Sanremo Giovani 2024: This time it’s personal

I know. I know. I know what you’re thinking: why is this article showing up two weeks into the event?

Listen. 

Hear me out.

Every year we have the same conversation, the same back and forth: does Sanremo really count as an ESC National Final? And the fact is, no. It doesn’t. Eurovision could supernova into a billion pieces and Sanremo would remain, steadfast and strong, bringing us the absolute best in Italian popular music along with some respectful throwback acts and a headscratcher or two, while almost all other true National Finals would disintegrate and join ESC’s ashes.

If 2024 taught us anything, it’s that this is an actual possibility, and one that we all need to brace ourselves for: prepare for the crash, enjoy each moment of the journey until [redacted] runs ESC straight into the ground. So, what should we do when the fate, health, and future of our beloved song contest actually feels uncertain?

Turn our eyes and hearts back to the original, the blueprint, the bedrock song competition: Sanremo. And what better way to do that than to jump in now, feet first, and take in a little bit of joy and comfort in the form of Sanremo Giovani. (Young Sanremo? Sanremo Youth? Sanremo God is Gracious? I’ve learned that Italian Duolingo mostly teaches murder mystery phrases, so I’m relying heavily on google translate.) 

Anyway, my point is, like so many of you, I needed to step away from ESC after this year’s contest. I didn’t rewatch a performance or replay a song until about August, when youtube’s algorithm fed me Joost Klein’s Semi 2 performance. I enjoyed the absolute hell out of it and was instantly as angry as if it were May 10th-12th all over again, so I put ESC 24 back up on the shelf. The thing is, even if ESC 24 made me less excited for ESC 25, it didn’t dim or diminish my excitement for Sanremo. I never stopped listening to Sanremo 24 songs all year long, even during and after Eurovision week, even now.

Annalisa’s album E poi siamo finiti nel vortice was already one of my favorite albums of 2023, and the addition of “Sinceramente” meant that I got to buy a second copy on vinyl! Mahmood’s “Tuta Gold” was everything I wanted from him and more, and dare I say, either of the two songs above would have shaken up the ESC 24 standings (as much as any songs can shake up a contest that's being inundated with bad faith votes by politically-motivated actors who do not watch or enjoy the contest).

Diodato brought his inimitable voice and songwriting back to the stage with “Tu muovi,” but he also brought a then unknown-to-me Jack Savoretti to the stage for duet night. Turns out that Jack does a version of one of my all-time favorite songs, the 1965 Sanremo entry "Io che non vivo (senza te)," that knocks my socks off. And, most relevant to the mental breakdown I’m sharing with you all now, Santi Francesi was one of three acts to emerge from Sanremo Giovani, with their song “occhi triste.” They brought a new song (the haunting and propulsive “l’amore in bocca”) to the festival, and absolutely wowed me. They followed that masterpiece up with 80s’ tinged dancer “tutta vera” this summer, and a stellar new EP last month. It’s fair to say that the Sanremo acts carried me through this summer when I wasn’t ready to reach for ESC content.

SANTI FRANCESI - l'amore in bocca (Official video - Sanremo 2024)

Now, it’s autumn. September 1st is well in our rearview. National Final season is upon us. It’s time to heal. To find the joy we know these events bring us. It’s time for Sanremo Giovani. 

If Sanremo isn’t a National Final, then Sanremo Giovani is somehow both more and less of one.

More, because the level of fame and hunger in this group is closer to on par with what you find at most National Finals, even if the talent has some extra polish. A lot of these contestants have done well on competition series such as X Factor, The Voice Italy, and Amici di Maria De Filippi (an Italian-specific reality talent program that hasn’t exactly been repackaged for worldwide repurposing the way the others mentioned exist as brands virtually everywhere). Some, maybe most, of them are already signed with major labels, but haven’t had the level of success that would catapult them straight to compete with the “Bigs.” There’s that very real possibility that this competition can pluck someone who’s currently playing small clubs or opening for others instead of consistently headlining, and give them a significant boost, and I’m a sucker for that sort of narrative.

Less, especially because of this year’s rule reversion where the top acts in Giovani will not be a part of the main Sanremo competition. For the past three years, and periodically before that, the winner/top acts in Sanremo Giovani were given a direct pass to the Sanremo stage at Teatro Ariston the following February. This has led to varied results: sometimes these young acts don’t make it out of the cellar, but on two occasions, most recently in 2019, the winner of Sanremo Giovani went on to win the flagship festival as well. Mahmood won Sanremo Giovani with “Gioventù bruciata” and then won Sanremo with absolute banger and ESC-hall-of-famer “Soldi.” Even if this year’s winner has a song on par with “Soldi,” we’re unlikely to see it on the ESC stage, since the winner of the “Bigs” will be the one offered right-of-first-refusal to represent Italy at ESC, and even if they did refuse, it’s more likely that Rai will offer the honor to other acts from the top 5 before turning to the Sanremo Giovani performers. 

This year, instead of allowing the top Giovani acts to compete at Sanremo in the main contest alongside the “Big” artists with a new song, the top few acts will have a showcase performance, a segment they’re once again calling Nuove Proposte (New Proposals) this year, on the Ariston stage, with the New Proposals winner being crowned on the Friday of Sanremo week. So, that’s my long way of saying, if you do celebrate Sanremo, you’re going to bump into a few of these Sanremo Giovani acts, and what if you love them? You could have been listening to them for three months already, if only you had listened to me now!

In all honesty, I almost skipped Sanremo Giovani this year. This rule change (combined with the overall malinconia that still lingers when I think about ESC 24) left me unsure about whether I should get invested now, but in the back of my head a little voice kept poking at my curiosity, growing louder and louder. “But what if there’s another Santi Francesi waiting for you in Sanremo Giovani?” 

Obviously, I can’t risk that happening and me not knowing, so I settled in to follow along at a distance, not even considering whether or not I should write about the show, especially with the rule change. It’s technically not feeding into the Eurovision representative pipeline the way it sometimes does, so it’s not strictly on topic. Seemed like more than enough reason to enjoy it as a fan, maybe occasionally live skeet about it, but leave it at that.

However, there is a part of me that wonders if it might not be a better idea for Eurovision to be offered to the Giovani winner instead. The Italian artists who tend to win Sanremo are already at the top of their industry and Sanremo is the achievement they want on their CV. They don’t always participate in all the pre-parties and camaraderie with other artists the same way that the less established artists do. I’m torn between wishing more countries attracted the caliber of artist and song that Italy consistently provides, and wondering what it could look like to see Italy’s emerging talent take advantage of the huge ESC stage. And we can’t have THAT conversation unless we’re talking about Sanremo Giovani in the first place.   

So, please, forgive my indecision and lateness on this, but here’s what you really need to know to enjoy the rest of this year’s Sanremo Giovani!

Sanremo Giovani is utilizing a battle format this year. Over the course of a month, each week 6 artists are announced for the next show, and only when the show starts is it announced (to the public) which 2 artists are facing off in the battles. They perform, Eurovision-style, to their own recorded track (no live accompaniment), and two-by-two, their fates are sealed by the musical commission: a panel of five industry professionals (as well as a couple of off-screen producers, like all good reality shows). The three winners from each week move on to the semi-final round, on December 10th. The battle format continues then, with the twelve being halved and the final six moving on to the December 18th final of Sanremo Giovani. One last round of battles, and three triumphant acts will emerge and pass into the New Proposals round at Sanremo (alongside the winner of a separate contest for local Sanremo artists, two of whom will also battle it out on the 18th). New Proposals will still have the musical commission, but their votes will only count for 50%, with the rest left up to public vote.

So far, six artists have advanced (Mazzariello, Mew, Tancredi, Grelmos, Settembre and Selmi), and six have gotten to share with the viewing audience how happy they were just to make it this far (Angie, Sidy, Synergy, Moska Drunkard, Rea, Ciao sono Vale). And honestly, there are some solid bangers and ballads that have made it through already and some that we've lost, but in my opinion, the best of the best are still to come. (I’m staking that claim on the assumption that these remaining acts are as good or better live vocalists than the first dozen. I have stalked youtube channels, instagram reels, and the wider web for proof of this, and it looks like all my faves can sing live, so we should be in for a treat.)

Plus, I really just need someone who speaks English and loves Italian music to talk to me about my favorites! So, c’mon! Click over to RaiPlay.it and watch the music videos! Next Tuesday (or Wednesday, depending on your time zone and when Rai feels like starting the show), join me and the rest of the Italian Internet in watching the show live!