He’s a 26-year-old swimmer who has five Olympic medals, including three golds. And this Saturday Adam Peaty will be moving from the pool to the dance floor as he makes his debut on the BBC’s wildly popular show Strictly Come Dancing.

So how does this relate to Eurovision? Well Adam and his professional partner Katya Jones will be performing to Måneskin’s cover of “Beggin'” in their debut performance!

Yes, the British pair will be working the cha-cha to the band’s arrangement of their now iconic cover of the Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons original.

Adam Peaty dances to Måneskin’s “Beggin'” on Strictly

Strictly Come Dancing is a ratings juggernaut for the BBC and a staple of the autumn lineup. It sees celebrities (of wide ranging notoriety and resonance) paired with professional dance partners as they master genres from the tango and waltz to the jive and paso doble.

Songs performed on the show frequently see an uptick in sales, as viewers rush to stream tracks they may have been unfamiliar with. Other songs chosen for week 1 include Camila Cabello’s “Consequences”, Taylor Swift’s “Shake it Off” and DJ Fresh’s “Gold Dust.”

Måneskin’s inclusion on British primetime is the latest sign of their rise to global prominence following their Eurovision win.

In June the song hit No. 1 on the German charts, pushing aside Olivia Rodrigo’s “Good 4U”. The song also charted in the Top 10 in countries including the UK, France, Greece, The Netherlands, Austria, and Norway.

It even reached No. 29 on the coveted Billboard Hot 100 in the United States of America.

The band first performed the song in 2017 while they were competing on the eleventh season of X Factor Italia. They never released it as a single, but it managed to hit #39 on the Italian Singles Chart anyway and a year later FIMI certified it as a gold record.

“Beggin’” was popularised in 1967 by the American Franki Valli and his band The Four Seasons. The lyrics recount a man who has lost his lady through his own bad deeds and he’s regretting it bad. “I need you to understand that I tried so hard to be your man/ The kind of man you want in the end/ only then can I begin to live again.”

The song was subsequently reworked by the likes of  French DJ Pilooski and Norwegian hip-hop group Madcon. Musical theatre buffs may recognise the song from the Broadway musical Jersey Boys, which is about the Four Seasons.

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Fatima
Fatima
2 years ago

It’s also a sign of the greater attention given to the contest since last year. The 2020 Strictly launch programme featured Think About Things, as did the series opener of Dancing on Ice earlier in 2021.

Bird Lover
Bird Lover
2 years ago

they didnt make the song lol. the song is an old classic. they COVERED it.

15 year olds need some culture other than this overrated “band”

Sot
Sot
2 years ago

But… B-but… Well ok, I’m just kinda confused (+ this hasn’t exactly got an ESC theme because Beggin’ by Måneskin was a cover, as we all know)

Alex
Alex
2 years ago

But…Maneskin aren’t the ones who created the song though. So wouldn’t it be a cover of The Four Seasons? Or do they mean the Maneskin version of it, which is still pretty similar

Jonas
Jonas
2 years ago

Don’t they still have a live band performing all the songs on the show?

Zisk
Zisk
2 years ago
Reply to  Jonas

They do, so it’s not really a Maneskin cover?

Sisi
Sisi
2 years ago
Reply to  Zisk

they clearly used Maneskin’s version of the song so…kinda?