Sanremo, also known as the Italian Song Festival, this year inaugurated the 72nd edition. It took place from 1 to 5 February at the Ariston theatre in Sanremo and was conducted for the third time by Amadeus together with Fiorello. Despite the difficulties caused by the pandemic period, this year it has captured the 58% of the share, being the most followed edition since 1997. There were 25 artists that performed to win the first place in the ranking. But there is no prize money. Winners gain in visibility.
This year the winning song was Mahmood and Blanco’s Brividi, in which two boys, belonging to two different generations, talk about the fear of being inadequate in the field of love, from two different points of view linked together. The two young people have won large numbers in streaming and sales, and especially the opportunity to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest where artists from all over Europe will perform.
In addition to the final victory, Sanremo also offers other prizes. The “Mia Martini” critics’ prize, which consists of a golden statuette with a lion standing upright on the G musical note and golden flowers, this year was won by Massimo Ranieri with the song Lettera al di là del mare, in which he talks about a very actual theme: emigration. The” Lucio Dalla” Press Room Award, which aims to promote the art and culture of song and music, was won by Gianni Morandi with the song Apri tutte le porte, in which he describes the dark moment that we are going through, opening to hope. The “Giancarlo Bigazzi” Prize, awarded by the orchestra to the best musical composition, was won by Elisa with the song O forse sei tu, presented as a declaration of love and fear of being abandoned. Finally, the “Sergio Bardotti” Prize, awarded to the song with the best text, was won by Fabrizio Moro with the song Sei tu, written during the recording of his first film and dedicated to a particular person who helped him.