🇮🇹 Italy: Sanremo 2021 Campioni line-up announced

Earlier this week, Italian broadcaster RAI announced that 26 acts will be taking part in the Campioni category at the 2021 Festival di Sanremo. As previously speculated, the lin-up features many returning artists to the festival, including Eurovision alums Ermal Meta and Francesca Michielin.

The acts taking part in the Campioni category of the festival were announced last night, live in the Sanremo Casino and broadcast on Rai 1. The festival itself is scheduled to be held between March 2 and 6 2021, later than the usual February dates. The winner will have first refusal to represent Italy at Eurovision 2021.

The 26 artists, in alphabetical order, are as follows:

• Aiello – Ora (Now)
• Annalisa – Dieci (Ten)
• Arisa – Potevi fare di più (You could have done more)
• Bugo – E invece sì (Instead yes)
• Colapesce e Dimartino – Musica leggerissima (Very light music)
• Coma_Cose – Fiamme negli occhi (Flames in the eyes)
• Ermal Meta – Un milione di cose da dirti (A million things to tell you)
• Extraliscio feat. Davide Toffolo – Esordienti (Beginners)
• Fasma – Parlami (Talk to me)
• Francesca Michielin e Fedez – Chiamami per nome (Call me by name)
• Francesco Renga – Quando trovo te (When I find you)
• Fulminacci – Santa Marinella
• Gaia – Cuore amaro (Bitter heart)
• Ghemon – Momento perfetto (Perfect moment)
• Gio Evan – Arnica
• Irama – La genesi del tuo colore (The genesis of your colour)
• La Rappresentante di Lista – Amare (To love)
• Lo Stato Sociale – Combat Pop
• Madame – Voce (Voice)
• Malika Ayane – Ti piaci così (You like yourself like that)
• Måneskin – Zitti e buoni (Silent and good)
• Max Gazzè e Trifluoperazina Monstery Band – Il farmacista (The pharmacist)
• Noemi – Glicine (Wisteria)
• Orietta Berti – Quando ti sei innamorato (When you fell in love)
• Random – Torno a te (I come back to you)
• Willie Peyote – Mai dire mai (La locura) (Never say never (The madness))

Mahmood returns…as a songwriter

According to All Music Italia, Mahmood is once again returning to the festival…via the songwriting credits. Having co-written Elodie’s “Andromeda” for this year’s festival, he now has 2 confirmed credits.

So far, he is credited as a co-writer on Francesca Michielin & Fedez’s song “Chiamami per nome” (Call me by name). He is also credited as the writer of Noemi’s “Glicine” (Wisteria). Considering the popularity of Elodie’s entry last year, these could be songs to look out for.

Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest

Italy were amongst the seven countries that took part in the inaugural Eurovision Song Contest in 1956. Before their first win, Italy scored two third place finishes in 1958 and 1963. Italy’s first win came in 1964 with Gigliola Cinquetti’s “Non ho l’età” in 1964 which won the contest in Copenhagen with 49 points. Their next top three didn’t come until 1974 – again with Gigliola Cinquetti. “Si” finished in 2nd place, behind Sweden’s ABBA.

In 1990, Toto Cutugno became Italy’s second, and most recent, winner with “Insieme: 1992”. It won the contest with 149 points. Italy took part a further 4 times in the 1990s, before taking a 13-year break from the contest from 1998 to 2010.

They returned to the contest in 2011 and has since finished in the top three on three occasions – 2nd in 2011, 3rd in 2015 and 2nd in 2019. Diodato was selected to represent Italy in 2020 with “Fai rumore” before the contest was cancelled.

What do you think about the line up? Who would you like to see win Sanremo 2021? Let us know! Be sure to stay updated by following @ESCXTRA on Twitter, @escxtra on Instagram and liking our Facebook page for the latest updates! Also, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to see our reactions to the news in the upcoming months.