Italy at Eurovision 2024: Who is rising star Angelina Mango?

Angelina Mango joins the exclusive club of Sanremo Music Festival artists to win the contest on debut and represent the Mediterranean nation at Eurovision.

The rising star comes from a prominent musical family and was destined for artistic greatness.

Read on below to find out about her journey to Eurovision 2024!

Who is Angelina Mango?

At just 22 years old, Angelina from Basilicata in southern Italy came to national attention in Italy at Sanremo Music Festival 2024 - the Italian selection process for Eurovision - and ultimately won one of the most competitive editions of the festival to date.

She previously made her debut in the Italian music industry after participating in the 22nd edition of talent show Amici di Maria De Filippi in 2023 where she collected a Lunezia Prize recognising her excellent musicianship.

Angelina is the daughter of prominent singer-songwriter Giuseppe Mango (stage name "Mango") and Laura Valente, also a singer. Her father tragically suffered a heart attack whilst performing on stage in 2014 and subsequently died when she was just 13 years old.

During Sanremo this year, she performed a heartfelt and dazzling cover of one of her father's best-known songs, 'La rondine' - one of the highlights of the entire festival.

Despite the above experiences, Angelina is still a relative newcomer to the Italian music scene. In October 2023 she performed her maiden tour Voglia di Vivere Tour which started in Naples and was sold out in the main clubs of the peninsula.

Her notable singles include 'Ci pensiamo domani' which went triple platinum and 'Che t'o dico a fa' which also reached platinum status. 'La noia' is her biggest hit yet - racking up over 90 million listens across Spotify and YouTube currently!

Fashion Icon

Italian artists always bring their A-Game when it comes to serving looks at Eurovision. During Sanremo Music Festival this year, Angelina debuted five stunning, themed outfits from ETRO by Marco De Vincenzo and selected by prominent stylist Nick Cerioni.

Angelina Mango serves style at Sanremo 2024

Throughout the Eurovision pre-party season, Angelina has also graced the stages of Madrid, Barcelona, London and Amsterdam with eye-catching outfits. We can only hope she packs another masterpiece in her wardrobe for Eurovision!

The song: 'La Noia'

Angelina Mango will represent Italy with the song 'La Noia', which is sung entirely in Italian, with the title translating to 'Boredom' in English. The song is anything but boring, though, featuring a rich and fully-realised production with a fresh take on the Mediterranean pop genre. Angelina's vocals are given a front-row seat, and she has consistently nailed a challenging performance with lots for a Eurovision jury to sink their teeth into.

'La Noia' isn't just a catchy tune but is jam-packed with beautiful lyricism and meaning. The song expresses her desire to break through the monotony of life and find a deeper purpose. In an interview with Amica, Angelina stated "In life things must be seen with a certain irony... and we must look pain in the eyes."

In particular, the song focuses on the struggle of women in society to fit a mould, be perfect and look pretty. Angelina explores the feeling of being trapped by expectation and experiencing highs and lows of life - a sentiment we can all relate to.

'La Noia' was written by Angelina alongside acclaimed songwriters Madame and Dardust. Madame is known to the Eurovision community for her Sanremo entries 'Il Bene Nel Male' (2023) and 'Voce' (2021). Dardust co-wrote the runner-up Eurovision entry 'Soldi' for Mahmood in 2019.

Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest

Italy debuted in Eurovision at the inaugural contest back in 1956 and have claimed victory three times with Gigliola Cinquetti’s ‘Non ho l'età’ (1964), Toto Cutugno’s ‘Insieme: 1992’ (1990) and of course Måneskin with ‘Zitti E Buoni’ (2021). Italy took a hiatus from the contest after the 1997 competition and returned with a bang in 2011 - emerging as part of the newly minted “Big Five”.

In more recent years, Italy has been a powerhouse of the entire contest, claiming two runner-ups with Raphael Gualazzi’s ‘Madness of Love’ (2011) and Mahmood’s ‘Soldi’ (2019). Of the last ten entrants, five have walked away with a Top 5 position. In addition, since their return in 2011 Italy has only missed out on a Top 10 position twice. With results like these, Italy has cemented itself as a consistently serious contender at Eurovision.

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