Italy’s Angelina Mango will bring addictive Cumbia rhythms to Eurovision 2024.
She emerged victorious at this year’s Festival di Sanremo with her song “La Noia,” which translates as “Boredom.” Throughout the competition, her song consistently topped the competition charts, securing a win on the third night of the festival and ultimately triumphing in the Super Final on the 5th night, overcoming strong competitors like Irama, Ghali, Annalisa, and Geolier.
“La Noia” blends Italian traditions with a modern sound, creating a perfect fusion that will undoubtedly get you moving. However, beneath its catchy exterior, the song carries a deeper meaning.
It’s time to dance, shake off the boredom, and take a look at the “La Noia” lyrics.
Scroll down to read the “La Noia” lyrics
Italy at Eurovision 2024: Angelina Mango with “La Noia”
She’s already topped the Italian charts, bagged numerous awards, and released two EPs. So it’s an understatement to call Angelina a rising star of Italian music. Success is in her DNA: Her mother is Laura Valente from the Italian rock band Matia Bazar and her father was Giuseppe Mango, one of her country’s most-loved artists.
Angelina has been immersed in music since childhood. Her first EP was released in 2020, marking her debut as an Italian artist. At 22 years old, Angelina took a significant step forward by competing for the first time in the Festival di Sanremo this year and winning the competition. She gave the competition its emotional high when she covered her father’s song “La rondine” on covers night. He suffered a heart attack while performing on stage on December 14, 2014 and passed away shortly thereafter. Angelina was still a teenager at the time. Her performance at Sanremo, she said, was her way to pay homage to her biggest hero.
What do the “La Noia” lyrics mean?
“La Noia” literally means “The Boredom,” and Angelina sings about breaking free from a life filled with monotony while expressing her longing to find greater meaning. However, clues in the song and music video suggest a feminist interpretation, addressing women trapped in “boring” lives that conform to societal norms.
Firstly, in the music video of her song, only female characters are present. While Angelina sings about boredom, the entire video is filmed inside a house, evoking the sense of being trapped in domesticity. Additionally, Angelina is shown having her hair braided by two girls, a scene that symbolizes bonding and solidarity among women. The act of braiding hair can be a shared experience among friends, family members, or within communities, fostering a sense of connection and support among women.
The first verse depicts Angelina creating numerous drawings that fail to come to life as she’d like, symbolizing her unrealized aspirations. However, as time passes, she comes to the realization that life continues regardless, and she must confront the challenges of the real world.
“My necklace doesn’t have pearls of wisdom
I was given colored beads
For the little girls messed up with trauma
To untangle slowly with age”
She emphasizes that she is not the perfect creature that people might expect, but rather a flawed individual coping with traumas, which slowly unravel as she grows up. Throughout the song, she expresses the difficulty of breaking free from a worn-out life. It feels like a cross she must carry.
“Business, they talk about business
Meanwhile, I close my eyes while I sign contracts
Princess, they call you princess
So stop doing the dishes now.”
The song also addresses the feeling of being compelled to agree with “businesses” that one doesn’t truly align with, echoing the sentiment of feeling trapped ( as one verse before she says “How many people see the evil in things/ It makes you want to run away when they start to speak”). There’s an expectation to embody a “princess” persona while also managing household responsibilities, creating a sense of pressure and obligation. The encouragement to stop washing the dishes represents a rejection of societal expectations and a desire to break free and enjoy life.
Angelina suggests that life can sometimes feel like the repetitive rhythm of Cumbia, a dance music of Colombian origin, similar to but distinct from salsa. Despite this, she tries to find the strength to laugh amidst the monotony and proudly wears the metaphorical “crown of thorns” that society threw on her, while celebrating with a party. She prefers to dance the cumbia because, even though she may stumble, it offers a way to break free from boredom and inertia. She sings love songs because love makes her feel alive. She lives her life to the fullest and is willing to take the risks of suffering in order to truly experience the richness of being alive.
“La Noia” lyrics and translation— Angelina Mango (Italy Eurovision 2024)
Songwriter (music and lyrics): Angelina Mango & Francesca Calearo (Madame)
|
Quanti disegni ho fatto E mi hanno detto che la vita è preziosa La noia Muoio senza morire È la cumbia della noia Quanta gente nelle cose vede il male Muoio senza morire È la cumbia della noia Allora scrivi canzoni? La noia Muoio perché morire È la cumbia della noia
|
I drew so many drawings And I’ve been told life is precious The boredom I die without dying It’s the cumbia for boredom So many people see the bad in things I die without dying It’s the cumbia for boredom So you write songs? The boredom I die because dying It’s the cumbia for boredom
|
Can somebody explain me that story with her hair in the vid?
Thats looking very great and well styled.
Whats behind it? Does anyone knows?
Thank you
This has been amongst my favourites since the start but I hadn’t realised it was about boredom until now (I never worry too much about lyrics). I like it even more, Angelina is a very charismatic performer and the song is great, certainly jostling for my top spot. But it’s hard to choose one song this year – last year it was a flip between Finland and Spain for me – but this year it feels like more of an open field.
This year turned out to be such a strong one at ESC. I like both Angelina and this song but it’s not among my favorites, which is rare from Italy
I love her. Great performer.
I’ve assumed that the “colored beads” are antidepressant pills. I think it’s a neat little lyric.
Sincerely i cant understand the hype avout this song… it is a really cheesy and bad cumbia… and she doesnt have anything special, beside those awkward moves
This is still one of my favourites among the songs of this year. An incredibly catchy song!
I only see forced hype for this, where you can’t leave Italy out of your favourites to avoid the backlash from fans.
To me this isn’t it, it has nice parts but overall it comes as a noisy song where most of it isn’t giving a cohesive feeling. It’s different from the usual ballads, so plus for that.
This year songs are quite weak and Italy’s song is at least much better.
I don’t find this year weak, but as it lacks clear favourites it leaves a lot more wiggle room in results. We know fans rank songs time to time based on what was on offer in national selection, while a common viewer has no idea on those.
Feelings basicly taking control with people, there’s also couple songs that are well received in their own country, so the popularity might be only regional.
Usual ballad? Italy has sent blues, soul, ballad, pop rock, operatic pop, electropop, folk pop, urban and rock and they send “a usual ballad”? Where do you exactly live?
Im a bit tired of this song , nonetheless top 10 in my book
Terrific. The best. Award-winning. I love every lyric, every rhythm and every note of this song. What’s even more incredible is how difficult this song is to sing live, and yet Angelina performs this song very well and even makes it look easy! I bow to this one.
I wonder how she can still be the number one song according to MyEurovisionScoreboard despite not being very favorized neither in Sanremo nor here
She won Sanremo. And she was a very convincing 2nd in the public vote, only behind the guy with the organized mass votes. And the tiny minority „here“ is not representative of anything. I think it’s one of those entries many people have in the top 10 because they agree it’s good and that adds up.
Eurofan bubble rankings are unrealistic.
Last year the odds and the eurofan rankings were right.
I bet your favourites this year aren’t on top of those rankings so for this reason aren’t realistic.
Only for the first and second place. Spain and France weren’t even close, same for Austria, while a lot of people said it will be the worst place for Italy in the contest yet (and then it came Top 5) and Belgium was a nq for a lot of fans (and then it came Top 10).
Girlbops are almost always overrated (with exceptions, of course).
How about an unproblematic, talented Eurovision winner with a great, original song and a fantastic performance? She’s right here. May the best Mango win.