RAI have revealed the full results of the 72nd Festival di Sanremo. 2019 Eurovision runner-up Mahmood, alongside Blanco, won the show with their Brividi. They were crowned the winners after a long show, just before 02:00 AM Italian time. The victory was not surprising in itself, with both predictions and Spotify streams pointing in this direction. However, we can now see just how dominant the victory was and how all juries voted…
First night: A Mahmood and Blanco triumph
On the first night, twelve acts took the stage in Italy. Mahmood and Blanco showed their supremacy here already. Only the press could vote on this night and with three different categories, written press/TV, radio and web, Brividi emerged victorious in two of them. Only La Rappresentante di Lista could stop them somewhat: They ranked first with the Written Press/TV vote. The juries agreed on quite a few placings. It’s just Massimo Ranieri who scored surprisingly well in the Web vote, finishing third. Ana Mena finished last with all juries.
| Night one ranking | Written press/TV | Radio | Web |
| 1. Mahmood & Blanco – Brividi | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 2. La Rappresentante di Lista – Ciao, ciao | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| 3. Dargen D’Amico – Dove si balla | 3 | 6 | 3 |
| 4. Gianni Morandi – Apri tutte le porte | 5 | 2 | 5 |
| 5. Massimo Ranieri – Lettera al di là del mare | 4 | 8 | 3 |
| 6. Noemi – Ti amo, non lo so dire | 8 | 4 | 7 |
| 7. Michele Bravi – Inverno dei fiori | 6 | 10 | 6 |
| 8. Rkomi – Insuperabile | 7 | 9 | 8 |
| 9. Achille Lauro ft. Harlem Gospel Choir – Domenica | 9 | 5 | 9 |
| 10. Giusy Ferreri – Miele | 11 | 7 | 10 |
| 11. Yuman – Ora e qui | 10 | 11 | 11 |
| 12. Ana Mena – Duecentomila ore | 12 | 12 | 12 |
Second night: Elisa reigns supreme
On the second night, the same juries came into action. The remaining twelve acts showcased their songs for the very first time. This time, the juries were unanimous in their top pick: 2001 winner Elisa topped all votes with her O forse sei tu. Eurovision 2014 laureate Emma, conducted by Francesca Michielin, also scored a podium spot in all votes. Thanks to finishing second twice, Ditonellapiaga and Rettore claimed third. Once again, the juries were unanimous in their verdict for last place, with Tananai finishing last all-round.
| Night two ranking | Written press/TV | Radio | Web |
| 1. Elisa – O forse sei tu | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2. Emma – Ogni volta è cosi | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| 3. Ditonellapiaga & Rettore – Chimica | 2 | 6 | 2 |
| 4. Irama – Ovunque sarai | 6 | 3 | 4 |
| 5. Fabrizio Moro – Sei tu | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| 6. Giovanni Truppi – Tuo padre, mia madre, Lucia | 4 | 11 | 7 |
| 7. Sangiovanni – Farfalle | 7 | 4 | 5 |
| 8. Matteo Romano – Virale | 9 | 6 | 10 |
| 9. HighSnob & Hu – Abbi cura di te | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| 10. Iva Zanicchi – Voglio amarti | 10 | 12 | 9 |
| 11. Aka 7Even – Perfetta così | 11 | 9 | 12 |
| 12. Le Vibrazioni – Tantissimo | 12 | 9 | 11 |
| 13. Tananai – Sesso occasionale | 13 | 13 | 13 |
Third night: A Sanremo televote landslide in the making
The third night of the Festival di Sanremo was the first time where all acts performed on one marathon evening. Mahmood and Blanco once again emerged victorious, but this time, the surge of Gianni Morandi was on for real. The 77-year old veteran came in a surprise second place – emerging as a dark horse for victory. Elisa once again did incredibly well with the juries, winning both the press and the demoscopic jury.
Televoting also started and they did not mess about: Nearly a quarter of all votes went to Brividi.
| Night three ranking | Jury | Demoscopic 1000 | Televote |
| 1. Mahmood & Blanco – Brividi | 2 | 2 | 1 (24,9%) |
| 2. Gianni Morandi – Apri tutte le porte | 5 | 3 | 2 (9,6%) |
| 3. Elisa – O forse sei tu | 1 | 1 | 4 (8,5%) |
| 4. Irama – Ovunque sarai | 9 | 5 | 3 (8,5%) |
| 5. Sangiovani – Farfalle | 13 | 10 | 5 (5,8%) |
| 6. Emma – Ogni volta è cosi | 6 | 4 | 9 (4,0%) |
| 7. Fabrizio Moro – Sei tu | 10 | 8 | 6 (4,3%) |
| 8. Massimo Ranieri – Lettera al di là del mare | 8 | 11 | 7 (4,2%) |
| 9. Michele Bravi – Inverno dei fiori | 14 | 12 | 8 (4,2%) |
| 10. Aka 7Even – Perfetta così | 21 | 16 | 10 (3,5%) |
| 11. Dargen D’Amico – Dove si balla | 4 | 9 | 11 (3,1%) |
| 12. La Rappresentante di Lista – Ciao ciao | 3 | 7 | 12 (2,6%) |
| 13. Ditonellapiaga & Rettore – Chimica | 7 | 14 | 15 (2,1%) |
| 14. Achille Lauro ft. Harlem Gospel Choir – Domenica | 16 | 17 | 14 (2,2%) |
| 15. Rkomi – Insuperabile | 15 | 22 | 13 (2,4%) |
| 16. Matteo Romano – Vitale | 17 | 13 | 16 (1,8%) |
| 17. Noemi – Ti amo, non lo se dire | 12 | 6 | 20 (1,0%) |
| 18. Iva Zanicchi – Voglio amarti | 20 | 18 | 17 (1,5%) |
| 19. Highsnob & Hu – Abbi cura di te | 18 | 21 | 19 (1,0%) |
| 20. Le Vibrazioni – Tantissimo | 22 | 15 | 24 (0,6%) |
| 21. Ana Mena – Duecentomila ore | 25 | 24 | 18 (1,1%) |
| 22. Yuman – Ora e qui | 23 | 19 | 23 (0,7%) |
| 23. Giusy Ferreri – Miele | 19 | 20 | 22 (0,8%) |
| 24. Giovanni Truppi – Tuo padre, mia madre, Lucia | 11 | 23 | 21 (1,0%) |
| 25. Tananai – Sesso occasionale | 24 | 25 | 25 (0,6%) |
Final night: Elisa scrapes through as Mahmood and Blanco dominate
Night four was the night of covers. We’ve ommitted the full results of that night in our article, but Gianni Morandi was the big winner there. His victory there meant he was in a good position to make the superfinal on Saturday, the final night.
In the end, the following votings were taken into account for the final ranking on Saturday:
- Press jury (First and second night)
- Demoscopic jury (Third night)
- Press jury, demoscopic jury and televote (Fourth night)
- Televote (Fifth night, stage one)
Eventually, the three favourites made the superfinal. Mahmood and Blanco were the clear runaway winners, with Gianni Morandi finding himself in a solid second place. Due to her televote battle with Irama, it was Elisa who had the most nail biting result here. Eventually, O forse sei tu scraped through, knocking Irama out at the last second.
In the table below, the second column represents the ranking before the final night. This ranking, along with the televote of night five, decided on the superfinalists.
| Final night ranking | Ranking (Up to fourth night) | Televote (Final night) |
| 1. Mahmood & Blanco – Brividi | 1 | 1 (21,2%) |
| 2. Gianni Morandi – Apri tutte le porte | 2 | 2 (12,7%) |
| 3. Elisa – O forse sei tu | 3 | 4 (10,7%) |
| 4. Irama – Ovunque sarai | 4 | 3 (12,0%) |
| 5. Sangiovani – Farfalle | 5 | 5 (5,9%) |
| 6. Emma – Ogni volta è cosi | 6 | 8 (3,7%) |
| 7. La Rappresentante di Lista – Ciao ciao | 7 | 6 (4,0%) |
| 8. Massimo Ranieri – Lettera al di là del mare | 8 | 9 (3,4%) |
| 9. Dargen D’Amico – Dove si balla | 13 | 7 (3,7%) |
| 10. Michele Bravi – Inverno dei fiori | 10 | 11 (3,1%) |
| 11. Matteo Romano – Vitale | 12 | 10 (3,4%) |
| 12. Fabrizio Moro – Sei tu | 9 | 12 (2,6%) |
| 13. Aka 7even – Perfetta così | 14 | 13 (2,1%) |
| 14. Achille Lauro ft. Harlem Gospel Choir – Domenica | 11 | 14 (1,7%) |
| 15. Noemi – Ti amo, non lo se dire | 15 | 16 (1,3%) |
| 16. Ditonellapiaga & Rettore – Chimica | 16 | 17 (1,2%) |
| 17. Rkomi – Insuperabile | 19 | 15 (1,6%) |
| 18. Iva Zanicchi – Voglio amarti | 17 | 18 (1,2%) |
| 19. Giovanni Truppi – Tuo padre, mia madre, Lucia | 18 | 20 (0,8%) |
| 20. Highsnob & Hu – Abbi cura di te | 22 | 21 (0,8%) |
| 21. Yuman – Ora e qui | 21 | 22 (0,7%) |
| 22. Le Vibrazioni – Tantissimo | 20 | 25 (0,4%) |
| 23. Giusy Ferreri – Miele | 23 | 24 (0,4%) |
| 24. Ana Mena – Duecentomila ore | 24 | 19 (0,9%) |
| 25. Tananai – Sesso occasionale | 25 | 23 (0,5%) |
Superfinal: A runaway Brividi victory at Sanremo
For the superfinal, the press jury and the demoscopic jury also gave their say. Unlike the previous nights, where Mahmood and Blanco were televote favourites and Elisa trumping them in the jury votes – it was now very clear. All votes ranked Brividi in first place. Elisa claimed second with juries, but third with televoters. Gianni Morandi was #3 for juries, but claimed second with televoters.
The total percentage in the last column of the table below displays the total points distribution. There, we can see that the total was a little lower than the televote – but still incredibly high. It is therefore safe to assume that the margin towards victory was comfortable.
| Press jury | Demoscopic 1000 | Televote | Total percentage | |
| 1. Mahmood & Blanco – Brividi | 1 | 1 | 1 (54,3%) | 51,8% |
| 2. Elisa – O forse sei tu | 2 | 2 | 3 (21,9%) | 26,3% |
| 3. Gianni Morandi – Apri tutte le porte | 3 | 3 | 2 (23,8%) | 21,9% |
Mahmood and Blanco off to Turin!
For all Eurovision fans watching the Festival di Sanremo, the results are exciting, but the press conference afterwards may be even more important. Usually, Amadeus, the host of Sanremo, does not mention Eurovision on the big Sanremo stage. Instead, all acts make it known to RAI before the Festival di Sanremo whether they would accept the honour of representing Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest.
Due to concerts being scheduled for May and a dubious statement in Italian media, the suspense was high. Were Mahmood and Blanco willing to perform Brividi at Eurovision on home soil or would another Sanremo act need to do it? The answer came shortly after 03:00 AM, when they announced that they would indeed go on to represent Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest. It will mark Mahmood’s second Eurovision participation. He previously finished as runner-up to the Netherlands’ Duncan Laurence, who won the contest in 2019.
Can “Brividi” make it two in a row for Italy after winning the Festival di Sanremo? Let us know what you think about Mahmood and Blanco’s entry for Turin on social media!
