Talent show stars take centre stage at Sanremo

The 61st edition of the Festival della Canzone Italiana or Sanremo, as it is more popularly known, kicks off this evening. Gianni Morandi is hosting the four-day festival, which, as customary, will be split into two categories: the established or “Big” category and the newcomers or “Giovani”. Gianni Morandi is this year’s host.

Among the 14 established artistes are a number of veteran singers like Patty Pravo, Anna Oxa, Al Bano and Roberto Vecchioni. But standing out will surely be some young faces who have gained “instant” popularity through reality shows.

These are Emma, who won last year’s edition of Amici on Mediaset; Nathalie who won the last edition of the Italian version of X Factor on Rai; and Giusy Ferreri who gained fame and success after placing second in a previous edition of X Factor. The winners of the past two festivals had in fact participated in the talent show Amici: Marco Carta in 2009 and Valeriu Scanu last year.

Other names in the “Big” category are Max Pezzali, formerly of band 883, Anna Tatangelo, Tricarico, and Luca Barbarossa who is duetting with Raquel del Rosario (wife of Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso). There are also two male duos: one made up of Mauro Ermanno Giovanardi and Cesare Malfatti who have united solely for the festival under the name of La Crus; and the other formed by Luca Madonia and the legendary Franco Battiato.

Over the years, a lot of attention has been cast on the female assistants of the festival’s compere or vallette. These have included international models such as Eva Herzigova, actresses such as Irene Pivetti and Serena Autieri or TV presenters. This year, it’s the turn of two showgirls whose love life is constant fodder for the gossip columns and who will surely steal the spotlight: Belen Rodriguez, who is in a relationship – a seemingly stormy one too – with controversial entrepreneur Fabrizio Corona, and Elisabetta Canalis, whose boyfriend is none other than American actor George Clooney. At the moment, there is also speculation that the former might be pregnant and that the other’s wedding is imminent.

Two comedians, by the name of Luca and Paolo, mostly known for taking part in the show Le Iene, will be intervening throughout the festival with their sketches.

The music extravaganza is also known for bringing over the best of international artistes. This year’s include actors Robert De Niro and Monica Bellucci and singers Take That and Avril Lavigne. Real Madrid footballer Cristiano Ronaldo is also expected to make an appearance on stage. The format of this year’s festival will be slightly different than recent years in that Thursday’s show will be dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy. Thursday’s show was lately duet night in which the singers performed their entry with artistes of their choice. Instead, this year they will be singing classic Italian hits such as Il mio canto libero, Il cielo in una stanza, O sole mio, Mamma and Viva l’Italia.

Participating artistes

Established singers
Patty Pravo – Il vento e le rose
Emma – Modà – Arriverà
Luca Madonia and Franco Battiato – L’alieno
Giusy Ferreri – Il mare immenso
La Crus – Io confesso
Anna Oxa – La mia anima d’uomo
Tricarico – 3 colori
Al Bano – Amanda è libera
Nathalie – Vivo sospesa
Luca Barbarossa and Raquel Del Rosario – Fino in fondo
Anna Tatangelo – Bastardo
Davide Van De Sfroos – Yanez
Max Pezzali – Il mio secondo tempo
Roberto Vecchioni – Chiamami ancora amore

Newcomers
Serena Abrami – Lontano da tutto
Roberto Amadè – Comepioggia
Anansi and Stefano Bannò – Il sole dentro
Btwins – Mi rubi l’amore
Gabriella Ferrone – Un pezzo d’estate
Raphael Gualazzi – Follia d’amore
Marco Menichini – Tra tegole e cielo
Micaela – Fuoco e cenere