Sanremo 2021: Francesca Michielin, Fedez, Ermal Meta and Måneskin among 26 confirmed participants

On Thursday evening RAI revealed the 26 hopefuls for the 2021 edition of the long-lasting Sanremo Music Festival. The lucky contestants will sing it out to gain access to the Eurovision 2021 stage in Rotterdam.

Kicking off on March 2, the contest will feature a lot of rookies. The Sanremo 2021 lineup features a very courageous cast with many young and little known names to the mainstream audience, mainly coming from the Italian hip-hop and indie scene. Long is the list of female artists, usually underrepresented.

Let’s take a look… but don’t start searching YouTube for their competing entries just yet: You won’t be able to hear the songs until the first performance on the stage, as required by sanremese tradition.

There’s so change from last year in terms of conduction and artistic direction. It will be again the histrionic Amadeus to guide viewers through the five-episode festival, which will turn 71 years old in March.

Sanremo 2021 – Competing artists and song titles

Let’s find out the 26 artists competing in Sanremo and the titles of their songs.

Aiello – “Ora”

Antonio Aiello is an indie-pop singer and rose to prominence in the last couple of years largely thanks to Spotify streams. In the summer of 2020 he released the track “Vienimi (a ballare)“.

Annalisa – “Dieci”

The red-haired singer already seen several times in Sanremo returns to the Ligurian city for the fifth time with the aim of improving the third place in 2018 with “Il mondo prima di te“.

Arisa – “Potevi fare di più”

Two-time winner of Sanremo — in 2009 as Newcomer with “Sincerità” and in 2014, in the main category, with “Controvento” — Rosalba ‘Arisa’ Pippa is back at the Festival for the seventh time with the never-fading dream of competing at Eurovision.

Bugo – “E invece sì”

Cristian “Bugo” Bugatti is the protagonist of the most viewed (non-musical) video on YouTube in Italy in 2020. Those who followed the last edition of the contest will remember him, together with Morgan, for the shock elimination from the competition of their song “Sincero“. Almost one year later, Amadeus gives the singer-songwriter a second chance, this time as a soloist.

Colapesce & Dimartino – “Musica leggerissima”

The two indie singer-songwriters Lorenzo ‘Colapesce’ Urciullo and Antonio Dimartino join forces and make their debut together at Sanremo after having released the collaborative album “I mortali”, including the single “Luna araba“.

Coma_Cose – “Fiamme negli occhi”

Duo of electronic rap music composed by Fausto Zanardelli and Francesca Mesiano, Coma_Cose are ready to jump into the mainstream scene after the exploit of the gold-certified single “Mancarsi“.

Ermal Meta – “Un milione di cose da dirti”

Albanian singer-songwriter Ermal Meta returns to the Festival three years after winning with fellow singer Fabrizio Moro. With “Non mi avete fatto niente” they went on to finish fifth at Eurovision 2018.

Extraliscio feat. Davide Toffolo – “Bianca luce nera”

A musical project that unites two totally distant genres: punk and traditional “liscio”, the ballroom music of Emilia Romagna. They present themselves accompanied by the voice of Davide Toffolo, frontman of the rock-punk band Tre Allegri Ragazzi Morti.

Fasma – “Parlami”

After taking part in the Newcomers category in 2020 with the platinum-certified “Per sentirmi vivo“, trap musician Tiberio ‘Fasma’ Fazioli gains access to the main category.

Francesca Michielin & Fedez – “Chiamami per nome”

The couple the spotlight will be on. Francesca marks her second participation in Sanremo, while Fedez — married to the well-known influencer Chiara Ferragni — will make his debut in the festival. The two return to sing together years after the release of their hits “Cigno nero” and “Magnifico“.

Francesco Renga – “Quando trovo te”

Seventh time in the ‘Big’ category for Francesco Renga, who also has a gold medal in his collection, the one he won in 2005 with the evergreen “Angelo“.

Fulminacci – “Santa Marinella”

Filippo Uttinacci, aka Fulminacci, is an indie-pop singer-songwriter who won the 2019 Targa Tenco — one of the most prestigious awards in Italian music — for his debut album “La vita veramente“.

Gaia – “Cuore amaro”

A rising star of Italian music. Italian-Brazilian, Gaia Gozzi placed second at X Factor Italy in 2016 but the turning point in her career was the victory in the last edition of Amici di Maria De Filippi and the success of the single “Chega“.

Ghemon – “Momento perfetto”

Rapper Giovanni Luca Picariello, aka Ghemon, returns to Sanremo two years after having made himself known to the general public with “Rose viola“, certified gold and appreciated by critics.

Gio Evan – “Arnica”

Giovanni Giancaspro, aka Gio Evan, is a singer-songwriter and writer of novels and poetry who gained fame through his aphorisms shared on Facebook and Instagram. Songs like “Klimt” and “A piedi il mondo” fully represent his musical style.

Irama – “La genesi del tuo colore”

Third participation in Sanremo for Filippo Maria Fanti, aka Irama. The winner of the 17th edition of the talent show Amici di Maria De Filippi surprisingly returns to the competition after the successful summer hits “Arrogante” and “Mediterranea“.

La Rappresentante di Lista – “Amare”

A progressive rock project born in 2011 from the union between Veronica Lucchesi and Dario Mangiaracina. La Rappresentante di Lista have already been guests at Sanremo in 2020, joining rapper Rancore in the third evenng dedicated to duets. Their most successful song on YouTube is “Questo corpo“.

Lo Stato Sociale – “Combat Pop”

The five-piece band returns three years after the earworm “Una vita in vacanza” with which they took second place in 2018. Their performance remained memorable thanks to the contribution of 84-year-old dancer Paddy Jones.

Madame – “Voce”

Francesca Calearo, aka Madame, is a very young exponent of the Italian rap scene. At only 18 years old, she has already won the support of the public and critics with a personal and recognizable style and many important collaborations. Her tracks “Sciccherie“, “Baby” and “Defuera” have been certified gold.

Malika Ayane – “Ti piaci così”

Two-time winner of the Sanremo Critics’ Award — in 2010 with “Ricomincio da qui” and in 2015 with “Adesso e qui (Nostalgico presente)” — Malika Ayane is ready to bring her elegance back to the stage.

Måneskin – “Zitti e buoni”

A pop-rock quartet runner up at X Factor Italy in 2017. Måneskin, led by the voice of Damiano David, make their debut at Sanremo attempting to repeat the success of their 2018 triple-platinum album “Il ballo della vita”, including the hit “Torno a casa“.

Max Gazzè & Trifluoperazina Monstery Band – “Il farmacista”

His eclecticism has always amazed in a positive way at the Ariston. Max Gazzè returns to Sanremo for the sixth time, following his sixth-place finish in 2018 with “La leggenda di Cristalda e Pizzomunno“.

Noemi – “Glicine”

The lioness is ready for a musical renaissance after her last entry “Non smettere mai di cercarmi“. New management and a new look that has brought her back to the image of her beginnings, with her rich voice Noemi is always an appreciated presence.

Orietta Berti – “Quando ti sei innamorato”

Well-known face of Italian popular music and television personality, Orietta Berti will grace the stage for the twelfth time, twenty-nine years after her last participation at the contest. With fifteen million records sold, her signature songs include “Fin che la barca va” and “Quando l’amore diventa poesia“.

Random – “Torno a te”

Emanuele Caso, aka Random, is a young rapper who made himself known a few months ago with his participation in the televised charity event Amici Speciali (spin-off of the talent show Amici di Maria De Filippi). In the TV show he promoted the single “Sono un bravo ragazzo un po’ fuori di testa“, double platinum record and one of the most streamed songs of 2020.

Willie Peyote – “Mai dire mai (La locura)”

Guglielmo Bruno, known as Willie Peyote, is a singer-songwriter and rapper. His stage name combines the animated character Wile E. Coyote with peyote, a hallucinogenic plant from North America. On YouTube, his most viewed videos are “Ottima scusa” and “La mia futura ex moglie“.

Sanremo 2021: Newcomers

The eight artists competing in the “Nuove Proposte” section were also announced tonight.

Unlike the artists in the “Big” category, their songs are already published and available for listening. These eight artists will not be in the running to sing for Italy at Eurovision.

• Avincola – “Goal!”
• Davide Shorty – “Regina”
• Dellai – “Io sono Luca”
• Elena Faggi – “Che ne so”
• Folcast – “Scopriti”
• Gaudiano – “Polvere da sparo”
• Greta Zuccoli – “Ogni cosa sa di te”
• Wrongonyou – “Lezioni di volo”

Who is your favourite on the Sanremo 2020 lineup? Who do you think will win the contest? Tell us your thoughts below.

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