Now that the dreaded time is upon us, here's a preview of what this year's selection of MONGE has to offer.
1. Achille Lauro – Incoscienti giovani
The former Una Voce per San Marino winner has never one to shy away from a career reinvention, with previous turns as rap star and pop-rocker under his belt. Don’t expect any sheer bodystockings or onstage baptisms this time around. Achille is now presenting himself as Italy's leading balladeer. The reviews say it’s not too dissimilar to his last single '
Amore Disperato' but with an added saxophone frenzy at the end. Described as melancholic, cinematic and nostalgic (codeword for dated?), this sounds Sanremo-by-numbers.
Anyway, you'll be hearing more about Achille later...
2. Bresh – La tana del granchio
The appearance of our first deathly ex-twink. Bresh (28!) is a rapper/singer-songwriter. The words ‘subdued’ ‘acoustic guitar’ and ‘male fragility’ featured in the reviews of this. I’ll say no more. He was rumoured to be in the running for the last couple of editions but failed to make the final cut. For a big-name debut at Sanremo, this has all the makings of an underperformance.
3. Brunori Sas - L'albero delle noci
WTG’s daddy of the season. Brunori makes his Sanremo debut as a critically acclaimed indie singer-songwriter. The initial reviews were overwhelmingly positive about this, with most saying it’s one of, if not the best song in this year’s contest (they said the same about Loredana last year FYI).
I doubt Moopy will be quite so positive. He’s singing a ballad (aren’t they all) about the joys and fears of parenthood. If you’re a fan of speak-singing and squeezing more syllables into a line of music that seems legitimately possible (like me), you’ll love him. If you’re Zen, then less so.
4. Clara – Febbre
Clara returns for the second year in a row. Earning her place last year as the winner Sanremo Giovani, she was the first female winner of the new artist’s category since 2009. Despite finishing in a lowly 24th place last year, Rai obviously believes there’s better to come from Clara having had a year to establish more of a name for herself.
Febbre is co-written by Madame and Dardust amongst others, who also had a hand in ‘La Noia’. Think of this as the more aggressive, dance-orientated sibling to last year's ‘Diamanti grezzi’. Likely to provide welcome relief considering the number of ballads in the mix.
5. Coma_Cose – Cuoricini
Fausto and California are a husband-and-wife duo. Cuoricini (little hearts) refer to the like button on Instagram etc, and the challenges of cohabiting as a couple in the social media age. This is apparently a lot catchier than it sounds. Expect fast-paced, 80s-influenced electro-pop. The staging is somewhat K-Pop inspired allegedly, which will make a change from the Sanremo standard of wandering aimlessly around the stage.
6. Elodie – Dimenticarsi alle 7
Elodie is back with a dance ballad. She’s wants to show her mature side this time, so Andromeda or Black Nirvana 2.0 this is not. Sanremo has never shown much appreciation for her in the past. There were initially high expectations when the acts were announced and a feeling that this could finally be her year. The reviews were fairly positive, with the vocals and production singled out as the highlights. However, the song itself maybe isn't as immediate as it needs to be and ends up as a slight glow-down on previous efforts.
7. Fedez - Battito
One of NUMEROUS rappers with dreadful neck tattoos in this year’s competition. Drama just seems to follow her around.
Fedez and Tony Effe (also of the Sanremo class of ‘25) are currently involved in an ongoing public spat, which escalated after Tony released a diss-track last year about Fedez’s then-wife, Chiara Ferragni.
Like Tony, he’s been embroiled in his own sexism controversy in the run up. Following the announcement that he’ll be performing ‘Bella stronza’ (Beautiful Bitch) during the Covers Night, local politicians have been up in arms claiming it’ll be dedicated to his ex-wife and demanding Rai exclude him. It just so happens that the former celeb power couple recently divorced with Chiara revealing he’d been cheating on her for years. Cynics say she disclosed that titbit to deflect media attention away from her current legal woes. She’s up on charges of defrauding a charity. An Italian Hannah Ingram-Moore if you will. Fedez’s team have also hit back alleging she was fucking Achille Lauro (!) whilst he was playing away. Let's be honest, they're clearly all TERRIBLE human beings.
With Fedez, Tony and Achille all competing this year, the potential for on-stage drama is high. Hopefully someone is keeping a close eye on the flowers.
Achille, Chiara and Fedez in happier times.
As for the song, 'Battito' is about his relationship with depression. The reviews described this as an aggressive, dark trap/rap number. There’s a solid songwriting team behind this including Federica Abbate (previously 'Nessun grado di separazione' and Elodie’s 'Due'). Fedez was runner up with Francesca Michielin in Sanremo 2021, so he has good form here. As one of the big names in the local music scene and a tabloid regular, expect this to be in the mix come Saturday night.