Twenty-five songs will be competing at the Sanremo Festival, which will be broadcast from February 1st to 5th. Once again this year, the Unione Sarda listened to them in preview in the Rai studios in Milan.
A potpourri that ranges from old glories such as Massimo Ranieri, Gianni Morandi and Iva Zanicchi to the most recent discoveries of Italian discography such as Sangiovanni, Aka 7even and Ana Mena, passing through the great return of Mahmood, a native of Orosei, who performs in tandem with Blanco.
Mixing different sounds confirms the stylistic code chosen by the three-time conductor and artistic director Amadeus, with a single categorical imperative: to make the radios happy. “It's what I've always wanted to do since my first Sanremo - he said at a press conference in Milan - that is to bring songs that are broadcast as much as possible. I would like this to be remembered as another current Festival ”.
He has now given up talking about restarting us ("Last year did not bring us good"), but the hope is that everything can happen, subject to the necessary anti-Covid precautions, in the sign of a return to normality: "I would like that it was a cross between the super restrictive Sanremo of last year and the thoughtless one of 2020 ". Stefano Coletta, director of Rai1, also thinks so, who confirmed that, barring program changes, the Ariston theater will open its doors to 100 percent of the public, just like all cinemas and theaters.
THE SONGS - Also this year in the lyrics there are few traces of the pandemic in progress, "not only among those chosen but also among those that have been discarded", underlines Amadeus. Love is the usual leitmotiv, declined in various forms, but there is also a lot of dance especially among the younger proposals ("You feel their need to go back to dancing"), pop and rock, although not the most hard and glam by Maneskin.
Great return to the Sanremo stage for Mahmood, winner in 2019 with "Soldi", and this time paired with the very young rapcore singer-songwriter Blanco: "I really wanted them", says the conductor-artistic director, "then one day they arrived and they told me they wanted to sing together. I don't know which of the two came up with the idea, but I found it fantastic and unpredictable ”.
REPORT CARDS - Here are our report cards, in the listening order chosen by Amadeus.
Achille Lauro - "Sunday"
After two festivals as a singer in the competition and one as a super guest, Achille Lauro reserves us very few surprises, it is the usual “Oh yes yes, ha ha, oh no no” with a totally provocative text. Rating 6.
Giusy Ferreri - "Honey"
Direction summer 2022, it will certainly arrive there with a light breeze sound, cocktail and umbrella: "Why don't you run to me tonight / I left you a music in the wind". Will it be good for Sanremo? Maybe not, but we'll see. Rating 5.5.
Michele Bravi - "Winter of flowers"
He returns to Sanremo for the second time with a song signed by Mogol's son, Alfredo Rapetti. Orchestra and strings indulge themselves, but not entirely convincing. Rating 6.
Rkomi - "Unsurpassed"
Autotune unleashed, but despite the beat that sometimes stuns it can be credible. However surmountable, in spite of the title. Who knows the live. Grade 7.
Irama - "Wherever you will be"
This more intimate Irama on piano is the first real surprise of the Festival. An extra point for the courage to dare with the right balance of melody and intensity. The hope that Covid, which last year prevented him from performing, does not get a hand. Vote 8.
Noemi - "I love you I don't know how to say"
The very original touch of Mahmood (among the authors of text and music together with Dardust) is felt from the first note. So much so that the verse almost feels like a cover. Then Noemi's voice manages to assert itself, pinches and hits the mark. Vote 8.
Massimo Ranieri - "Letter beyond the sea"
Great comeback after 25 years and the victory in 1988 with “Losing love”. The atmospheres are from Ballad to Modugno but revisited and perfectly contemporary. It sways to the rhythm of the sea with (inevitable) crescendo and final drums. Vote 8.
Aka 7even - "Perfect this way"
When the novelty compromises too much with the tradition of the Festival. Nothing that can split the stage in two and not exactly original lyrics. Rating 6.5.
Emma - "Every time it's like this"
He gets back into the game ten years after his victory (“It's not hell”) with love, regrets and melancholy. She saddens but is given the benefit of the doubt. The grade is 7.
Highsnob and Hu - "Take care of yourself"
They are the real outsiders of the squad, with a mix of rap (purer than the one heard so far) and strings wink at the younger audience, who will be grateful. Rating 6.5.
Iva Zanicchi - "I want to love you"
Great respect for a lady of Italian music (in the curriculum ten participations in the Festival and three victories): she returns to the track with a song at times blues at times rock that does not miss anything, not even the electric guitar solo. Of course, in the end the riff of "I want to love you" is a bit repetitive, but all in all ... Rated 6.5.
Dargen D'Amico - "Where to dance"
Lovers (and nostalgics) of the nineties dance at Gigi Dag, here they will find bread for their teeth. Finally he dares a little and was expected by a DJ and producer like him: “Fuck it and dance”. Vote 9.
Sangiovanni - "Butterflies"
After the seven platinum discs of "Malibu" this piece is also packaged for the place it deserves: the highest in the standings. He'll go there for sure, but how long will he stay there? Rating 7.5.
Yuman - "Now and here"
An unexpected maturity from this singer who arrives in Sanremo passing through the youth competition (which he won). The scents are soulful and retro, it doesn't hurt some vocal acrobatics (to see if it holds true in the live). Vote 8.
The Representative of List - "Bye bye"
Born in Palermo in 2011, they have already made themselves known and loved last year. And the second round doesn't disappoint. The song is funny and brilliant, the voice of Veronica Lucchesi a shattering light. Rated 8.5.
Mahmood and Blanco - "Chills"
It would take a Mahmood for each Festival. And with Blanco the pairing is perfect: the mix of voices, the thrilling peaks are enchanting. A poem. Vote 9.
Gianni Morandi - "Open all doors"
Another restyling operation. This time the director is Lorenzo Jovanotti, who unloads a turbo dose of good humor on us: "You're going fast / open all the doors / play all the cards / let the know (ooo) le in". A little unsettling. Grade 7.
Matteo Romano - "Viral"
"Love reappears / goes on trend and goes back / goes viral". There are no better words to describe the world from which the second lead singer of the Giovani trio hails: Tiktok. The problem is that after going viral they deflate like balloons. Rating 5.5.
The Vibrations - "A lot"
They return for their fourth Sanremo Festival with a screamed and pop-rock piece, with strategic keyboard and percussion. It flows in one breath and yet something is missing. Grade 7.
Fabrizio Moro - "It's you"
Take the box left free of Sanremo love song in the most classic of its forms. It is no coincidence that four years ago he duet and won with Ermal Meta. Rating 7.5.
Elisa - "Or maybe it's you"
It is certainly a long-awaited return 21 years after the victory with the iconic “Light (Sunsets in the North-East)”. And among pianos and violins, music has conquered us. The text also: "I will be / that moment that will bring you / a little happiness / that stupid will to live". Vote 9.
Ditonellapiaga with Rector - "Chemistry"
“It's a question of chemistry,” they sing. And the chemistry between a very young artist and a punk legend like Donatella Rettore is there. An explosive, pressing and sparkling piece. Well built for radio, it remains to be seen whether it will hold up on stage. Vote 9.
Giovanni Truppi - "Your father, my mother, Lucia"
We don't dare to bother Fabrizio De Andrè, but there is something. Truppi, a Neapolitan much appreciated in France, revisits the great tradition of Italian songwriting with a truly original and chic style. At times, with some parts played, it seems like watching a film: “To love you is to believe that / that what I will be will be with you”. Vote 8.
Tananai - "Casual Sex"
In the Milanese urban share, it is a silver medal among the Youth. He brings to Sanremo an electropop song that talks about love, but that of a young couple, humoral and messed up: “Baby come back to me and put that gun away”. Ironic, hopefully. Rating 7.5.
Ana Mena - "Two Hundred Thousand Hours"
“Latin America / Un Cuba libre amore”: with the touch of Rocco Hunt, bonfires on the beach, sensual dances in slow motion and summer blazes materialize. Only the Narcos floral shirts are missing. Grade 5.