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Eurovision Song Contest 2019
Country Italy
National selection
Selection processSanremo Music Festival 2019
Selection date(s)9 February 2019
Selected artist(s)Mahmood
Selected song"Soldi"
Selected songwriter(s)
Finals performance
Final result2nd, 472 points
Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2018 2019 2020►

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.

Background

Prior to the 2019 contest, Italy had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest forty-four times since its first entry during the inaugural contest in 1956.[1] Since then, Italy has won the contest on two occasions: in 1964 with the song "Non ho l'età" performed by Gigliola Cinquetti and in 1990 with the song "Insieme: 1992" performed by Toto Cutugno. Italy has withdrawn from the Eurovision Song Contest a number of times with their most recent absence spanning from 1998 until 2010.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, Ermal Meta and Fabrizio Moro represented the nation with the song "Non mi avete fatto niente", placing fifth with 308 points.

The Italian national broadcaster, Radiotelevisione italiana (RAI), broadcasts the event within Italy and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. RAI confirmed Italy's participation in the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest on 5 October 2018.[2] Between 2011 and 2013, the broadcaster 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 their 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 the broadcaster appointed the runner-up as the Italian entrant.

Before Eurovision

Sanremo Music Festival 2019

On 20 November 2018, Italian broadcaster RAI confirmed that the performer that would represent Italy at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest 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 Song Contest entrants Il Volo who represented Italy in the 2015 contest. The performers were:[4]

Artist Song Songwriter(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] Artist Song Expert Jury
(20%)
Press Jury
(30%)
Televote
(50%)
Average Place
1 Daniele Silvestri "Argentovivo" 2 3 9 5.87% 6
2 Anna Tatangelo "Le nostre anime di notte" 18 18 18 1.08% 22
3 Ghemon "Rose viola" 5 9 17 3.16% 12
4 Negrita "I ragazzi stanno bene" 10 18 21 1.55% 20
5 Ultimo "I tuoi particolari" 7 6 1 12.92% 2
6 Nek "Mi farò trovare pronto" 17 20 14 1.49% 19
7 Loredana Bertè "Cosa ti aspetti da me" 6 1 3 10.35% 4
8 Francesco Renga "Aspetto che torni" 18 17 13 1.65% 15
9 Mahmood "Soldi" 1 2 7 13.30% 1
10 Ex-Otago "Sola una canzone" 8 11 16 2.58% 13
11 Il Volo "Musica che resta" 21 13 2 9.48% 3
12 Paola Turci "L'ultimo ostacolo" 9 16 15 2.11% 16
13 Zen Circus "L'amore è una dittatura" 12 12 19 1.75% 17
14 Patty Pravo feat. Briga "Un po' come la vita" 18 21 22 0.85% 21
15 Arisa "Mi sento bene" 3 4 12 4.95% 8
16 Irama "La ragazza con il cuore di latta" 12 10 4 5.60% 7
17 Achille Lauro "Rolls Royce" 12 7 8 4.09% 9
18 Nino D'Angelo and Livio Cori "Un'altra luce" 21 23 20 0.72% 24
19 Federica Carta and Shade "Senza farlo apposta" 21 21 11 1.52% 18
20 Simone Cristicchi "Abbi cura di me" 12 4 5 6.01% 5
21 Enrico Nigiotti "Nonno Hollywood" 12 8 6 3.53% 10
22 Boomdabash "Per un milione" 11 15 10 2.55% 11
23 Einar "Parole nuove" 21 23 23 0.68% 23
24 Motta "Dov'e l'Italia" 4 14 24 2.23% 14
Superfinal – 9 February 2019
Draw Artist Song Jury
(50%)
Televote
(50%)
Total Place
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]
Score Televote Jury
12 points
10 points
8 points
7 points
6 points
5 points
4 points  Spain
3 points
2 points  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]
Draw Country Jury Televote
E. Esposito A. Mazzola M. Severoni A. Pennini P. Biamonte Rank Points Rank Points
01  Armenia 7 8 9 12 12 12 15
02  Ireland 3 9 2 4 1 3 8 16
03  Moldova 12 10 4 11 16 11 6 5
04   Switzerland 16 12 16 10 11 15 5 6
05  Latvia 2 11 10 5 14 6 5 17
06  Romania 11 6 7 8 10 9 2 2 10
07  Denmark 1 3 1 3 8 1 12 11
08  Sweden 13 5 12 13 13 13 14
09  Austria 14 18 13 14 2 10 1 18
10  Croatia 17 17 18 18 17 18 13
11  Malta 4 1 3 2 6 2 10 9 2
12  Lithuania 8 15 15 16 7 14 12
13  Russia 18 14 11 15 18 16 4 7
14  Albania 6 13 6 9 5 8 3 1 12
15  Norway 15 16 17 17 15 17 3 8
16  Netherlands 9 7 14 6 3 7 4 8 3
17  North Macedonia 5 2 8 1 9 4 7 10 1
18  Azerbaijan 10 4 5 7 4 5 6 7 4
Detailed voting results from Italy (Final)[12]
Draw Country Jury Televote
E. Esposito A. Mazzola M. Severoni S. Zizzari P. Biamonte Rank Points Rank Points
01  Malta 3 1 2 7 6 3 8 16
02  Albania 16 10 6 13 7 10 1 1 12
03  Czech Republic 5 6 17 6 8 7 4 22
04  Germany 17 20 19 17 10 18 25
05  Russia 23 21 14 22 24 23 3 8
06  Denmark 1 3 1 3 1 1 12 7 4
07  San Marino 25 25 22 24 25 25 21
08  North Macedonia 2 2 5 2 3 2 10 12
09  Sweden 7 4 13 5 17 9 2 17
10  Slovenia 20 22 8 20 19 16 18
11  Cyprus 12 19 15 16 20 19 20
12  Netherlands 11 13 12 15 9 12 6 5
13  Greece 24 23 10 18 12 15 23
14  Israel 10 14 18 8 13 11 15
15  Norway 14 15 24 9 15 13 2 10
16  United Kingdom 19 16 20 19 21 22 24
17  Iceland 21 18 11 25 23 21 4 7
18  Estonia 6 5 9 4 11 6 5 14
19  Belarus 13 11 23 12 18 14 19
20  Azerbaijan 8 7 4 1 5 4 7 10 1
21  France 9 8 7 11 4 8 3 9 2
22  Italy
23  Serbia 15 17 16 21 16 20 13
24   Switzerland 18 12 21 14 14 17 8 3
25  Australia 4 9 3 10 2 5 6 5 6
26  Spain 22 24 25 23 22 24 11

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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b c "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. ^ a b "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.