Three major voting changes to the San Marino 1 in 360 national final

The organisers of the San Marinese national final have announced changes to the voting system ahead of the final on Saturday 3rd March 2018.

No Zoë

The first major change is the removal of Zoë Straub from the expert panel. This change was brought about after fans questioned whether Zoë should be judging the songs considering she wrote most of them.  This means she will only be able to offer feedback and guidance to the participants.

Equal split of public and jury vote

The next change is the now 50/50 split between the public and jury vote.  Previously the weighting of the public vote was based a very complicated proportional system based on the number of votes received.

The PayPal and Global Rockstar crowdfunding system

The final change is to the way in which the public vote.  Previously, voters could either pay to vote via PayPal or through the Global Rockstar crowdfunding page.  This meant voters could pay a minimum of €1 in order to vote for their favourite act, and become small investors in each song/project.
The organisers have now amended this and limited the vote through the Global Rockstar crowdfunding platform.  The minimum is now set at €20 and a maximum of €8000 per song.  The organisers have said that this cost is to ensure the process is “immune to abuse” and that an investment is “not lost money” as royalties will be generated by the song.

The announcement of Twitter

This announcement came via the 1 in 360 twitter account.  The full announcement can be seen here:

The fans spoke, and we listened. Please see attached for updated voting rules for the #1in360 finals. See you there. pic.twitter.com/V1xBRN76XT

— 1in360 (@1in360talent) February 19, 2018

The 1in360 participants

The eleven acts and their songs that will compete for the right to represent San Marino in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 are:

• Emma Sandström (“Diamonds”)
• Giovanni Montalbano (“Per quello che mi dai”)
• Irol (“Sorry”)
• Sara de Blue (“Out of the Twilight”)
• Franklin Calleja (“Stay”)
• Jessika Muscat (“Who We Are”)
• Judah Gavra (“Stay”)
• Tinashe Makura (“Free Yourself”)
• Camilla North (“Yo no soy tu chica”)
• Basti (“Stay”)
• Jenifer Brening (“Until the Morning Light”)

San Marino in the Eurovision Song Contest

San Marino have participated in the Eurovision Song Contest eight times since they first participated in 2008. Their best result was achieved in 2014, with Valentina Monetta’s “Maybe”. It’s the only San Marinese song to take part in a Eurovision final, but achieved only 24th place with 14 points.
Last year, Valentina Monetta & Jimmie Wilson represented San Marino with “Spirit of the Night”. Unfortunately, they came in last place in the semifinal, scoring only 1 point, which came from the German televoters.
What do you think about the changes? Will this now make things a little more transparent? Which is your favourite out of all the contestants?
Let us know in the comments below and on social media @ESCXTRA!