Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019

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Italy in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2019
Eurovision Song Contest 2019
Participating broadcaster Radiotelevisione italiana (RAI)
CountryFlag of Italy.svg  Italy
Selection process Sanremo Music Festival 2019
Selection date9 February 2019
Competing entry
Song" Soldi "
Artist Mahmood
Songwriters
Placement
Final result2nd, 472 points
Participation chronology
◄201820192020►

Italy was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song " Soldi ", written by Charlie Charles, Dario "Dardust" Faini, and Alessandro Mahmoud, and performed by Mahmoud himself. The Italian participating broadcaster, Radiotelevisione italiana (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 Italy at the contest.

Contents

Background

Prior to the 2019 contest, Radiotelevisione italiana (RAI) had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Italy forty-four times since its first entry during the inaugural contest in 1956. [1] Since then, it has won the contest on two occasions: in 1964 with the song " Non ho l'età " performed by Gigliola Cinquetti, and in 1990 with " Insieme: 1992 " by Toto Cutugno. RAI has withdrawn from the contest a number of times with its most recent absence spanning from 1998 until 2010. Their return in 2011 with the song "Madness of Love", performed by Raphael Gualazzi, placed second—their highest result, to this point, since their victory in 1990. In 2018, " Non mi avete fatto niente " performed by Ermal Meta and Fabrizio Moro, placed fifth with 308 points.

As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, RAI organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country. The broadcaster confirmed its participation in the 2019 contest on 5 October 2018. [2] Between 2011 and 2013, RAI used the Sanremo Music Festival as an artist selection pool where a special committee would select one of the competing artist, independent of the results in the competition, as the Eurovision entrant. The selected entrant was then responsible for selecting the song they would compete with. For 2014, RAI forwent using the Sanremo Music Festival artist lineup and internally selected its entry. Since 2015, the winning artist of the Sanremo Music Festival is rewarded with the opportunity to represent Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest, although in 2016 the winner declined and RAI appointed the runner-up as the Italian entrant.

Before Eurovision

Sanremo Music Festival 2019

On 20 November 2018, RAI confirmed that the performer that would represent Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 would be selected from the competing artists at the Sanremo Music Festival 2019. [3] According to the rules of Sanremo 2019, the winner of the festival earns the right to represent Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest, but in case the artist is not available or refuses the offer, the organisers of the event reserve the right to choose another participant via their own criteria. The competition took place between 5–9 February 2019 with the winner being selected on the last day of the festival. [3]

Twenty four artists competed in Sanremo 2019. Two of the twenty four competing artists (Einar and Mahmood respectively) were selected in the standalone Sanremo Newcomers competition that was held in December 2018. Among the competing artists were former Eurovision entrants Il Volo, who represented Italy in 2015. The performers were: [4]

ArtistSongSongwriter(s)
Achille Lauro "Rolls Royce" Achille Lauro, Davide Petrella, Daniele Deizi, Daniele Mungai, Edoardo Manozzi
Anna Tatangelo "Le nostre anime di notte" Lorenzo Vizzini
Arisa " Mi sento bene " Alessandra Flora, Matteo Buzzanca, Lorenzo Vizzini, Rosalba Pippa
Boomdabash "Per un milione" Federica Abbate, Cheope, Rocco Pagliarulo, Angelo Cisternino, Alessandro Merli, Fabio Clemente
Daniele Silvestri "Argentovivo" Daniele Silvestri, Tarek "Rancore" Iurcich, Fabio Rondanini, Manuel Agnelli
Einar "Parole nuove"Tony Maiello, Enrico Palmosi, Nicola Marotta
Enrico Nigiotti "Nonno Hollywood" Enrico Nigiotti
Ex-Otago "Solo una canzone"Maurizio Carucci, Simone Bertuccini, Olmo Martellacci, Francesco Bacci, Rachid Bouchabla
Federica Carta and Shade "Senza farlo apposta"Jacopo Ettore, Giacomo Roggia, Vito "Shade" Ventura
Francesco Renga "Aspetto che torni" Bungaro, Francesco Renga, Cesare Chiodo, Rakele, Giacomo Runco
Ghemon "Rose viola" Giovanni Luca Picariello, Stefano Tognini
Il Volo "Musica che resta" Antonello Carozza, Emilio Munda, Gianna Nannini, Pasquale Mammaro, Piero Romitelli
Irama "La ragazza con il cuore di latta"Giuseppe Colonnelli, Andrea Debernardi, Filippo Maria Fanti, Giulio Nenna
Loredana Bertè " Cosa ti aspetti da me "Gaetano Curreri, Gerardo Pulli, Piero Romitelli
Motta "Dov'è l'Italia" Francesco Motta
Mahmood " Soldi " Charlie Charles, Dario "Dardust" Faini, Alessandro Mahmoud
Negrita "I ragazzi stanno bene"Paolo Bruni, Cesare Petricich, Enrico Salvi, Guglielmo Ridolfo Gagliano, Lorenzo Cilembrini, Francesco Barbacci
Nek "Mi farò trovare pronto" Filippo Neviani, Luca Chiaravalli, Paolo Antonacci
Nino D'Angelo and Livio Cori "Un'altra luce" Nino D'Angelo, Livio Cori, Big Fish, Francesco Fogliano, Mario Fracchiolla
Paola Turci "L'ultimo ostacolo"Edwyn Roberts, Stefano Marletta, Luca Chiaravalli, Paola Turci
Patty Pravo feat. Briga "Un po' come la vita"Zibba, Marco Rettani, Diego Calvetti, Mattia "Briga" Bellegrandi, Luca Lenori
Simone Cristicchi "Abbi cura di me" Simone Cristicchi, Nicola Brunialti, Gabriele Ortenzi
Ultimo "I tuoi particolari" Niccolò Moriconi
Zen Circus "L'amore è una dittatura"Andre Appino, Massimiliano Schiavelli, Karim Qqru

Final

The 24 Big Artists each performed their entry again for a final time on 9 February 2019. A combination of public televoting (50%), press jury voting (30%) and expert jury voting (20%) selected the top three to face a superfinal vote, then the winner of Sanremo 2019 was decided. Mahmood was declared the winner of the contest with the song "Soldi". During the press conference that followed the final, Mahmood accepted to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest. [5] However, in an interview to La Stampa published on 11 February 2019, Mahmood stated that he was reconsidering his acceptance as he and his management had to consider "how much work it entails". [6] [7] Finally, on 12 February 2019, Mahmood confirmed his participation at the Eurovision Song Contest via his social media. [8]

Final – 9 February 2019
Draw [9] ArtistSongExpert Jury
(20%)
Press Jury
(30%)
Televote
(50%)
AveragePlace
1 Daniele Silvestri "Argentovivo"2395.87%6
2 Anna Tatangelo "Le nostre anime di notte"1818181.08%22
3 Ghemon "Rose viola"59173.16%12
4 Negrita "I ragazzi stanno bene"1018211.55%20
5 Ultimo "I tuoi particolari"76112.92%2
6 Nek "Mi farò trovare pronto"1720141.49%19
7 Loredana Bertè "Cosa ti aspetti da me"61310.35%4
8 Francesco Renga "Aspetto che torni"1817131.65%15
9 Mahmood " Soldi "12713.30%1
10 Ex-Otago "Sola una canzone"811162.58%13
11 Il Volo "Musica che resta"211329.48%3
12 Paola Turci "L'ultimo ostacolo"916152.11%16
13 Zen Circus "L'amore è una dittatura"1212191.75%17
14 Patty Pravo feat. Briga "Un po' come la vita"1821220.85%21
15 Arisa " Mi sento bene "34124.95%8
16 Irama "La ragazza con il cuore di latta"121045.60%7
17 Achille Lauro "Rolls Royce"12784.09%9
18 Nino D'Angelo and Livio Cori "Un'altra luce"2123200.72%24
19 Federica Carta and Shade "Senza farlo apposta"2121111.52%18
20 Simone Cristicchi "Abbi cura di me"12456.01%5
21 Enrico Nigiotti "Nonno Hollywood"12863.53%10
22 Boomdabash "Per un milione"1115102.55%11
23 Einar "Parole nuove"2123230.68%23
24 Motta "Dov'e l'Italia"414242.23%14
Superfinal – 9 February 2019
DrawArtistSongJury
(50%)
Televote
(50%)
TotalPlace
1 Ultimo "I tuoi particolari"24.7%48.80%35.6%2
2 Il Volo "Musica che resta"11.6%30.26%25.5%3
3 Mahmood " Soldi "63.7%20.95%38.9%1

At Eurovision

The Eurovision Song Contest 2019 took place at Expo Tel Aviv in Tel Aviv, Israel and consisted of two semi-finals on 14 and 16 May and the final on 18 May 2019. [10] According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. As a member of the "Big Five", Italy automatically qualified to compete in the final. In addition to their participation in the final, Italy is also required to broadcast and vote in one of the two semi-finals (the second one this year).

Voting

Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding two sets of points from 1–8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member, as well as the nation's televoting results, were released shortly after the grand final. [11]

Points awarded to Italy

Points awarded to Italy (Final) [12]
ScoreTelevoteJury
12 points
10 points
8 points
7 points
6 points
5 points
4 pointsFlag of Spain.svg  Spain
3 points
2 pointsFlag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic
1 point

Points awarded by Italy

Detailed voting results

The following members comprised the Italian jury: [11]

  • Elisabetta Esposito (jury chairperson) journalist
  • Annie Mazzola  [ it ] digital entertainer
  • Mauro Severoni audio engineer manager
  • Adriano Pennini maestro (jury member in semi-final 2)
  • Stefania Zizzari (jury member in the final)
  • Paolo Biamonte journalist
Detailed voting results from Italy (Semi-final 2) [13]
DrawCountryJuryTelevote
E. EspositoA. MazzolaM. SeveroniA. PenniniP. BiamonteRankPointsRankPoints
01Flag of Armenia.svg  Armenia 78912121215
02Flag of Ireland.svg  Ireland 392413816
03Flag of Moldova.svg  Moldova 1210411161165
04Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Switzerland 16121610111556
05Flag of Latvia.svg  Latvia 211105146517
06Flag of Romania.svg  Romania 116781092210
07Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 1313811211
08Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 1351213131314
09Flag of Austria.svg  Austria 14181314210118
10Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia 17171818171813
11Flag of Malta.svg  Malta 4132621092
12Flag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania 815151671412
13Flag of Russia.svg  Russia 18141115181647
14Flag of Albania.svg  Albania 61369583112
15Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 15161717151738
16Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 9714637483
17Flag of North Macedonia.svg  North Macedonia 5281947101
18Flag of Azerbaijan.svg  Azerbaijan 1045745674
Detailed voting results from Italy (Final) [12]
DrawCountryJuryTelevote
E. EspositoA. MazzolaM. SeveroniS. ZizzariP. BiamonteRankPointsRankPoints
01Flag of Malta.svg  Malta 312763816
02Flag of Albania.svg  Albania 16106137101112
03Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic 5617687422
04Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 17201917101825
05Flag of Russia.svg  Russia 23211422242338
06Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 1313111274
07Flag of San Marino.svg  San Marino 25252224252521
08Flag of North Macedonia.svg  North Macedonia 2252321012
09Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 74135179217
10Flag of Slovenia.svg  Slovenia 2022820191618
11Flag of Cyprus.svg  Cyprus 12191516201920
12Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 1113121591265
13Flag of Greece.svg  Greece 24231018121523
14Flag of Israel.svg  Israel 1014188131115
15Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 14152491513210
16Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 19162019212224
17Flag of Iceland.svg  Iceland 21181125232147
18Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia 6594116514
19Flag of Belarus.svg  Belarus 13112312181419
20Flag of Azerbaijan.svg  Azerbaijan 8741547101
21Flag of France.svg  France 9871148392
22Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
23Flag of Serbia.svg  Serbia 15171621162013
24Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Switzerland 18122114141783
25Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 4931025656
26Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 22242523222411

References

  1. "Italy Country Profile". EBU . Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  2. "Italy: RAI confirms participation in Eurovision 2019". esctoday.com. 5 October 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  3. 1 2 Robyn, Gallagher (20 November 2018). "Italy: RAI releases show format of Sanremo 2019, including 24 acts and no eliminations". wiwibloggs.com. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  4. Jiandani, Sergio (Sanjay) (22 December 2018). "Italy: Sanremo 2019 finalists unveiled; Il Volo are back in the competition!". esctoday.com. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  5. Scarpone, Cristian (10 February 2019). "Mahmood wins Sanremo with "Soldi" and will represent Italy at Eurovision 2019". wiwibloggs.com. Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  6. Panavello, Roberto (11 February 2019). "Mahmood: "Italiano al cento per cento, ma all'Eurovision non so se ci andrò"". La Stampa (in Italian). Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  7. Gallagher, Robyn (11 February 2019). "Italy: Mahmood performs studio version of "Soldi" on Italian television". wiwibloggs.com. Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  8. Luukela, Sami (12 February 2019). "Italy: Mahmood confirms Eurovision 2019 participation with "Soldi"". esxtra.com. Escxtra. Archived from the original on 13 February 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  9. Rossino, Federico (9 February 2019). "Sanremo 2019: la scaletta della quinta serata. Apre Silvestri, ultimo Motta" . Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  10. "Tel Aviv to host Eurovision 2019! - Eurovision Song Contest Israel 2019". eurovision.tv. 13 September 2018. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  11. 1 2 Groot, Evert (30 April 2019). "Exclusive: They are the judges who will vote in Eurovision 2019!". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  12. 1 2 3 "Results of the Grand Final of Tel Aviv 2019". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 2 April 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  13. 1 2 "Results of the Second Semi-Final of Tel Aviv 2019". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 2 April 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2021.