Ka-ching! The 69th edition of Sanremo Music Festival has come to an end and against all odds, Mahmood won the crown and the traditional leoncino — the little golden lion awarded to the sanremese winner.
The Italian singer of Egyptian descent emerged as an outsider in the competition with “Soldi”. From the start of the week though, the song was well received by both the public and critics.
During the week, it seemed that bookies’ hot favourite Ultimo was heading to a crushing victory. He overshadowed all the competitors in every field, with millions of views on YouTube and first place on Spotify and iTunes Italy. Still, we’re sure he must be pleased with his silver medal.
The winner of Sanremo has first refusal to be Italy’s act at Eurovision. While RAI hasn’t yet released an official statement, Mahmood announced that he will represent Italy in Tel Aviv during the traditional press conference after the final. The news has also been confirmed on the official Eurovision Twitter account.
Rivedi tutta l’esibizione di @Mahmood_Music su @RaiPlay ? https://t.co/fdve647Sm6#Soldi #Sanremo2019 pic.twitter.com/3ni5F6n4Vp
— Festival di Sanremo (@SanremoRai) February 9, 2019
Final results
As with last night, the overall combined results consisted of televoting (50%), the press jury (30%) and the expert jury (20%). All 24 finalists started off with a clean slate when they performed their entries on the night.
After the first round of voting, Ultimo, Il Volo and Mahmood advanced to the second and last round. In the end, it was the R’n’B singer with “Soldi” who emerged triumphant!
Vince #Sanremo2019 “Soldi” cantata da @Mahmood_Music ?@RaiRadio2 @RaiPlay @Raiofficialnews @RaiNews pic.twitter.com/P5BI4yoUOm
— Festival di Sanremo (@SanremoRai) February 10, 2019
Overall ranking
- Mahmood – Soldi
- Ultimo – I tuoi particolari
- Il Volo – Musica che resta
- Loredana Bertè – Cosa ti aspetti da me
- Simone Cristicchi – Abbi cura di me
- Daniele Silvestri – Argentovivo
- Irama – La ragazza con il cuore di latta
- Arisa – Mi sento bene
- Achille Lauro – Rolls Royce
- Enrico Nigiotti – Nonno Hollywood
- Boomdabash – Per un milione
- Ghemon – Rose viola
- Ex-Otago – Solo una canzone
- Motta – Dov’è l’Italia
- Francesco Renga – Aspetto che torni
- Paola Turci – L’ultimo ostacolo
- The Zen Circus – L’amore è una dittatura
- Federica Carta e Shade – Senza farlo apposta
- Nek – Mi farò trovare pronto
- Negrita – I ragazzi stanno bene
- Patty Pravo con Briga – Un po’ come la vita
- Anna Tatangelo – Le nostre anime di notte
- Einar – Parole nuove
- Nino D’Angelo e Livio Cori – Un’altra luce
The winner
Born 12 September 1992 in Milan, Alessandro “Mahmood” Mahmoud is a songwriter who rosed to fame after finishing fourth in the Newcomers’ Section of Sanremo 2016 with the song “Dimentica“.
In 2012 he took part in the sixth edition of X Factor Italy. He gained a spot in the cast of Sanremo 2019 winning the contest Sanremo Giovani in December 2018 with the song “Gioventù bruciata“.
Fun fact: he is among the authors of “Hola (I Say)” the latest platinum certified single by Eurovision 2013 act Marco Mengoni feat. Tom Walker.
Do you like “Soldi” by Mahmood? Will Italy snatch the Eurovision trophy in Tel Aviv in May? Share your thoughts below!
After two months I think we have to give a prize to the giuria d’onore and the press that recognized the hight quality and impact of the song Soldi! Contrary to what it was said at the beginning, the jury of honor (whose president was one of the most important Italian musician, mauro Pagani) and the press, ARE professionals (the journalists are specialized in music). It is important to have juries in this kind of competitions, if the winner is choosen only by televote it would win always the singer with the larger fanbase (in this case, Ultimo, but in… Read more »
What a beautiful song! I also read the lyrics…I love this one! Italy has done a great job once again showcasing its music and culture! Hope they do well at Eurovision!
Why only female singers get flowers at the end of their singing? Male singers get NOTHING. They only receive a ‘Grazzie’. It’s pooling!!! Does that mean that flowers are only for women? Males like flowers too.? Male singers put as much effort in their singing as females. If giving flowers to males is not within Italian culture at least male singers should get something that recognise their effort. In Olimpic Games, for example, winners get their medals and flowers. There is no discrimination about gender.
Why only female singers get flowers at the end of their singing? Male singers get NOTHING. They only receive a ‘Grazzie’. It’s pooling!!! Does that mean that flowers are only for women? Males like flowers too. Male singers put as much effort in their singing as females.
If giving flowers to males is not within Italian culture at least male singers should get something that recognise their effort. In Olimpic Games, for example, winners get their medals and flowers. There is no discrimination about gender.
Yes! He confirmed again earlier today
Last year Italy was my favourite to win.
Still, listening to “Non mi avete fatto niente”, I have goosebumps. That song is so good! And their performance in Lisbon was class.
This year Italy disappoints.
bit boring song.. but he is hot AF! He has my vote 😉
This is by far and away the best song selected so far – by miles.
Really? So many good songs and Italy chooses this? His live performance is so out of tune…..
I am prediting Italy’s worse result since Emma
Where’s the newest poll? I want to vote for Italy! 🙂
I completely agree with wiwibloggs reaction. I like Mahmood since the first listening at Sanremo. Perfect to me. Nothing else to say. Only good luck to him
dear god, he is sexy
At first I hate it …now ,I absolutely Love it !
Why do my posts keep disappearing? Is somebody deleting them? I know sometimes they go into moderation limbo, but in this case they appear to post regularly, but then vanish after I’ve refreshed the page. 🙁
Some of my posts seem to have re-appeared – I’m sorry that I seem to be posting the same thing multiple times! Maybe I’m just going insane.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ue5Lm8MAUlM
Can someone tell me what Ultimo is saying? I mean, I can pretty much guess, but…
What really interests me is the entire televoting scores because I want to know where Irama actually ended up.
Irama, was 4th with the televote, and 7th overall.
Found them on Wikipedia. Loredana was third, as expected, but still nowhere near Ultimo and Il Volo.
He pretty much says 2 things:
1. He’s not happy for the descrepancy between the televoting results, and the final one, wondering how come someone with more than triple votes from the public from another artist ends up with reversed scores in the end. He also says he’s sorry for his followers, if they voted for him and got upset after the results came up.
2. He’s mad with the journalists in general, for twisting his words and for being disrespectful by insulting Il Volo and him in two occasions that he mentions.
Thank you.
I never understand why people think the televote is more valid than the jury vote, as if the public’s choice is the “true” winner. The public can vote for whatever reason they want, because the act is from their region, or because they have a crush on Ultimo….the juries are (supposedly) experts. For the first several decades of the festival, televoting had no role in deciding the winner, and it’s the same with the Eurovision Song Contest. I guess because people are so accustomed to voting on reality TV shows, they just expect the most “popular” act to win…but that’s… Read more »
The thing is Sanremo’s jury is made of 30 journalists and 8 other people, most of whom have nothing to do with music. That’s questionable too. Tbh if I was a journalist, I would also be voting for the act that would sell more articles and papers, and that’s what happened.
Even if that’s true, they only voted because it’s the better story, why is that worse than somebody at home voting for Ultimo because he happens to be very pretty? Both are flawed.
You are contradicting yourself here. It is worse, because as you pointed out somewhere else, juries are supposed to be professional and focus on quality.
I’m not contradicting myself. For the sake of debate, I was accepting the premise of the previous post saying that journalists voted for the best story – that may make the jury vote flawed, but it doesn’t mean the televote has any greater moral authority. It would just be a problem with those particular jurors, not the system in theory.
It has because it is more of a democracy. Any democracy has flaws but it’s the best system we have.
Nah, the goal is to find the best song, not the most popular. Expert opinion is important.
Let’s look at the Top 4 – Ultimo & Il Volo have large fanbases ready to vote no matter what the song is, Loredana hoovered up all the sentimental votes that had nothing to do with the actual song – the juries are there to level the playing field. The goal is to reward the “best song”, not “most popular act”.
Okay, you are not in favor of democracy. I respect your opinion.
I am not in favor of democracy for any and every occasion, no. Would you be happy if you went to your doctor, and s/he went out into the waiting room and asked “what’s wrong with Vanilla? Let’s vote…”?
Now you’re just being silly.
For the record: Nothing is wrong, I am an excellent shape. 😛
I’m glad to hear it. Still, it’s better to get checked out. Your judgement is…questionable. 🙂
Right back at you. 😉
That is true. And The giury d onore of sanremo had as president one of the most important italian musician, Mauro Pagani. He and this jury judged the song of mahmood in a very professional view they wanted to chood the best song, not the more popular, and since the first night for this jury it ws in 1st position. The press are journalists specialized in music, professional and focus on quality… Now after more than 2 months, we can say juries and press acted very well and recognized the quality of Soldi, that also, winner or not in Esc,… Read more »
The giury d onore of sanremo had as president one of the most important italian musician, Mauro Pagani. He and this jury judged the song of mahmood in a very professional view, and since the first night for this jury it ws in 1st position. The press are almost 200 journalists i think, specialized in music. So they ARE professional and focus on quality…
200 music journalists (accredited people who are also members of the Journalists’ Association).
There are no experts when it comes to voting for what you personally like best.
Who says that’s the criteria? I could like Jedward better than Céline Dion, but that doesn’t mean they’re the better singers. Of course it’s subjective to a degree, but quality should be recognized.
Jury is mostly political and corrupted, I trust public vote more
Even if the result was a bit questionable, I really can’t understand Ultimo’s reaction. It’s really disrespectful towards Mahmood and just makes him look like a bad loser.
Nice thread about the results https://twitter.com/hufflepuff_joh/status/1094702078449074178
It’s safe to say Rai’s system is bananas.
I can confirm that. I did the thread myself aha
It was said that after the top 3 finalists were chosen, there was another round of voting to determine the winner. Would that mean that all previous scores they’ve gotten from the past 4 and a half nights were not counted or was that added further?
Their system is truly wickity-wickity-wack.
I haven’t done the calculation myself as I have no time and patience for that, but the idea is that they have the cummulative result of the previous 4 and a half nights and then they add the final result and then divide the sum by 2 to find the average. That’s what Rai has done. In reality, if you want the exact average, you should have the sum of all 5 different results and then divide them by 5. This is what’s mathematically correct and if the calculations from the tweet are correct, then there’s a real problem here.
Nah, I checked, it was added further. Otherwise, only the last vote would count and there would not be a column “cumulo con precedenti” for the final round on the official document here http://www.rai.it/dl/doc/2019/02/10/1549808790256_Risultati_Televoto_Sanremo_2019.pdf
You would think that the BBC’s method of voting (an ion-house panel choosing three finalists with televoting determining a winner yet the actual numbers are not disclosed to the public) is questionable for You Decide, but then there comes RAI’s for Sanremo. haehe
A first worthy entry to utter the words “Top ten finish”
And why not? In the 6 years that I have watched Eurovision, Italy has NEVER sent a trainwreck song.
I don’t agree that Italians are attacking Mahmood on a personal level, especially regarding his origin. That has nothing to do with music and art in general. It’s not his fault and it’s saddening just thinking that on the happiest day of your life, everyone instead of congratulating you, is saying horrible things about you. That’s just sad! I’m blaming Sanremo, because they failed so many people in this, the people voting uselessly from home and the winner too! You can’t make people vote continuously for 5 nights, making them spend their money, and in the end disregarding them completely.… Read more »
It’s true. I always advocate for the televote winner being the real winner, even if my personal taste disagrees with the televote. More often than not, it does disagree. On the other hand, everybody knows the rules and if a jury is not corrupt but genuinely has a different taste, I think it is valid. It’s tough, though.
Yes, I agree, but this is where it gets complicated. There always are discrepancies between public vote and jury vote everywhere, including Eurovision and other NFs, but there is always transparency and usually it becomes clear why different parties vote differently. But Sanremo is a long festival, where it becomes pretty evident from the start what the fan favorites are, and Mahmood was even placed among the last places from one of the juries during the first night. Then they give so much importance to the public, making them vote multiple times, every night, and in the end, through the… Read more »
A change to the voting system can and should be discussed. Thank you both for doing this in a logical manner. You have demonstrated the level of respect that certain others have unfortunately not shown. I am genuinely upset by them, but you give me hope. 🙂
Totally agree. I was just along for the ride for the first time, enjoying the great music the artists offered. But if you’re going to spend almost five freaking hours on the final, you might as well have a transparent voting sequence. But I suppose if they had done that, the audience would have actually started to riot. lol I feel ambivalent because the acts in question were all really, really good, but objectively, Rai’s voting system is an absolute disgrace.
I have no problem with a split jury/televote. Why would the televote winner be regarded as the “true” winner? Anybody can vote from home for any reason – because the act is from their city, because they are a longstanding fan, because they have a huge crush on Ultimo…whereas the juries are (supposedly) experts. The goal is to crown the best song, not the most popular. For the first several decades of San Remo, and the Eurovision Song Contest too, the public had no role whatsoever in deciding the victor. That’s the precedent. Should the Oscars be decided by televote?… Read more »
But the real question is: How do journalists and actors know what the best song is? Because Sanremo’s Jury is mostly made of journalists( 30 of them) and very few ( I think only 1) musicians.
The make-up of the jury can be questioned, sure. Maybe it should be professional musicians. Just as long at it’s somebody with honor, who pledges to vote purely on merit. There’s no perfect way to do it.
Why would the televote winner be the “real” winner? I have no problem with the split jury/televote. Any idiot can vote from home for whatever reason – the act is from their city, they are a longstanding fan, they have a huge crush on Ultimo…whereas the juries are (supposedly) experts. The goal is to find the best song, not the most popular. Juries decided the winners of both Sanremo and the Eurovision Song Contest exclusively for decades. Should the Oscars be decided by televote? Or the Booker Prize? Or the Nobel Prize for Physics? The general public have proven time… Read more »
SIOSTRY GODLEWSKIE APPLIED FOR POLISH NATIONAL SELECTION!
But they won’t get picked anyway.
The backlash against Mahmood winning that I have read about in the Italian press; if true, it is very sad. 🙁
As an artist (not to be confused with plain singer or “influencer”), I wouldn’t read any critics about my work, good or bad. Ever. That’s like rule number one.
It’s not the same thing. One enters a contest to be rated and critiqued anyhow, on a technical level.
But what is reportedly happening with the Deputy Prime Minister, Ultimo and Loredana is just not cricket. It is disrespectful and very disheartening, if true.
It’s true, sadly.
Spill the means for me. What is happening with those three?
* the beans
Very basically, the Deputy PM has said that Mahmood was not the true San Remo winner since he didn’t win the televote. He has also remarked to the effect that the song isn’t up to Italian standards.
Then there is Loredana, who had reportedly cancelled her next appearance on Rai, in protest over the result. Ultimo, it is reported, pretty much did the same as Loredana. I won’t repeat what has been written beyond that, because it is too disgusting. 🙁
OMG! WTH!? poor Mahmood …are they serous? oh crap…..i’m speechless…
I see. Well, I would like to remind you that these are three personal opinions and understandable reactions from Ultimo and Loredana. They obviously feel wronged. Canceling an appearance is not the same as spewing venom. While I am happy, I would not feel the same way if I were Ultimo or Loredana.
I agree that they can say that as an opinion, yet protesting it to the extent of cancelling an appearance would mean a bit of loss of professionality, especially if you’re a well-known artist–it kind of flashes you how throat-cutting Italian artists are when it comes to San Remo. After all, when it comes to Salvini, it’s a big shame he had to say that. Reading that Twitter post, he didn’t just slaughter Mahmood, he clearly hashtagged #Ultimo on it, which would make him in par with the sore fans. He’s still a DPM of Italy after all, and even… Read more »
i have read Italian Twitter yesterday and it was horrible…thousands homopobes and chauvinists are going crazy about gay Arabic guy represents Italy, hope he is not reading all that trash
Isn’t his mommy Italian?
yes she is,Alessandro was born and raised in Italy, but it doesn’t stop the bigots 🙁
Yes, she is and that is the saddest thing… if they make racist comments against someone who even genetically and scientifically can not be called an immigrant( 50% of his blood is italian), i can not imagine what they would do to an actual immigrant in the same situation
the sad thing is that Mahmood identifies as 100% Italian as he said at the press conference – answering a dumb question frum a journalist. He doesn’t even speak Arabic either.
I think he does speak Arabic, because there’s a tiny part in his song where he sings in Arabic.
Ultimo is such a sore loser. He didn’t get all those public votes just because of his song, but because of his fans. His song was the ultimate Sanremo cliché, I’m glad it lost.
Very sad to witness Ultimo act like that. But it would have been nice to see him not stoop down that low despite him being able to see some flaws in the festival results. He still found success and gained an award for his song.
My fave entry so far, really like this song!
Haha Great reply
OK song. but why is it not clear he really will be in ESC? I hope so
I’ll wait until Germany reveals its representative but so far this year is the one with the best songs from the Big Five altogether
I’m very hopeful for Germany.
Looking at the recent years, there’s almost no way Germany has two good results in a row. After a good result we usually find ourselves at the bottom of the table again the next year. But maybe the curse can be broken? I’m not that optimistic personally.
That’s not quite accurate. 2010-2012? Top 10 for 3 straight years.
i love it! Current, influenced by cloud rap and rnb
Finally not a year with tropical house beats only… yeah!
Not too sure why this won I mean it’s all right but there was stronger songs than this, although i think its a grower probably will love it by May. However he faired pretty badly in the televote, never a good sign when u struggle with the televote in ur own country more of a jury song I think
last year the Israeli viewers of “Rising star” voted more for Mergi, who ended up in second place. Netta went on to win the ESC.
Yeah but it was pretty close in the end in Israel last year mahmood wasn’t even second or third in televote in the first night he finished near the bottom and that’s 24 songs competing and he only got 14% in a three act final. I’m not great at maths but that ain’t great is it
The Israeli viewers voted for the singer, not the song!!
Results came and turns out that either I don’t understand the votes or Ultimo was officially robbed…He was 1st in every show except one where he was 2nd (If we ignore the superfinal) while Mahmood was 8th, 4th, 5th and 3rd and he was this high up because of the press jury… no wonder Ultimo was mad at the press conference
Objectively, this is a boring repetitive song and he can’t sing without autotune.
Personally, I don’t see that much difference between studio and live versions.
Autotune???
Was curious when the singing starts, but it never did.
We got the first true favorite on the esc of 2019
Strong, original, authentic, powerful in every aspect !!!
Top 5 placements, quite sure, and one of the main competitors for the victory
The song is excellent when it is first heard. That’s exactly what’s expected.
Italy did not make sure, they have secured the top of the table and a potential win.
from me , 12 p
Before the haters criticize how “awful” Mahmood’s voice was, take note that he flawlessly sang his song for four nights just like the rest of the participants in San Remo. It would be better if the haters will watch those 4 performances and not just base their judgment over a single video which was his winning performance. The first night was his strong performance in my opinion https://youtu.be/KvJUrrMgyGs
Boring…
I’m happy for many LGBT represents. France, UK, Italy, and Sergay. If Electric Fields won in Australia, we would have another group representation.
Mahmood is gay ? Really ?
Yes he is, thousands bigots on twitter were angry as hell that Italy represents Arabic gay lad, now i love Mohmood even more lol
the lyrics of his song is very touching
i don’t think there has been any evidence of him being gay. (I only found an interview of him supporting gay rights in Egypt, nothing else) Bigots on twitter just love using it as an insult, for any male person they don’t like.
Let’s keep Eurovision as song contest and not make it gay pride please.
Why not? Thousands gays still being killed and tortured around the world, millions homophobes and bigots are still here, near us, out and proud Eurovision artists could make a change, especially for gay youth around the world
I agree Yerevan! Many silly comments here!
Check your priviledge. How dare you!? The guy has had loads of homophobic slurs on Twitter and other social media and your response is to suggest that this is not about GAY PRIDE? Yeah, when an LGBT+ (or even a straight) singer wins a competition and there is NO MENTION of his/ her/ their sexuality THEN we can focus on the songs in a peaceful climate… until then, every person who experiences homophobia must be defended.
Guessing you don’t experience much prejudice?
There speaks the voice of priviledge
If you think Mahmood has anything in common with Bilal, you are wrong. Bilal is playing LGBTQ card, Mahmood is genuine, he only cares about his mother struggle about money.
In my mind I am actually happy that Madame Monsieur will crush and burn again. Stop being the victim. Learn from Mahmood, he talks about pride.
It won’t help. I am fairly confident that both get the result they deserve, on the opposite ends of scoreboard. Italy in the top five or ten and France in the bottom five.
This is what I’m saying, Italy is good again, France will fall. Sorry if I was not clear enough. So sorry for France, is no good to have a good national final, if you will pick the worst.
When people are saying that he has something in common with Bilal, sorry I have to ask is it that their both LGBTQ or that one of them is Moroccan and the other one happens to be singing in Arabic, what similarities would they both share.
Arabic gay men singing songs with a message
Except that Bilal’s song has no message. He IS the message himself. That’s why he needs to put his identity upfront.
What’s wrong with Bilal showing his LGBT pride? I don’t like his song but I’m really happy he shows who he is. People keep talking about ethnic pride in Eurovision but when it comes to LGBT, people often say it’s not good to get into that. Double standard much?
LGBT won in 2014. The song matters, not just playing the card. Bilal is a troll, France has been played .
YEP=! Let ESC be about music, not who is gay or not! Totally irrelevant!
Honestly wtf is with you and your anti-lgbtq crusade honestly bro whenever i see a post regarding it i see your comments honestly chill tf out or gtfo
People hate it because they don’t like the idea of a feminine-looking cis man.
On first listen it’s not my favourite. Perhaps it will grow on me
So Italy are 3rd favourites in the Odds, see they’ve done It again with their perfect song choice, they aren’t stopping till its in Rome, or Milan maybe. Good Luck to Italy
I don’t know if “the” Italians want to win Eurovision.. in my opinion their main goal is to sing at Sanremo. Eurovision is only a kind of “collateral effect”…
Oh I mean the fact that since 2011 their songs have always been extremely good to listen to, I would of thought that they were ready to host, but still when their time comes I’m sure they will make great hosts.
Il Volo, Ultimo and Irama was so much better.
1. UK
2. Spain
3. Italy
4. Czech Republic
5. Albania
6. Montenegro
7. Australia
8. France
Oh thanks for the 1 placing, from the UK, Italy have chosen their song wisely, your song is my number one.
I am not used to this. In any other Eurovision selection I can just briefly skim through the songs, dismiss most of them and be done with it. Sanremo “forces” me to re-listen because there is so much good stuff I might miss if I’m not paying enough attention. Today, after re-examining the top three songs I totally get why the juries pushed Soldi to win.
Not just the top three. Ignore the final positions (Nek in 19th, say what?) and there are 11-12 really good songs in Sanremo this year. Soldi wasn’t my winner but I didn’t mind that it won.
because they use a festival for a pre-selection that has actually nothing to do with eurovision and nobody has to go if they don’t want to… that’s why so many stars take part I guess. they just want to win San Remo… no big star wants to be last in Eurovision… all the stigma
oh, and of course: the Italian music scene is just fantastic
?
I don’t want to be the one but I would address the elephant in the room! I would love to see how the Israeli audience would react to the Arabic lyrics of the song!
Exactly will they boo??, will they score Italy any points, will they react to him any good, a lot of questions, but hopefully the Israelis just focus on the music and nothing else.
Israel has plenty of singers who sing in Arabic and do really well in the charts. One of Israel’s most covered songs, and certainly one most performed on Israeli reality tv shows, is Ya Mama which is entirely sung in Moroccan-Arabic. So I don’t think the audience would have an issue. It’s just symbolic.
wow I had no clue about that, I mean after the crisis that went on, I never would of imagined Arabic charting well at all in Israel, but still good luck to Italy, and maybe Israelis will give them 12 points who knows.
Isn’t Arabic a well spoken language in Israel? I believe it’s one of their main languages. Also, a few people on the Israeli national selection sang in Arabic. I don’t think it’ll be a problem.
It was one of their main languages, but there have been efforts to downgrade it officially.
Many Israeli singers sing in Arabic and an Arab woman even won the voice of Israel.
Israel is a country that warmly welcomes and embraces Arab culture.
Many public signs are in Hebrew and Arabic, many of their singers will sing in Arabic, they all have to study Arabic st school btw so…
Considering Israel itself has sent songs at least partially in Arabic (a lot more than the 2 lines in Soldi) not sure what you’re trying to say here.
Arabs have a problem with Israel, Israel doesn’t have a problem with Arabs
I don’t see why Israeli people would have much of a problem with it. Most people there speak Arabic as either a 2nd or 1st language so if anything, they may be excited they understand part of the lyrics.
Um, if Israelis hate Arabs, KAN would’t invite Lucy Ayoub to host the show.
Current Ranking (so far) From the UK
Italy 12 points
Albania 10 points
Spain 8 points
Australia 7 points
Czech Republic 6 points
UK 5 points
France 4 points
It’s a decent song that can be played on the radio. But it’s not impactful enough to win Eurovision. Italy should get the staging right to elevate the song to the extent, to make it stand out more.
ohh I see Italy have done it again, wow this song is soo catchy I’m impressed, I definitely was bopping along to this song, its impressed me for sure, will Italy win well there’s been many years they deserved to win and haven’t, so that’s debatable, but no reason why this song cant get top 5 again, I liked it. especially the clapping bit that was genius. guess I was wrong Italy definitely doesn’t need Il Volo cause Mahmood is excellent.
Can’t wait for the next wiwi poll, so we can see how Italy will still lose the poll to Spain. Gotta love Spanish fans.
Down-vote me as much as you want, but that’s what’s gonna happen again. Spanish fans will vote Spain so many times, that it will be above Italy. And everybody will understand how fake Spain’s result is.
I am sure you are a Spanish fan trying to put Spain in EVERY news in this site and grab attention. But it’s not working, man, it’s time to celebrate that Italy has a potential winner!
This troll is always talking trash about Spain. Don’t feeld him, he only wants attention xd
Not Spanish, honey.
I am sure that a spanish cutie rejected him a long time ago and he has not overcome it haha
Get over it, I know it is hard for you to accept that you cannot eat a paella in your country 😉
I think there is something particularly exciting in Mahmood and Bilal’s performances, in the sense that they represent an immigrant generation to Europe, producing music directly relating to their experiences growing up in the shadow of that immigration story. This is the new Europe and this is the new Eurovision. This is particularly impactful given that both will be singing their songs back in the Middle East, in the region their family left to pursue a better life. For those who are criticizing Mahmood’s song, just read the lyrics, they are so touching. For him to sing “My son, my… Read more »
The difference etween those two is that only Mahmood has musical talent and substance.
Thats a fair critique – my only point was to highlight that we’re seeing a new generation of singers representing their countries in Eurovision, something that would have been unimaginable 30 years ago, and quite frankly even 10 years ago — and I think we should all be proud of that and what it says about the object and purpose of this competition.
The point you made about Mahmood was excellent. After reading a proper translation of his lyrics, I kind of love his song.
That shouldn’t be a problem, since Israel and Egypt have signed a peace treaty and their relations are improving.
If only that was true. Unfortunately, majority of Egyptians do not desire normalized relations with the Jewish state, even after the peace agreement, which many in the country wish was revoked. In any event, there is no doubt that the BDS movement (which cares nothing about such peace treaties) will target Mahmood next on social media, and it will take a lot of stamina from him not to cave to those pressures.
I like it. It was in my top 5 and I really think it is the best option for Italy. There were other good options like Ultimo, but “I tuoi particolari” was nothing original, so might have bored the audience in May. “Soldi” is very current, while also being different to what the Eurovision audience is used to. It is also catchy, so I think it will do well. People won’t understand the lyrics but they are heartbreaking, if you search them you will understand his anger. If Italy manages to translate this into the stage, this is top 10… Read more »
The fact that it was a good song does not mean that it was the best. Really what is the point of picking up your phone, paying and voting for the winner if the juries are those that cook the results and pick whoever they want? This is an open question not only for the San Remo but in Eurovision in general. Is it still a contest ? Are we happy and feel respected when things like that happen? Can and should we do something as televiewers to protect us and the artists that participate from situations like that when… Read more »
Honestly? I don’t see the problem. You know the rules going in, you know there’s a 50/50 split, and you know you have two groups to impress. The public go for the song that really shouts to them and vote for usually just one or two, the juries have to rank all songs. These two together level out to a result. Unless you wanna go back to the dark days of 100% Televote?
A 20% of juries would solve many problems. The juries have often other criteria to rank songs and there is not a control over them. Sometimes a song with great artistic quality, based on music research and at the same time touching a huge portion of the population is ranked extremely low for no reason. If you can give me a satisfying answer why Il Volo in 2015 were ranked 6th from the juries I would accept that you are right and i will be a blind supporter of juries from now on. Listen though we are not judging if… Read more »
A control over them could fix many problems. Maybe we need a 80/20 % .
Thank god they chose Mahmood! Ultimo’s song was good, but unfortunately he himself is not memorable. His voice is rather bland. When he sang his song with Fabrizio Moro I couldn’t help by think, “wow, Fabrizio really brings a sort of raw energy that has been missing.” Mahmood was also a better choice over Il Volo because there’s the possibility that people would’ve been comparing Il Volo to its success in 2015. Seeing that their song in 2015 was way better, this would possibly not fare well for them in Eurovision. But at least they made it this far in… Read more »
Love it!! Hope it does well, also the beat and the claps are catchy
Spain – 12 points
Italy – 10 points
Czech Republic – 8 points
Montenegro – 7 points
Australia – 6 points
France – 5 points
United Kingdom – 4 points
Albania – 3 points