Today marked 'cover night' with all 26 artists performing a piece of their choice by authors not necessarily linked to the history of Sanremo (although many will perform prior Sanremo entries). If you missed the drama and shenanigans from the first and second evening - we've got you covered.
The show tonight was generally much more subdued - out with the balloon audience! The evening felt like a 5 hour jam session between artists and orchestra that a live tv audience just happened to be able to watch. There was much less larrikinism from hosts Amadeus and Fiorello - generally, the vibe felt more serious and focused.
The performances were voted for by the orchestra and vocalists - different to the previous evenings. Artists were able to decide whether to perform alone or be accompanied by Italian or foreign guests. Most opted for a duet of some description with essentially an all Italian line-up.
At the end of the voting, a ranking of the 26 artists in the competition was drawn up - the results are a provisional ranking adding the orchestra/vocalists votes with the demoscopic Jury from the prior two evenings.
The Top 10 provisional results going into the penultimate night are:
1 Ermal Meta
2 Annalisa
3 Willie Peyote
4 Arisa
5 Irama
6 Lo Stato Sociale
7 Malika Ayane
8 Extraliscio ft. Davide Toffolo
9 Orietta Berti
10 Måneskin
Performance Highlights
Ermal Meta with the Napoli Mandolin Orchestra 'Caruso'
Absolutely the stand out of the night. A huge vocal perfomance from Ermal Meta complimented perfectly with the Naples Madolin Orchestra. Buckets of soul and a few goose bumps adored my skin after that one. Incredible. Bravo!
Fasma & Nesli 'La fine'
The more I watch Fasma perform the more I think he really could crack into the Top 3 on the final evening. He's got a certain steeze and energy that is unique on stage. After some technical difficulties and a redo he and Nesli really smashed it. Although the orchestra didn't rate his performance tonight - he still has a good chance to do well.
Irama 'Cirano'
One of the few artists that opted to perform solo - once again his rehearsal performance footage was used to do having to self-isolate with one of his staff members testing positive for COVID-19. Shows off that he has the range and can do the more 'classico sanremo' songs as well.
Måneskin & Manuel Agnelli 'Amandoti'
I really LOVE the vibes and energy from this group. Something unique and special at Sanremo this year - as much as they're a fan favourite, it won't be surprising if the juries leave them high and dry. Generally they shy away from the more avant-garde, for example: Achille Lauro 'Me ne frego' last year.
Orietta Berti & Le Deva 'Io che amo solo te'
Really beautiful - their voices really complemented each other wonderfully. It's great to see the legends of Sanremo shoulder to shoulder with a newer female group. Orietta got a large audience (well - what few people were in the theatre) reaction.
Madame 'Prisencolinensinainciusol'
A very intriguing set up prior to her performance - Madame did a little 'mini school scene' before diving into the iconic 'Prisencolinensinainciusol'. An interesting...song choice, famous mainly due to the fact that it is sung in an invented language. Regardless - she is one exciting young performer who's career I will be following closely.
Annalisa & Federico Poggipollini 'La musica è finita'
Stunning. Amazing. Beautiful.
Ghemon & Neri per Caso 'L'essere infinito'
A wonderful display of a cappella for the start of their performance. The orchestra blended it to make for an impressive finish. Hopefully helps lift him from the bottom of the table - a truly beautiful rendition of 'L'essere infinito'.
Notable Moments
• Amadeus and Fiorello being Amadeus and Fiorello
• International footballers turned local Italian football superstars Siniša Mihajlović and Zlatan Ibrahimović trying a hand at singing on the big stage of Sanremo
• Another night without the infamous flower trolley
• Achille Lauro's INCREDIBLE gold outfit and body
This morning was the third night of the five day festival - the rest of the week will proceed as follows (Australian Dates - 6:30am AEDT):
Night 1 (Wednesday): The first half of the 26 artists will perform their entry
Night 2 (Thursday): The second half of the 26 artists will perform their entry
Night 3 (Friday): All 26 artists will perform a cover of a piece of their choice. The artists will be able to decide whether to perform alone or be accompanied by Italian or foreign guests.
Night 4 (Saturday): All 26 artists will perform their entry
Night 5 (Sunday): All 26 artists will perform their entry...again. At the end of the voting, the final ranking will be drawn up, determined by the average between the percentages of the final evening and those of the previous evenings, which will establish the final ranking from the twenty-sixth to the fourth position. A new vote will then follow with zeroing of the previous ones for the first three classified, voted by the opinion poll jury (33%), by the press room (33%) and by the public via televoting (34%) who will decide the winning song of the Festival