This year marks the 70th edition of the prestigious Sanremo Song Festival in Italy, set to begin on February 4th. The 24 participants of this year’s contest were previously revealed by the Artistic Director, Amadeus and will feature a number of returning artists, as well as newcomers to the contest. Meet the participants in our preview series, starting with Achille Lauro, and continuing through to former Eurovision participant Francesco Gabbani!
Achille Lauro – Me Ne Frego
Achille Lauro is the pseudonym of Lauro De Marinis, who is a singer and rapper. His musical style has been described as Trap, but he has also been credited as the pioneer of ‘Samba Trap’, which is the trap style with Latin influences. In reality, his style is experimental, which can be seen through his extensive discography. He has released 5 studio albums, with his latest album titled 1969 displaying more elements of rock.
This will be the second edition that Achille Lauro will participate in, having also participated in 2019 with the song Rolls Royce. He finished in 9th place in 2019.
What can we expect from Achille Lauro at Sanremo 2020?
Based on his style and influences, we can expect something unique from Achille Lauro. His music ranges across many styles, but much like his entry from 2019, it will likely be an entry that will be loved by some, and loathed by others. He will certainly add some flair into the 2020 line-up.
Alberto Urso – Il Sole ad Est
Alberto Urso is a singer, tenor and multi-instrumentalist whose style can be described as Pop Opera. Back in 2010, he participated in the RAI show ‘Ti Lascio una Canzone’ where he would duet with various singers. He has studied at the Messina Conservatory, and has graduated in Opera Singing at the Matera Conservatory.
More recently, Alberto participated on the 18th edition of Amici di Maria De Filippi, which is the longest running talent show on television. The show features young singers and dancers, who partake in lessons through the season, with the progress being documented for television. Alberto won this edition of the program, and in May of 2019 he released his first studio album titled Solo. It remained in first position on the Italian FIMI charts for two consecutive weeks. In October 2019, he released his second studio album, titled Il Sole ad Est.
What can we expect from Alberto Urso at Sanremo 2020?
Alberto Urso will likely serve up a classical inspired ballad which will show off his vocal talent. His entry will likely be more of the ‘traditional’ Sanremo style, perhaps appealing to the older generation of Sanremo viewers. That’s not to say he won’t appeal to the younger audiences too, especially with his win of Amici still fresh.
Anastasio – Rosso di Rabbia
Anastasio is one of a handful of rappers in the line-up for Sanremo 2020, but still a fairly new name in the Italian music scene. His big claim to fame was his participation the X Factor Italy in 2018, where he won the competition overall.
Prior to his X Factor participation, Anastasio released his first singles on YouTube under the name Nasta. Some of these singles were featured on his first EP, ‘Disciplina Sperimentale.’ In 2018, he released the single ‘La Fine Del Mondo’ which was also the title of his next EP which was published by Sony Music. The single reached the top of the Italian singles chart, and was certified platinum by FIMI.
Anastasio has featured on a collaborative single with Fabrizio Moro, who participated at Eurovision 2018 alongside Ermal Meta.
What can we expect from Anastasio at Sanremo 2020?
Anastasio isn’t scared of using more traditional instrumentation in his music, creating a more consumable form of rap for those who aren’t generally into that style of music. He also performs with a lot of emotion through his music, so we can hopefully expect something strong with emotion in the lyrics and performance. With the right song, he could be a strong competitor.
Diodato – Fai Rumore
Antonio Diodato is a singer-songwriter from the city of Aosta, close to Switzerland. He took part in Sanremo before, in the Talent section and also in the Campioni-section, in 2018. Prior to his participation at the contest, he had previously released three albums in Italy.
He rose to fame in Italy around the year 2013, when his first self-produced EP got picked up. His first works were produced in Stockholm, where he composed the song Libiri with Swedish DJs Sebastian Ingrosso and Steve Angello, who later formed the Swedish House Mafia.
What can we expect from Diodato at Sanremo 2020?
The musical influences in the life of Diadato have crossed the borders of Italy, and thus it can be expected that we not have a typical classical Sanremo song, but a rather contemporary “International” sounding song.
Elettra Lamborghini – Musica (e il resto scompare)
Those who know Elettra Lamborghini will likely know her from her television appearances, rather than her music. She has appeared on television programs such as Super Shore, Geordie Shore and #Riccanza.
In recent years, she has progressed towards the music scene, having released her first solo single in February 2018, titled Pem Pem. The single currently has over 65 million streams on Spotify, making it her most successful single to date. In 2019, she signed to Universal Music and released her first studio album, Twerking Queen. In the same year, she also joined the judging panel for the Voice Italy. This will be her first appearance at Sanremo.
What can we expect from Elettra Lamborghini at Sanremo 2020?
Based off her discography, we can expect something associated with the Latin style, both in beat and lyrics. It will very likely be an upbeat number, and it won’t be surprising if she has the most boisterous performance of the night. We also can’t expect the strongest vocal performance of the night from Elettra, but the personality will be there!
Elodie – Andromeda
Elodie is a familiar name for many Sanremo fans, as she took part in the competition back in 2017 with the song Tutta Colpa Mia, which was written by former Eurovision participant, Emma. Overall, she finished in 8th place, but remained a favourite amongst fans.
Prior to her participation at Sanremo, Elodie has participated on the X Factor in Italy, however, was eliminated in the early stages of the competition. She entered the talent show Amici back in 2015, where she ended up finishing in second place.
Her first album, Altro Vita was written by Fabrizio Moro and produced by Emma, and it reached number 2 in the Italian album charts. Her second album was titled Tutta Colpa Mia, and the title track off the album, her Sanremo entry, was certified gold.
Elodie has worked with a number of high profile Italian musicians, and one of her collaborative singles, Nero Bali with Michele Bravi and Gué Pequeno was classified as double platinum by FIMI.
What can we expect from Elodie at Sanremo 2020?
Based off Elodie’s success in recent years, especially after a string of highly popular singles, we can assume that regardless of the style of song Elodie presents, whether it’s a ballad or upbeat number, fans will enjoy it. Her style has definitely changed since her Amici days, so something a bit edgier than Tutta Colpa Mia wouldn’t come as a surprise. Also notable is that Mahmood is one of the songwriters, so perhaps some of his influence will come through the music as well.
Enrico Nigiotti – Baciami Adesso
Enrico Nigiotti first hit Italian TV screens back in 2009, where he participated on the ninth edition of the talent show, Amici. During his participation on the show, he released his first album which was self-titled. In 2012, he signed with Universal Music where he worked on new music. His first experience with Sanremo was back in 2015, where he participated in the Newcomers section with the song Qualcosa da Decidere, where he finished as a finalist.
In 2017, Nigiotti returned to television screens, participating in the eleventh season of the X Factor Italy. He was selected as part of the over 25’s category which was led by Mara Maionchi. He finished in third overall, and his single L’amore è was certified platinum.
He participated in Sanremo in 2019 with the song Nonno Hollywood and finished in 10th place.
What can we expect from Enrico Nigiotti at Sanremo 2020?
He participated at Sanremo last year with slower and softer style of song, so it begs the question, will he follow in the same path? We think not, and we expect something different to Nonno Hollywood. Whether it includes more of a pop influence, or perhaps a different genre altogether, we think we might see something a bit different for Enrico.
Francesco Gabbani – Viceversa
Eurovision fans need no introduction to Francesco Gabbani, as he previously won Sanremo back in 2017 and subsequently represented Italy at Eurovision with the hugely popular song, Occidentali’s Karma. This year he is back, and likely to be sans Gorilla.
It’s no coincidence that we are seeing Francesco return in 2020, as he has been working on new music over the last few years. He recently released the single Duemiladiciannove, and prior to that, he released the song E’ Un’Altra Cosa.
Francesco had also previously participated at Sanremo back in 2015 in the Newcomers section with the song, Amen. He won the Newcomers section of Sanremo, where he was in the final with both Ermal Meta and Mahmood.
What can we expect from Francesco Gabbani at Sanremo 2020?
It has to be said that, in recent years, returning former winners at Sanremo have not been able to copy their previous success with another victory. His new Sanremo entry Viceversa has been written and produced by himself, alongside Luigi de Crescenzo. He may not reach the heights of his previous success, but we can hopefully expect something fun from Francesco.
Stay tuned for the next instalment of our preview series, where we get to know more of the Sanremo participants!