Sanremo Musical Festival marks an iconic week in the Eurovision and Italian musical calendars. Not only is it the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony locally but commonly supplies us with the Italian Eurovision contestant for the year.
During the Sanremo Giovani 2021 (a smaller contest dedicated to 'Newcomers' to the Italian music industry) this evening we were given the 26 contestants in the running for the 'Big Artists' section of the Sanremo Music Festival 2021. It should be noted that occasionally the winner of Sanremo does not go onto represent Italy at Eurovision due to the uniqueness of the contest and the primary goal of presenting the Italian music industry to the local market and secondary to Eurovision.
The 26 'Big Artists' section contestants and songs are:
Aiello - 'Ora'
Annalisa - 'Dieci'
Arisa - 'Potevi fare di più'
Bugo - 'E invece sì'
Colapesce e Dimartino - 'Musica leggerissima'
Coma_Cose - 'Fiamme negli occhi'
Fulminacci - 'Santa Marinella'
Ermal Meta - 'Un milione di cose da dirti'
Extraliscio feat. Davide Toffolo - 'Bianca luce nera'
Fasma - 'Parlami'
Francesca Michielin e Fedez - 'Chiamami per nome'
Francesco Renga - 'Quando trovo te'
Gaia - 'Cuore amaro'
Ghemon - 'Momento perfetto'
Gio Evan - 'Arnica'
Irama - 'La genesi del tuo colore'
La Rappresentante di Lista - 'Amare'
Lo Stato Sociale - 'Combat Pop'
Madame - 'Voce'
Malika Ayane - 'Ti piaci così'
Måneskin - 'Zitti e buoni'
Max Gazzè e Trifluoperazina Monstery Band - 'Il farmacista'
Noemi - 'Glicine'
Orietta Berti - 'Quando ti sei innamorato'
Random - 'Torno a te'
Willie Peyote 'Mai dire mai (La locura)'
It doesn't take long for an eagle-eyed Eurofan to notice a few previous Eurovision contestants: Ermal Meta (alongside Fabrizio Moro with 'Non Mi Avete Fatto Niente' in 2018) and Francesca Michielin ('No Degree of Separation' in 2016). Additionally, the 2018 OGAE Second Chance champion Annalisa.
Notably the previous winner and 2020 Eurovision entrant Diodato has confirmed he will not be contesting for back-to-back wins and isn't returning in 2021.
Sanremo will run over five nights between March 2 - 6 with the champion being decided on the final night on the Saturday - or in the case for Aussies, some time during Sunday morning/midday on March 7. This is a particularly exciting line-up and the team at Eurovision (especially myself) are certainly looking forward to the ever-iconic Sanremo Music Festival this year.