He’s one of the favourites for the bookies to win Eurovision 2019. And he’s also currently leading the OGAE Poll 2019.
This weekend, Italian hopeful Mahmood brought down the house at Café de Paris. He took to the stage at London Eurovision Party with a persuasive performance of his entry “Soldi”.
With just over a month to go until he performs at the grand final, wiwibloggs met him for the first time to speak about his song, his expectations and what we’ll see on Tel Aviv stage.
Mahmood interview – London Eurovision Party
The Italian R&B singer told us that he’s living the fairytale: “Everything is unexpected. I am happy that many people are liking “Soldi”. I hope to do a good job at Eurovision”.
As reported in the past, his entry’s lyrics tell a painful story about living without a father figure. Mahmood specifies that there is more anger than sadness in the song: “It’s an outburst, (…) there is resentment”.
He also revealed that his father contacted him after the victory in Sanremo: “He congratulated me. He’s glad that I succeeded with this song. He wants us to keep in touch because he wants to take me out to eat sometime”.
The songwriter of “Gioventù bruciata” explains that he is not worried to put personal elements and feelings in his songs, whether he talks about his family or a love affair: “The emotional charge is always the same.” He adds: “I am person, I’m an artist, I always put music first. Everyone must focus on this”.
As well as with his voice and his song, Mahmood has won over many supporters for his look and the way he expresses himself: “I like to take care of my outfit, my physical appearance, without worrying too much about fashion, mostly to feel at ease with what I wear. It is not important to follow trends”.
To those who think he might have problems in Israel because of his origins, Mahmood responds clearly: “I am Italian, I only have Egyptian roots. (…) I am going to enter a competition which takes place in Israel, I’m not going there to hold my own concert or bring political messages”.
“Soldi” – Mahmood
The city of Tel Aviv − which Mahmood visited last week to shot his Eurovision postcard − left an excellent impression on the singer: “It is an open city, both for the people who live there and for the atmosphere you breathe. It is available to different cultures”.
His performance at Eurovision is just over a month away. As stated by the singer, we will not see the same minimalist staging of Sanremo brought to the Expo Tel Aviv stage: “I’ll add something else. There will be surprises that I don’t want to reveal. I want it to be something original on the stage”.
Mahmood will perform in the grand final on the 18th of May.
Do you think Mahmood can snatch the crown? Will Italy be our 2020 host country? Let us know below!
We cant have abad winner this year again if Italy win. He cant sing the song is awful. Go The Netherland
I love him and his song , He has a good chance of winning.
William flirting and drooling over Mahmood was hilarious to watch lol
I love how Alessandro warmed up and smiled after William made some really nice and so deserved compliments to Mahmood, he looked a bit tense at the beginning…
I cant wait for his performance in Tel Aviv
We love you dear!
he better keep his staging minimal bc this song doesn’t need any gimmicks or drama distracting us
well said, and more attention to the vocals
tea. arcade issa rather generic ballad and it’s quite cold overall, while soldi issa contemporary r&b piece that manages to convey emotions with a near-minimal production.
Ormai hanno capito che sei italiano. Non è bello essere così di parte per il proprio connazionale (anche se mahmood è anche il mio preferito) però preferisco non dirlo e lasciare che i fatti parlino a tel Aviv. Non diventiamo come quei fan accaniti che attaccano chiunque tranne il proprio rappresentante, ti prego
That’s the same for me. This year I really support Mahmood and I hope him the best in the competion but, of course, I can’t vote for him as Italian. There are plenty of good song that I like and that I will vote for 🙂
So why Mahmood used translator in this interview when i just watched two or three interviews with Alessandro from the same event when he speaks English just fine, huh?
Anyway it was great to see him and hear from him, Mahmood is such an amazing artist and charming guy:)
Thank you William!
its all about between Slovenia Italy and The Netherlands
Yes! I do think that Slovenia entry is definetly in the race to win!
Surprise? Hmm… I think it will be money rain orang something related with money lol
Wishing him well. He’s one of my faves this year and I’d be happy to see him win
i second this, only for the verses of soldi, where his singing gives me goosebumps, wish he would sing the same in the chorus (would be my only thing what annoys me) cause now it seems he’s talking in chorus
sorry for the annoying negative posts of mine in this topic, for the verses alone i might be able to vote for italy again
Anyone else start to worry when ‘surprises’ Are mentioned on the Eurovision stage?
I’m sure he can be trusted. He seems too meticulous and careful to let it all go to hell because of the staging.
i like mahmood, he seems so down to earth and friendly
what i like about soldi, are the verses, which reminds of music from one of my fave italian artists eros ramazzotti
the chorus though is the only part i don’t like, way too cringy for my liking
good luck sweetie mahmood, have fun and entertain your fans
my score for soldi is a solid 8.5/10
Nicky wtf are you doing… We can still see your comments about how much you dislike Soldi.
Only yesterday I read on the Dutch eurovision forum how happy they were that they didn’t have to deal with Nicky anymore.
i don’t dislike soldi, i never disliked soldi, how can you dislike a cutie mahmood anyway, i see the potential in him
no more stress for me pls, i want to behave and relax
i will enjoy this years contest, and i will enjoy every performance, no hate from me this year
can’t stop laughing at your comments, they’re so bipolar 😀
Thanks William for your interview to Mahmood, you were very nice and the questions interesting.
Here the link to another interview of mahmood with eurovoxx, very interesting too. Here mahmood speaks english… and yes he can do it!
https://youtu.be/VFo5OtkOnjI
Interview mahmood english eurovoxx
I genuinly like Mahmood so much, he definitly deserves to win. I wouldn’t stage the song too much, he should keep it cool and simple. Good luck Mahmood, show your haters how it’s done! Rooting for Mahmood and Duncan. <3
Alessandro is his first name anyway, so you can also call him that
he was a first boot at italian x factor
Yeah I know…
Soldi makes me puke how lifeless, dull, boring, unoriginal it is
@wiwi team, please BAN THIS TROLL. This is not encouraging civil discussion, he’s just endlessly trying to start flames. Too much is too much, this has to be done.
I second that. Please wiwibloggs, Nicky91 is unbearably annoying.
no, then you guys have ruined eurovision for me
I can live with that.
Maybe a gorilla on stage.
😀 Gabbani’s song was beautifully ironic! Loved it! Mahmood’s instead… hmmm… bit flat
why an article about this bore
only the king duncan articles are interesting, arcade best eurovision winner ever
omg what a trollpost from me
i am not a troll i swear, i am sorry i have ruined it for myself on here
soldi just annoys me, i love love love the verses, but chorus he just talks and too cringy for me personally, he needs to improve on that, maybe listen more to eros, how he handles choruses, get a smoother flow on future music coming from sweetie mahmood and then he’s worthy of a 10/10 from me
but now a 8.5/10
i voted last year for italy, bc i loved vocals, i loved message in the song, everything came together perfectly
If this article does not interest you why are you reading it???
because it does interest me, i have a bad habit that i usually go over the top for attention, and i write without thinking about consequences
i like reading everyone else’s posts here, i like reading most articles this year, there’s no song what i dislike or hate
The one I’ve been waiting for. Thanks!
I know well Mahmood because I’m Italian, I watched the video of the exhibition in London and I can say yes, he deserves to snatch the crown; but I have to say also in this Esc there are other beautiful songs, with a different style in comparaison to Soldi, so I think the winner will be the song that matches better the taste of juries and public (I think there are two ot three songs this year that deserve the crown, and one is Soldi. I like very much also Portugal but it is very underrated…). I like so much… Read more »
Thank you wiwi for adding English subtitles to his interview, the interpreter clearly had quite a few difficulties and it would be a pity not to fully convey all his thoughts and analyses just because of the language barrier… I have no idea what he has in store for us about the staging, but I’m feeling positive he’ll do a better job than other italian artists these past years. He gives me the impression of being a perfectionist, so I don’t expect to be a half-*ssed staging. Fingers crossed.
He sounds ambitious and I like that! All the best Mahmood!
Watch somebody from “international media” ask him an inappropiate question about his sexuality in Tel Aviv during the press conference
Where did you read it ? There was a press conference with mahmood in tel aviv ? I only listened to the interview in channel KAN but here the questions were fair…
No Clara, it didn’t happen yet. Kay stated that he thinks, that these questions will come up in Tel Aviv.
Ok, sorry I haven’t understood. I hope the journalists won’t make these kind of questions, because mahmood said very very clearly that he doesn’t want to talk about that and they have to tespect him.