a press conference on 29 January 2012.
The Sanremo Music Festival 2012, officially the 62nd Italian Song Festival, was the 62nd annual Sanremo Music Festival. It was held at the Teatro Ariston in Sanremo, province of Imperia, during the five nights between 14 February 2012 and 18 February 2012, and it was broadcast by Rai 1.
Maria Chiara Fraschetta, better known by her stage name Nina Zilli, is an Italian singer-songwriter. After releasing her debut single "50mila", she achieved commercial success with the album Sempre lontano, released after participating in the newcomers' section of the Sanremo Music Festival 2010. During the Sanremo Music Festival 2012, Zilli was chosen to represent Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan, where she placed 9th with the song "L'amore è femmina ", included in her second studio album. Zilli returned to the Sanremo Music Festival in 2015, and competed with the song "Sola" from her upcoming album, Frasi&Fumo. She was also a judge of Italia's Got Talent from 2015 to 2017.
"Per sempre" is a song by Italian singer Nina Zilli, released in 2012 as the lead single from her second studio album, L'amore è femmina.
L'amore è femmina is the second studio album by Italian recording artist Nina Zilli, released in Italy on 15 February 2012, following her participation in the 62nd Sanremo Music Festival with the song "Per sempre", chosen as the lead single from the album. The second single and title track, "L'amore è femmina", was chosen as the official song entry for Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest 2012, which was held in Baku, Azerbaijan.
"L'amore è femmina" is a song recorded by Italian singer-songwriter Nina Zilli for her second studio album of the same title. It was produced by Michele Canova and written by Zilli herself with American songwriter Charlie Mason and Swedish songwriters Christian Rabb, Kristoffer Sjökvist and Frida Molander. The song was selected by the Italian Broadcaster RAI to represent Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012, which was held in Baku, Azerbaijan. During the contest, it was performed in English-Italian language, titled "L'amore è femmina ".
Italy participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö, Sweden. The Italian entry was selected through an internal selection with the artist being selected by a special committee from the participants of the Sanremo Music Festival 2013 and the song selection being carried out by the artist. Marco Mengoni represented Italy with the song "L'essenziale", which placed 7th and scored 126 points in the final.
Italy participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Their entry was selected internally by the Italian broadcaster Radiotelevisione italiana (RAI). Emma represented Italy with the song "La mia città". In the final, Italy placed 21st, scoring 33 points.
Italy participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Grande amore", written by Ciro Esposito and Francesco Boccia. The song was performed by the male operatic pop trio Il Volo. Italian broadcaster RAI announced in September 2014 that the winning performer(s) of the Sanremo Music Festival 2015 would have the right to represent the nation at the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria. The selected performer would also be given the right to choose their own song to compete with at Eurovision. In February 2015, Il Volo emerged as the winners of Sanremo with the song "Grande amore". The trio accepted the invitation to represent Italy at Eurovision and decided that "Grande amore" would be their contest entry.
Italian singer-songwriter Nina Zilli has released four studio albums, an extended play and sixteen singles. She released her debut extended play, Nina Zilli, in September 2009. It peaked at number 54 on the Italian Albums Chart. The EP includes the singles "50mila" and "L'inferno". She released her debut studio album, Sempre lontano, in February 2010. It peaked at number 5 on the Italian Albums Chart. The album includes the singles "L'uomo che amava le donne" and "Bacio d'a(d)dio". She released her second studio album, L'amore è femmina, in 15 February 2012. It peaked at number 11 on the Italian Albums Chart. The album includes the singles "Per sempre", "L'amore è femmina", "Per le strade" and "Una notte". Zilli was chosen to represent Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan, where she placed 9th with the song "L'amore è femmina ". She released her third studio album, Frasi & fumo, in February 2015. It peaked at number 15 on the Italian Albums Chart. The album includes the singles "Sola" and "#RLL ". She released her fourth studio album, Modern Art, in September 2017. It peaked at number 17 on the Italian Albums Chart. The album includes the singles "Mi hai fatto fare tardi", "Domani arriverà ", "Senza appartenere", "1xUnattimo" and "Ti amo mi uccidi".
Italy participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "No Degree of Separation" written by Federica Abbate, Francesca Michielin, Cheope, Fabio Gargiulo and Norma Jean Martine. The song was performed by Francesca Michielin. Italian broadcaster Radiotelevisione italiana (RAI) announced in October 2015 that the winning performer(s) of the Big Artists section of the Sanremo Music Festival 2016 would have the right to represent the nation at the Eurovision Song Contest in Stockholm, Sweden. The selected performer would also be given the right to choose their own song to compete with at Eurovision. The group Stadio ended up winning the Big Artists section, however they declined the opportunity to represent Italy in Stockholm. RAI then appointed the runner-up, Francesca Michielin, as the Italian entrant. Michielin performed a bilingual Italian and English version of her Sanremo runner-up entry "Nessun grado di separazione", which was titled "No Degree of Separation" at the Eurovision Song Contest 2016.
Italy participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Occidentali's Karma", written by Francesco Gabbani, Filippo Gabbani, Luca Chiaravalli and Fabio Ilacqua. The song was performed by Francesco Gabbani. Italian broadcaster Radiotelevisione italiana (RAI) announced in October 2016 that the winning performer(s) of the Big Artists section of the Sanremo Music Festival 2017 would earn the right to represent the nation at the Eurovision Song Contest in Kyiv, Ukraine. The selected performer would also be given the right to choose their own song to compete with at Eurovision. In February 2017, Francesco Gabbani emerged as the winner of Sanremo with the song "Occidentali's Karma". The artist accepted the invitation to represent Italy at Eurovision and decided that "Occidentali's Karma" would be his contest entry.
The Sanremo Music Festival 2018, officially the 68th Italian Song Festival, was the 68th annual Sanremo Music Festival, a television song contest held in the Teatro Ariston of Sanremo and organised and broadcast by RAI.
Italy participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018. Italian broadcaster RAI announced in October 2017 that the winning performer(s) of the Big Artists section of the Sanremo Music Festival 2018 would earn the right to represent the nation at the Eurovision Song Contest in Lisbon, Portugal.
Italy participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019. Italian broadcaster RAI announced in November 2018 that the winning performer(s) of the Sanremo Music Festival 2019, later turning out to be Mahmood with "Soldi", would earn the right to represent the nation at the Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Italy participated in and won the Eurovision Song Contest 2021. Italian broadcaster RAI announced in October 2020 that the winning performer(s) of the Sanremo Music Festival 2021, later turning out to be Måneskin with "Zitti e buoni", would earn the right to represent the nation at the Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Måneskin eventually became the sixty-eighth winner of the Eurovision Song Contest and the first Italian entry to win the contest in 31 years. Italy received a total of 524 points, winning the public vote with 318 points and coming at fourth place in the jury vote with 206 points.
Italy hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, having won the previous edition with "Zitti e buoni" by Måneskin. Italian broadcaster RAI announced that the winning performer(s) of the Sanremo Music Festival 2022, later turning out to be Mahmood and Blanco with "Brividi", would earn the right to represent the nation at the contest. As both the host country and a member of the "Big Five", Italy automatically qualified to the final.
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