It’s been a busy week so far in Eurovision’s smallest nation. San Marino‘s semi final-phase is over after another four acts qualified for Saturday’s final. But not every act who didn’t make it to the final is out yet. Tomorrow, the Second Chance show will air and give 16 of the participants a final chance to qualify.

The last set of semi finalists took the stage in San Marino on Thursday. A total of 27 acts tried to impress the judges. They included singers not only from Italy but also from the United States, Spain, Germany, the UK and of course Ronela from Albania.

But in the end, and despite being a fan favorite, the Eurovision 2022 star Ronela didn’t make it to the final. Instead, only Thomas, Tothem, Vina Rose and XGiove have been chosen to go directly to the final of Una Voce per San Marino.

As four spots for tomorrow’s Second Chance round were still left, the jury decided to give those places to Pjero, Raim, Ronela Hajati and Roy Paci. They have to participate again tomorrow.

Una Voce per San Marino: Semi final Four results


Qualified for the final:

Thomas – “23:23”
Tothem – “Sacro e Profano”
Vina Rose – “Oblivious (Inconsapevole)”
XGiove – “Fuoco e Benzina”


Qualified for the Second Chance show:

Pjero – “Spiderman”
Raim – “All alone”
Ronela – “Salvaje”
Roy Paci – “Tromba”

 

Semi final 4 acts – Qualified for the final

Thomas – “23:23”

Thomas Bocchimpani is only 22 years old but already made history when he won the Italian casting show Amici di Maria De Filippi as the youngest participant. Two of his albums made it on top of the Italian charts. His song for Una Voce per San Marino can be heared here as it was released back in January already.


Tothem – “Sacro e Profano”

Tothem tried to represent San Marino already last year but didn’t make the final back then. The bands style can be described as “melodic heavy metal”, as they say on their Instagram that emotions are always part of their shows, no matter how energetic they are. Tothem are known for their concerts especially in their home country Italy.


Vina Rose – “Oblivious (Inconsapevole)”

Vina Rose was part of last year’s UVPSM final with her song “Sweet Denial”. But one participation is not enough, as she tries to make it to Eurovision this year again. She’s based in London but speaks Italian as she was born in Sicily. Vina makes music since she was 14 years old and wants to become an established artist now.


XGiove – “Fuoco e Benzina”

XGiove is a 5-member-band from Italy consisting of Nicolò, Giacomo, Federico, Andrea and Ludovico. Fighting against one’s fears and facing generational difficulties are the main themes of their songs. They took part in many festivals since they started doing music five years ago. The guys have been the opening act for DJ Gabry Ponte, former member of EIFFEL 65 and co-writer of Austria’s 2022 entry “Halo”.

 

We now know the full line up for tomorrow’s Second Chance round. There, another four acts make it to the final out of 16. Additionaly, the only two pre-qualified acts for UVPSM’s final, Kida and Simone will perform tomorrow for the first time. Broadcaster SMRTV secured them a final place, since they are the only two artists in the competition who are actually from San Marino. You can watch tomorrow’s show again via SMRTV’s livestream, starting at 22:00 CET.

 

Second Chance round – Full line up

Camilla (Italy) – “It’s Not You, It’s Me”
Camille Cabaltera (Italy) – “Mental”
Daudia (Italy) – “What If”
Edoardo Brogi (Italy) – “Due punti sull’Equatore”
Flexx (Italy) – “GOK (God Only Knows)”
Florin Răduță (Belgium) – “My Mind”
KIARA D.V. feat. Pamela Ivonne Cole (UK) – “My Time”
La Bebae (Italy) – “Tocco il fondo”
Lost City feat. Emerique (Italy) – “Titan”
Luna Palumbo (Italy) – “Batticuore”
MATE (Italy) – “Prisma”
Morgana (Italy) – “A Lonely Night In Shanghai”
Pjero (Italy) – “Spiderman”
Raim (Italy) – “All alone”
Ronela (Albania) – “Salvaje”
Roy Paci (Italy) – “Tromba”


What do you think about tonight’s results? Did you expect Ronela to do better? Who should represent San Marino at Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool? Let us know in the comments below.

64 Comments
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Zanoni
Zanoni
1 year ago

Eduardo Bragi, Mate, Ronela and Roy Paci made it. I whiffed.

Zanoni
Zanoni
1 year ago

I liked Kida better than most of the internationals, though Simone is not good.

Zanoni
Zanoni
1 year ago

Oh, maybe they didn’t replace Pjero. Sad.

Zanoni
Zanoni
1 year ago

“Salvaje” seemed better today. Sure, make it one of my four.

Zanoni
Zanoni
1 year ago

Morgana would be one of my four qualifiers too

Zanoni
Zanoni
1 year ago

La Bebae is also excellent and I don’t know how it slipped past me in the semi.

Zanoni
Zanoni
1 year ago

Flexx were actually really really good today if you’re into that Pat Benatar thing.

Bb Tt
Bb Tt
1 year ago

I thought Ronela just had a bad moment last year.
After hearing and seeing this performance, I’m speechless in the worst possible way.

James
James
1 year ago

Ronela is the cringiest woman since Senhit

Sim
Sim
1 year ago

Ah, enough of Ronela, please. She totally failed her cheap and vulgar performance last year and instead of accepting the others were simply better and better prepared, she continued writing offended messages on Instagram on how she deserved to be there and how unfair it was. Barely could stand an objective (not vulgar!) criticism.

Dida
Dida
1 year ago

Wait, what?? Ronela is no more in her underwear and with her belly out, and still not a finalist? That’s sabotage ?

baili Atha gloo
baili Atha gloo
1 year ago

Why the hell is Ronela in this lot??

just an esc fan
just an esc fan
1 year ago

and here comes the irrelevant comment of the post

congrats to vina for making it in the final 2 times in a row. her song last year was my fav!

Lori
Lori
1 year ago

Jeez, the juries are watching a different show or something, but for like real.

Briekimchi
Briekimchi
1 year ago

Tromba is a bop.

Catriona
Catriona
1 year ago

Tothem are my overall favourites.

Nikos
Nikos
1 year ago

Wow, really impressed with 23:23 from Thomas actually. It’s actually very well produced, could do well with the televote since its youthful and modern. And based on some of his visuals I see on different videos of his, he could do some dark and neon staging. San Marino really needs something fresh and more modern, to pull them out of that meme status (don’t get me wrong, I love San Marino even at their cheesiest!). I do worry a bit about another Jessika/Jenny B over Sara de Blue situation, where a good song like this comes 2nd under something cheesy… Read more »

Soufflé
Soufflé
1 year ago

Aside from all the talk about Ronela, I thought Thomas’ 23:23 was genuinely really good! I hope it could translate well to the big stage cause it’s a wonderful song.

Teddi
Teddi
1 year ago

Fan favorite? I understand you guys have bond with Ronela and giving her platform but honestly nobody moved about her or her song, so saying fan favorite doesn’t add up. Stop shoving her down our throats please

Tom
Tom
1 year ago
Reply to  Teddi

Fully agree

Zanoni
Zanoni
1 year ago

I’m gonna be pulling for those Semi 2 qualifiers in the final (Ellynora, Iole, Le Deva). I checked them out further on YouTube and they seemed pretty legit.

EuroSerg
EuroSerg
1 year ago

The artists have to pay to be there:
San Marinese: 50€
Italian: 100€
Rest: 150€

3art
3art
1 year ago

There were clearly technical difficulties during Ronela’s performance. Hope they can iron them out as she really slayed. The queen gave a real show and 100% her, even on such a small stage.

Panna
Panna
1 year ago
Reply to  3art

There have been technical difficulties (bad sound mixing) throughout the whole show

Leafar
Leafar
1 year ago

i need to listen to the other qualifiers and second chance of this heat but ronela’s song is just not it…she performs it well you can’t deny that but it’s just not anything special…but let’s wait the final ig ?

Eurovision fan
Eurovision fan
1 year ago

I hope Ronela goes to final. The haters should shut up.

Mbappe
Mbappe
1 year ago
Reply to  Eurovision fan

Taste and talent prevailed when Monika Liu and the Icelandic sisters qualified instead of Ronela’s trashy tragicomedy. A beautiful moment in ESC history, indeed.

Efthymios
Efthymios
1 year ago
Reply to  Mbappe

Monika was a literal queen and the Icelandic sisters had managed to create my all-time favorite ballad last year so I’ll passionately support this comment.

Radu
Radu
1 year ago
Reply to  Mbappe

And guess who was still invited to other National Selections after last year’s contest: certainly neither the Lithuanian nor the Icelandic contestants whose songs were completely forgotten after Eurovision… But yeah, every dull and energyless performance in Eurovision is “talent” according to some of you, lol.

Eurovision fan
Eurovision fan
1 year ago

This national selection is a joke anyway, as well as jury that decides these finalists.

Colin
Colin
1 year ago

I believe that UVPSM shows from 2022 and 2023 are produced by the Sanmarinese broadcaster and filmed in San Marino. I’m 99% convinced that every participant is responsible for their own finances in providing hotel rooms, food, drinks, and staging costs. These people just really want to go to ESC, and this is their ticket. The show from 2018 was produced by the private company, partially held by Zoe from Austria and her father. They have also written most of the songs for that finals. Sanmarinese broadcaster merely sanctioned it, not financed it, I believe.

Jonas
Jonas
1 year ago
Reply to  Colin

Yeah, this little boost to their economy is probably the main reason for holding this contest.

Panna
Panna
1 year ago
Reply to  Jonas

Some of the acts have large social media following, and they post stories and photos from San Marino. Somewhat works as a tourism promo for San Marino.

Colin
Colin
1 year ago
Reply to  Colin

Wealthy winner being chosen beforehand is a really good idea in theory, but it only works if these juries were all working together behind the scenes, and going through all the notes in detail. Achille Lauro won by one or two points, and the contestants were all mere one or two points away from one another. The juries’ scores were all over the place, and not everyone gave that much to Achille. So, it only works if it was a really precise con-job in which they all participated. As for 2018, definitely not pre-determined. It was decided by a crowdfunding… Read more »

Colin
Colin
1 year ago
Reply to  Colin

The Twilight song is really great IMHO. Would have qualified with ease. The selected entry… not so much. Not in that version anyway. There was a version with Jessika and Irol rapping instead of Jenny B. His lyrics were in Italian, and that version was much better. I haven’t found it on You Tube since, but I looked for it to compare.

Colin
Colin
1 year ago
Reply to  Colin

Both of the songs were theirs, as well as most others in that selection. It was their private project. I can’t tell I’m fond of that system or the crowdfounding thing. But I guess that the broadcaster decided to let them do that in the lack of budget to covering it themselves at the time.

SirLimo
SirLimo
1 year ago
Reply to  Colin

1 in 360 was a mess lmao, but at least it introduced us to rap genious and Margaret super fan Jenny B… Sara de Blue was robbed so bad

Knut Olav
Knut Olav
1 year ago

According to Spotify, Pjero released “Superman” on September 3rd 2021. I listen to it know, and it’s like how i remember it from his performance. So I’m a bit puzzled here.

Jonas
Jonas
1 year ago
Reply to  Knut Olav

That counts him out for Liverpool so.

Evan
Evan
1 year ago
Reply to  Knut Olav

Found his lyric video uploaded to YouTube on Sep. 17, 2021 too, so yeah … definitely out of the running. But took a look at San Marino’s official rules: On page 5, Art. 4 – MUSIC TRACKS, last paragraph: “It is understood that, since the aim of the Festival is to select the Winner who will represent San Marino RTV at the Eurovision Song Contest, the aforementioned songs must be in line with this purpose.” So how he managed to be selected, at least for this song considering they needed to provide two songs, is shocking considering the song in… Read more »

Knut Olav
Knut Olav
1 year ago
Reply to  Knut Olav

Watching the Last Chance show now, and Pjero is out. Strange that he got so far before they found out that his song was released in September-21.

RxLou
RxLou
1 year ago

I got a second-hand embarrassment from Ronela’s performance.
Awful song, terrible vocals and constant throwing your hair around doesn’t make you hot, it makes you cringy.
That song should have been eliminated and not getting the second chance. Periodt.

Colin
Colin
1 year ago
Reply to  RxLou

Ronela’s song is cheesy, awkwardly put together, and it uses cringeworthy Spanish buzzwords. All of this is true. Still, this was easily in my top 5 of this evening. Have you heard the ”songs” she was competing with?

EuroSerg
EuroSerg
1 year ago
Reply to  Colin

She has to change lots of things tbh but atm none of the songs will reach the final in may
Ronela has money so she can change lots of things also the song (which needs definitely a revamp)

Eurovision fan
Eurovision fan
1 year ago
Reply to  RxLou

Honey, just because you find her ignorant or annoying does not mean she is terrible.

RxLou
RxLou
1 year ago
Reply to  Eurovision fan

She really is and everyone, except Ronela’s fanboys, knows it.

yaremturkiye
yaremturkiye
1 year ago
Reply to  Eurovision fan

bro said “honey” and thought they ate.

EuroSerg
EuroSerg
1 year ago

Maybe Ronela got 5th and her vocals weren’t good tonight tbh
So maybe tomorrow she will slay

Xxx
Xxx
1 year ago

Wow, what happened to Ronella’s vocals? She sounds terrible. Also, not a fan of this song.

RxLou
RxLou
1 year ago
Reply to  Xxx

As if she wasn’t terrible in Turin already

Eurotoxic
Eurotoxic
1 year ago

The geriatric jury is not going to let Ronela represent San Marino 🙁

EuroSerg
EuroSerg
1 year ago
Reply to  Eurotoxic

Yeah the jury is just ridiculous let’s be honest

Jonas
Jonas
1 year ago
Reply to  EuroSerg

How dare geriatrics leave their beds.

Stian F
Stian F
1 year ago

Ronelas song is good in studio recording, but the acoustic and sound mixing in this studio is horrible so of course it sounds aweful… So one cannot judge songs based on these performances. Several of the songs are out in Spotify and some sound really good!

Jonas
Jonas
1 year ago

It’s the same jury deciding the winner on Saturday, right? Which kinda makes the second chance round a little pointless.

Colin
Colin
1 year ago
Reply to  Jonas

Seemingly so. Yet, three out of nine ”newcomers” who qualified to the big finals in 2022 bounced back from ”the second chance”, finishing 9th, 11th, and 17th out of 18 in the grand finals. So, yeah, chances aren’t good, but they can still have an okay-ish overall finish if they qualify.

Jonas
Jonas
1 year ago
Reply to  Colin

Any predictions? Achille Lauro seemed the obvious one last year, I’m not so sure this year.

Colin
Colin
1 year ago
Reply to  Jonas

Eiffel 65 seems like a go-to prediction, because of their name. Had Ronela qualified straight to the finals, I’d throw her name in too. This way, I expect her to qualify to the finals, and finish around a middle there. If I’m being honest, Sanmarinese juries picked their finalists poorly once again. Out of all finalists, I only kinda like Mayu, Le Deva, and Ellynora, and I’m not sure how any of them would fare with middle tier sonsg already picked.

Jonas
Jonas
1 year ago
Reply to  Colin

I agree. Mayu being the best.

Jofty
Jofty
1 year ago
Reply to  Jonas

Unless they are like that infamous Swedish jury member from 2019 who placed Arcade last in the semis, but really got to like it in the next few days that she placed it first.

Jonas
Jonas
1 year ago
Reply to  Jofty

That was just a mistake, she placed her order upside down. Hopefully these jurors will be more careful.

Jofty
Jofty
1 year ago
Reply to  Jonas

Yet another country did the same and got punished for it. It helps if you’re Swedish I guess.

Jonas
Jonas
1 year ago
Reply to  Jofty

There is no Swedish mafia, this is a myth. What country do you mean?

Jofty
Jofty
1 year ago
Reply to  Jonas

White Ru**ia