Finishing in 15th place in our Aussievision Team rankings of Junior Eurovisoin songs is... Italy!
The song had an average rank of 12th among our jury, but only two members put the entry in their top 10.
Get song details plus our individual rankings and comments below.
The entry
Marta Viola - La voce della terra
10-year-old Marta Viola was internally selected by the Italian broadcaster RAI to represent Italy at JESC 2019 with the song "La Voce Della Terra". Hailing from Chieri in the northern Piedmont region, Viola is passionate about protecting the Earth. "[her] song is about our planet, our shared home, whose voice can be found in every little and big thing around us. It is about the fragility of life and our duty to protect it.". The song is to be sung in Italian and English.
Outside of JESC Viola's hobbies include making video clips with Tik Tok and attributes her passion for music, singing and dancing to her parents.
The Aussievision Team Rankings
Mike - 5th
Emma - 7th
Alyce - 11th
Dale - 11th
Fleur - 11th
Liv - 13th
Guy - 16th
Kyriakos - 17th
Aaron - 18th
The comments
In a competition bursting with eco-ballads, Italy is one that stands out for me. The song itself oozes a distinctive Italian sound and the simple and repetitive chorus gives the listener something to remember it by. Italy usually stage their Junior songs pretty well and Marta will have vocal moments to shine. As a package this should come together nicely. ~ Mike
A sweet ballad in English and Italian about saving the planet. Pleasant to listen to. ~ Emma
Yet another ballad about saving the planet. This is a grower. It starts off slow but it gets there. It’s a contender for the top 10; it will definitely finish in the top 15. Not a winner though. Marta sings it beautifully. This is really a song for the kids which is what this contest should be about. The production is quite good in this song. Overall, a great effort. ~ Fleur
The song gets a bit of a moment when she hits the high notes, apart from that though, it's a bit forgettable. ~ Guy
SEMPRE sempre SEMPRE sempre! I really love the melody and authenticity of this song. Love the mix of Italian and English. I find in the pack of climate change songs this one gets lost with heavier hitters like Poland in the contest this year. There are some very challenging vocals which may prove challenging live. ~ Liv
The song has a nice build up and the environmental message to save the planet comes through. The chorus is a little repetitive. ~ Kyriakos
The message is the best thing going for this, but it comes across as preachy (says I, the more-than-twice-their-age-but-still-only-24-boomer). Take that away and it’s a pedestrian ballad. ~ Aaron
Italy at Junior Eurovision
Italy is a relatively new nation to Junior Eurovision with six appearances (including 2019) and a win on debut back in 2014! At the 12th edition of the contest Vincenzo Cantiello performed "Tu primo grande amore" - being Italy's first and only win at JESC to date. Cantiello won the Kids Jury vote and scored mostly 12s, 10s and 8s across the televote to take victory. Bravo Vincenzo! 2015 was the only year RAI opted for the national final Ti lascio una canzone to select contestants - it produced the delightful identical sister duo of Chiara & Martina Scarpari with "Viva".
Similar to Eurovision Italy has had good success at Junior Eurovision with two Top 3 placings in the last 5 years. On their third attempt in 2016 Fiamma Boccia finished third with"Cara Mamma (Dear Mom)" - the powerful pop ballad was a stand out on the night with powerful vocals and beautiful musicality. The 2018 entry "What Is Love" was a cute music-theatre style duet between Melissa di Pasca & Marco Boni. Of points given by Italy, Australia has received the second most - including douze pointe in 2018, 10 in 2017 and 8 in 2016, impressive considering the short time Australia has been part of the contest.