In February they were among the first ten acts to be chosen for Eurovision 2018. But it was only on Friday — almost two months later — that Italy’s Ermal Meta & Fabrizio Moro released the three-minute version of “Non mi avete fatto niente”.
The duo won Sanremo with a 3:27 number sung entirely in their native tongue. Given that the song remains in Italian, it’s hard for non-speakers to pinpoint what exactly has been cut to meet the EBU’s three-minute rule.
Luckily, Italian Eurovision portal Eurofestival NEWS has identified the changes, so that the rest of us don’t have to.
- The instrumental intro has been reduced from six seconds to two.
- The instrumental bridge between the second and third refrain has also been shortened.
- The third stanza immediately starts with “Cadranno i grattacieli (The skyscrapers will fall)”. The second “le vostre inutili guerre (your useless wars)” is eliminated.
- Also gone is “Non mi avete fatto niente / Le vostre inutili guerre / Non mi avete tolto niente / Le vostre inutili guerre (You have not done anything to me / Your useless wars / You have not taken anything away from me / Your useless wars)” in the third refrain.
- Ermal Meta’s falsetto after the triple “col sorriso di un bambino (with the smile of a child)” is retained.
“Non mi avete fatto niente” Eurovision 2018 three-minute version
The pair’s journey to Eurovision has not been without controversy. Upon its initial release, the original version was shrouded in controversy.
According to allegations, the song could not be considered “new” — as required by the rules of Sanremo — as it contained parts of “Silenzio“, a track by Ambra Calvani and Gabriele De Pascali, already published in 2016 and performed on several occasions. This saw Ermal and Fabrizio temporarily suspended from the competition.
However, Italian broadcaster RAI ultimately held that no rules had been breached. They went on to win the contest and subsequently accepted the ticket to sing for Italy in Lisbon.
What do you think of the three-minute version of “Non mi avete fatto niente”? Have they done a good job? Or do you prefer the original? Let us know in the comments below.
Follow all of our Italy Eurovision 2018 news.
Non Mi Avete Fatto Niente
The salty Greek that hates Albanians writing the exact same comment everytime something about the Italian entry is written. Well that Albanian Immigrant with dirty clothes is doing better than you in life.
Still a great song! Good job! Hope this song slays in May!
Nope, it’s just bad, sorry. Screamy, propaganda, milking the emotion cow….
What are you talking about? The way they dress and their style is very typical italian! Clearly you have never been to the country before! And Fabrizio Moro is italian, from Rome. Why are you so hateful? May God have mercy for your bitter soul!
Then go listen to Selena Gomez
27 less seconds of agony.
“Given that the song remains in Italian, it’s hard for non-speakers to pinpoint what exactly has been cut to meet the EBU’s three-minute rule.“ It is actually … not that hard? I don’t speak italian, yet i managed to realize which parts of the text were cut, and those parts are at the vereery end of the song. And those are like 4 verses 😀 The “non mi avete fatto niente” “non mi avete tolto niente” and le vostre inutili guerre x2 The other 98% of text is still there! 😀 They cut more music, and that I think we… Read more »
Even if I don’t speak Italian, I can feel the depth of their song.So far, that song ticks all the boxes, it’s so powerful and gripping until the last note and Italian is,to me,a beautiful language,if not the most beautiful in the world. Do I want them to win? Obviously,yes.Will they win? I don’t think so,but I hope their performance will stand out and leave a great impression. It’s funny how some songs reflect what the world is going through.I find it interesting that, this year, Esc is going to be a platform for 3 songs dealing with major issues… Read more »
Not sure. Very strong though, political message very good message what we all know, very TRUE. The world has gone insane it’s better to be insane in a musical way like these to singers, Italy is a lot better than last year, if that fake ape achieved 6th position last year Italy should get higher position than that. Because of its beautiful message I be happy if this wins esc 2018. When I first listen to the song even though I didnt understand Italian the music grabbed me instantly because it’s shouting beautifully yes when I got the translation of… Read more »
I half-listened to it this morning and didn’t even notice the edit. That’s a job well done.
Exactly! I am so happy they managed to do it well 🙂
This was a very difficult editing job and they managed to do it quite well. The message is great and the song has arguably the best lyrics on this Eurovision. What I see as a problem is that the melody is indeed repetitive and the chorus isn’t able to give the necessary breath the song needs. It’s not a regular song, it’s a manifesto. So the guys will have to be very convicing on the stage and sell a message that many people won’t get by just a brief description read by a TV commentator. Tough challenge, but I believe… Read more »
I play the ESC song to my kids (I’m a teacher) during every art lesson (since forever) and I was shocked (and pleasantly surprised) that this was their favourite along with Israel, it must be said (kids, animals, animal noises, you know the drift)!! They liked Germany too. Anyway…these are the peeps that vote, and they all said they do! (we are in Brussels, and not ONE liked the Belgian one unlike last year when they were convinced we would win!!!)… kids, eh?!!??
They are only 10/11 years old but we do “media studies” in class so they are aware (-ish) of current affairs… the girls are loving it! And the boys, in fairness! But I was sussing out their initail, first reaction (as i do every year. They are usually spot on, though they backed Bulgaria last year!)… of course Israel stood out to them this year! It was “different” in what (I think ) is a poor year.They were having none of Norway though. Obviously, they dont know anything about NOR 2009 – too young .. when I played them Fairytale,… Read more »
I’m really impressed with that edit, especially because the song is so full of lyrics and all of them are important. Bravo, Ermal’s and Fabrizio!
Still waiting for Italy’s victory…
You deserve it, guys <3
25th would be the place we deserve with this mess but realistically we’ll be 12-14th.
My number one this year so far, love it to pieces whether it’s short or long. I just hope that Ermal sees this as THE promotion opportunity of the year rather than a one of many promotional events (like Gabbani did last year). Folks we get it that Sanremo is an epicenter of your attention but you are not performing to a 200 million strong crowd every night. Make an effort, ok?
On YouTube, although maybe not official. Not sure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbON-SdNxpw
Official version can also be found on spotify and on deezer! 🙂
Awful song
You hate everything though.
Love it!
My number 1 🙂
1. Italy
2. Estonia
3. Spain
4. Austria
5. Netherlands
6. Bulgaria
7. Denmark
8. Greece
9. Finland
10. Ukraine
I’m really, really impressed with this edit – sounds excellent. It’s cut enough out without making it sound radically different to the original. I’ve still not decided on a top 10 this year – I think it’s much tighter than previous year – but Italy is definitely a very strong candidate for my top 10.
Although I knew for a while that they didn’t cut the verses like last year and I’m gonna say THANK GOD for that. I think that it’s a damn fine cut. Even though I prefer the original one more, but is really fine too. I absolutely love this song. It’s my nr 1 and will stay that way for a long time. I LOVE IT. Well done Italy <3
this is*
How much political and off-putting can “this bad stuff won’t affect us” be?
Well done. The song was amazing before and it is even better now.
Italy went from my top 40 to top 15 so quickly, I love it to bits now.
My number 1 this year. Stunning song. Love from Portugal.
They are LP wannabes…but a bad copia
Still great! Italy is going to be so good this year!
Italy has crawled it’s way up into my top 3. A stunning song with stunning lyrics, stunning emotions and a catchy melody. It won’t win or anything, but it’s got a place in my heart. <3
Top 4, borderline top 3. Really, if any of my top 6 (Portugal, Belgium, Estonia, Italy, France, and Israel) won it all, I’d be happy.
My #1 <3
same <3