The Sanremo Music Festival, officially the Italian Song Festival () and commonly known as just (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria. It is the longest-running annual TV music competition in the world on a national level (making it one of the world's longest-running television programmes) and it is also the basis and inspiration for the annual

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

. Unlike other awards in Italy, the Sanremo Music Festival is a competition for new songs, not an award to previous successes (like the for television, the for stage performances, and the Premio David di Donatello for motion pictures). The first edition of the Sanremo Music Festival, held between 29 and 31 January 1951, was broadcast by RAI's radio station Rete Rossa, and its only three participants were

Nilla Pizzi Nilla Pizzi, stage name of Adionilla Pizzi (; 16 April 1919 – 12 March 2011), was an Italian singer and actress. Born in Sant'Agata Bolognese, she was particularly famous in Italy during the 1950s and 1960s. She won the first edition of the ...

, Achille Togliani, and Duo Fasano. Starting from 1955, all editions of the festival have been broadcast live by the Italian TV station Rai 1. From 1951 to 1976, the Festival took place in the Sanremo Casino, but starting from 1977, all the following editions were held in the Teatro Ariston, except in 1990, which was held at the Nuovo Mercato dei Fiori. The songs selected in the competition are in Italian (or in an Italian dialect), and the three most voted songs are awarded. Other special awards are also given, including the Critics' Award, created ad hoc by the press in 1982 to reward the quality of

Mia Martini Mia Martini (; born Domenica Rita Adriana Bertè ; 20 September 1947 – 12 May 1995) was an Italian singer, songwriter and musician.James Christopher MongerMia Martini allmusic.comItalian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. It has launched the careers of some of Italy's most successful musical acts, including Gigliola Cinquetti,

Laura Pausini Laura Pausini (; born 16 May 1974) is an Italian singer. She rose to fame in 1993, winning the newcomer artists' section of the 43rd Sanremo Music Festival with her debut single "La solitudine", which became an Italian standard and an internat ...

Eros Ramazzotti Eros Walter Luciano Ramazzotti (; born 28 October 1963) is an Italian pop singer, musician and songwriter. He is popular in Italy and most European countries, and throughout the Spanish-speaking world, as he has released most of his albums in bo ...

, Andrea Bocelli,

Giorgia Giorgia is the Italian cognate of the female name Georgia. Notable people with the name include: Arts and entertainment *Giorgia (singer), Italian singer, born ''Giorgia Todrani'' *Giorgia Fumanti, Italian-Canadian soprano and singer of operatic po ...

Il Volo Il Volo (; Italian for "The Flight") is an Italian operatic pop trio, consisting of baritone Gianluca Ginoble, and tenors Piero Barone and Ignazio Boschetto. They describe their music as "popera". Having won the Sanremo Music Festival 2015, the ...

, and Måneskin. Between 1953 and 1971 (except in 1956), in 1990, and 1991, each song was sung twice by two different artists, each one using an individual orchestral arrangement, to illustrate the meaning of the festival as a composers' competition, not a singers' competition. During this era of the festival, it was custom that one version of the song was performed by a native Italian artist while the other version was performed by an international guest artist. This became a way for many international artists to debut their songs on the Italian market, including

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

, Ray Charles,

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

Gloria Gaynor Gloria Gaynor ( née Fowles; born September 7, 1943) is an American singer, best known for the disco era hits "I Will Survive" (1978), " Let Me Know (I Have a Right)" (1979), " I Am What I Am" (1983), and her version of "Never Can Say Goodbye" ( ...

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick (; born December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest U.S. hit makers between 1955 and 1999, based on her chart history on ''Billboards Hot 100 pop singles cha ...

, Jose Feliciano, Roberto Carlos, Paul Anka, Miriam Makeba, Bonnie Tyler,

Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Best known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, Bassey is widely regarded as one of the most popular vocalists ...

, Mungo Jerry, Kiss, Laura Branigan, and many others.

History

Origin and development

In the

aftermath of World War II The aftermath of World War II was the beginning of a new era started in late 1945 (when World War II ended) for all countries involved, defined by the decline of all colonial empires and simultaneous rise of two superpowers; the Soviet Union (US ...

, one of the proposals to revitalize the economy and the reputation of Sanremo was to create an annual music festival to be held in the city. In 1948 and 1949, the first two editions of the Italian Song Festival () were held in Viareggio, from an idea developed in 1947 by Aldo Valleroni. The competition was discontinued in 1950 due to financial problems, but it became the basis for the future Sanremo Music Festival. During the summer of 1950, the administrator of the Sanremo Casino, Piero Bussetti, and the conductor of the RAI orchestra, Giulio Razzi, rediscussed the idea, deciding to launch a competition among previously unreleased songs. Officially titled (literally "Festival of the Italian song"), the first edition of the show was held at the Sanremo Casino on 29, 30, and 31 January 1951. The final round of the competition was broadcast by Rete Rossa, the second most important RAI radio station. Twenty songs took part in the competition, performed by three artists only–

, Duo Fasano, and Achille Togliani. Starting from the third edition of the festival, held in 1953, each song was performed by two different artists with different orchestras and arrangements. Two years later, in 1955, the festival made its first appearance on television, since part of the final night was also broadcast by RAI's channel

Programma Nazionale Rai 1 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's flagship television channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream and general ...

. The last night of the show was also broadcast in Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. In 1964, Gianni Ravera, who organized the 14th Sanremo Music Festival, slightly changed the rules of the contest, requiring each song to be performed once by an Italian artist and once by an international singer, who was allowed to perform the song in any language. The same rule was applied in the following year's contest. Between 1967 and 1971, entries were not forced to be interpreted by foreign artists, but double performances were kept. Starting from 1972, each entry was sung by one artist only. Sanremo0006

The competing artists were split for the first time into "Big artists" and "Young artists" during the Sanremo Music Festival 1974. The competition had one winner only, but the entries in the "Young artists" category had to go through an elimination round, while "Big artists" were directly admitted to the final round. In 1977, the Sanremo Casino, which hosted all the previous editions of the contest, was closed for renovations, therefore the show moved to the Teatro Ariston. The theater later became the usual location for the annual contest, hosting it every year except in 1990, when the show was held at the Nuovo Mercato dei Fiori, also known as Palafiori. In 1980, pre-recorded backing tracks replaced the orchestra, while playback performances were allowed in 1983 during the final round. In 1984 and 1985, all the artists were forced to perform in playback, while live performances with the orchestra were reintroduced in 1990. During the same years, several other changes were introduced in the contest. In 1982, accredited music journalists decided to create an award to recognise the best song competing in the festival. Starting from 1983, the prize was officially awarded during the event. The critics' prize was later named after

Mia Martini Mia Martini (; born Domenica Rita Adriana Bertè ; 20 September 1947 – 12 May 1995) was an Italian singer, songwriter and musician.James Christopher MongerMia Martini allmusic.com In 1989, a third category, the Upcoming Artists Section, was introduced, but it was removed the following year. Only in 1998 were the top three artists in the newcomer section allowed to compete in the main competition. This led to the victory of the debuting

Annalisa Minetti Annalisa Minetti (born 27 December 1976 in Rho) is an Italian singer, politician and Paralympic athlete. Minetti was a beauty pageant contestant in the 1997 edition of Miss Italia; she gained public attention because she was the first blind wom ...

, which generated some controversy and led to the reintroduction of completely separate competitions starting from 1999. The distinction among different categories was abolished again in 2004. The following year, the contest included five different categories—Newcomers, Men, Women, Groups, and Classics. The winner of each category competed for the final victory of the contest. The category Classic was abolished in 2006, while starting from 2007, the festival came back to the rules used in the 1990s, with two completely separate competitions for established artists and newcomers. In 2009, a new competition, held entirely online, was introduced by the artistic director of the 59th edition of the contest, Paolo Bonolis. Titled ''Sanremofestival.59'', the contest was not held in the following years.

Winners

''Big Artists'' section

1950s

1960s

Sanremo 1968 Roberto Carlos Sergio Endrigo

Sanremo 1964 Gigliola Cinquetti Patricia Carli

1970s

1980s

Anna Oxa e Fausto Leali - Festival di Sanremo 1989

1990s

Giorgia - Anteprima Tour (Roma 21 Gennaio)

2000s

2010s

2020s

Newcomers section

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Other sections

"Mia Martini" Critics Award

The "Mia Martini" Critics Award, originally named the Critics Award of the Italian Song Festival and, more informally, simply the Critics Award, is a recognition given to the best song, selected by music experts (journalists and music critics) at the Sanremo Music Festival. The prize was created in 1982 specifically to award

Luciano Pavarotti Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...

, Fabrizio De André,

Lucio Dalla Lucio Dalla (; 4 March 1943 – 1 March 2012) was an Italian singer-songwriter, musician and actor. He also played clarinet and keyboards. Dalla was the composer of " Caruso" (1986), a song dedicated to Italian opera tenor Enrico Caruso, and ...

, and Franco Battiato. Pippo Baudo, then-artistic director of the Sanremo Festival and the Critics Award jury, decided to name the prize after the Calabrian artist, specifically because she was the artist who, until then, had won the award the most frequently (three times), as well as having been its first winner.

''Big Artists'' section and Newcomers section

Notable foreign duet singers

Notable guest artists of that time were, among others: * 1964: Peggy March, team partner of Claudio Villa with "Passo su passo", semi-finals only. * 1965: Connie Francis, team partner of Gigliola Cinquetti with "Ho bisogno di vederti". * 1965: Petula Clark, team partner of

Betty Curtis Roberta Corti, better known by her stage name Betty Curtis (21 March 1936 – 15 June 2006), was an Italian singer active from 1957 to 2004. Curtis grew up in the Zone 8 of Milan's borough Cagnola. She started singing in night clubs at an early ...

with "Invece no". * 1965: Dusty Springfield, team partner of Gianni Mascolo with "Di fronte all'amore", semi-finals only. * 1965: Audrey Arno, team partner of Remo Germani with "Prima o poi". * 1966:

Gene Pitney Gene Francis Alan Pitney (February 17, 1940 – April 5, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Pitney charted 16 top-40 hits in the United States, four in the top ten. In the United Kingdom, he had 22 top-40 hit singles, inclu ...

, team partner of Caterina Caselli with " Nessuno mi può giudicare". * 1966: Pat Boone, team partner of Peppino Gagliardi with "Se tu non fossi qui". * 1967:

and Sonny Bono, team partner of Caterina Caselli with "Il cammino di ogni speranza". * 1967: Cher, team partner of Nico Fidenco with "Ma piano (per non svegliarmi)" * 1967: Dalida, team partner of Luigi Tenco with "Ciao, amore ciao", semi-finals only. * 1968: Roberto Carlos, team partner of Sergio Endrigo with "Canzone per te" (winner). * 1968: Bobbie Gentry, team partner of Al Bano with "La siepe". * 1968:

, team partner of Tony del Monaco with "La voce del silenzio". * 1968:

, team partner of Lara Saint Paul with "Mi va di cantare". * 1968: Wilson Pickett, team partner of

Fausto Leali Faustino (Fausto) Leali (born 29 October 1944, Nuvolento, Brescia, Italy) is an Italian pop singer. Early life Leali began his musical career as a singer in several bands in his native Brescia. His first guitar teacher was Tullio Romano, of the ...

with "Deborah". * 1969: Mary Hopkin, team partner of Sergio Endrigo with "Lontano dagli occhi" (second place). * 1969:

, team partner of Gabriella Ferri with "Se tu ragazzo mio", semi-finals only. * 1971: José Feliciano, team partner of Ricchi e Poveri with "Che sarà" (second place). * 1990:

Dee Dee Bridgewater Dee Dee Bridgewater (née Denise Garrett, May 27, 1950) is an American jazz singer and actress. She is a three-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, as well as a Tony Award-winning stage actress. For 23 years, she was the host of National ...

, team partner of Pooh with "Uomini soli" (winner). * 1990: Ray Charles, team partner of Toto Cutugno with "Gli amori" (second place). * 1990: Miriam Makeba, team partner of Caterina Caselli with "Bisognerebbe non pensare che a te". * 1991:

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a model, singer and actress. Born in Jamaica, she and her family moved to Syracuse, New York, when she was a teenager. Jones began her modelling career in New York state, then in Paris, working for ...

, team partner of Renato Zero with "Spalle al muro". * 1991: Laura Branigan, team partner of Fiordaliso with "Il mare più grande che c'è (I love you man)". * 1991: Ofra Haza, team partner of Raf with "Oggi un Dio non ho". * 1991:

, team partner of Gianni Bella with "La fila degli oleandri". * 1991: Bonnie Tyler, team partner of Amedeo Minghi with "Nené".

International successes

Domenico Modugno (1958), Bestanddeelnr 909-4001

Various songs presented during the Sanremo Festival over the years have become international hits, including " Nel blu dipinto di blu" and "

Piove_(Ciao,_ciao_bambina) "Piove (Ciao, ciao bambina)" ("It's raining ye, bye baby) is an Italian song written by Domenico Modugno and Eduardo Verde. It won first prize at the 1959 Sanremo Music Festival, where it was performed twice, once by Modugno and once by John ...

" by Domenico Modugno. "Nel blu dipinto di blu" spent five non-consecutive weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 in August and September 1958 and subsequently became Billboard's number-one single for the year. In 1959, at the firsts Annual Grammy Awards, Modugno's recording became the first-ever Grammy winner for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year. The song "Io che non vivo (senza te)", sung at the fifteenth edition of the Sanremo Festival by Pino Donaggio, was recorded in English by Dusty Springfield under the title " You Don't Have to Say You Love Me". It became Springfield's most successful single, reaching number one on the UK Singles Chart and number four on the Billboard Hot 100. Elvis Presley recorded a cover version in 1970, which was a hit in both the US and the UK. Other covers have charted in the UK, Ireland, Italy, and Finland. The song "Non amarmi" by Aleandro Baldi and Francesca Alotta won the Newcomers section at the Sanremo Festival in 1992. It became an international hit, being covered as "

No Me Ames "No Me Ames" (English: "Don't Love Me") is a Latin pop duet recorded by American singers Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony for Lopez's debut studio album, ''On the 6'' (1999). It is a Spanish cover version of the Italian song "Non Amarmi", written ...

" by American singers

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...

and

Marc Anthony Marco Antonio Muñiz Rivera (born September 16, 1968), known professionally as Marc Anthony, is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is the top selling tropical salsa artist of all time. A three-time Grammy Award and six-time Latin Gra ...

. The song peaked at number one in the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart. It received a Latin Grammy nomination for Best Pop Performance by a Duo/Group with Vocals. At the Billboard Latin Music Awards of 2000, the song received an award for Hot Latin Track of the Year by a Vocal Duo and two nominations for Tropical/Salsa Track of the Year and Hot Latin Track of the Year. The song "

Che sarà "Che sarà" (; "What twill be") is an Italian song, written by Jimmy Fontana (music) and Franco Migliacci (lyrics) for the 1971 Sanremo Music Festival. Up until that year, each song was interpreted by two artists or performers to showcase the so ...

" was sung by Ricchi e Poveri and José Feliciano at the Sanremo Festival in 1971. Feliciano's recorded version was successful in Europe, the Middle East, Japan, and Latin America. Feliciano's Spanish version peaked at number one in Spain and Latin America. The song " Con te partirò" was first performed by Andrea Bocelli at the 1995 Sanremo Music Festival, topping the charts in different European countries. A version, sung partly in English, released in 1996 as "Time to Say Goodbye", achieved greater success, selling more than twelve million copies worldwide and making it one of the best-selling singles of all time. " Non ho l'età" by Gigliola Cinquetti (1964), " Sarà perché ti amo" by Ricchi & Poveri (1981), " Maledetta Primavera" by Loretta Goggi (1981), " Felicità" by Al Bano and Romina Power (1982), " L'Italiano" by Toto Cutugno (1983), "

Adesso tu "Adesso tu" is a 1986 Italian song composed by Eros Ramazzotti, Piero Cassano and Adelio Cogliati and performed by Eros Ramazzotti. The song won the 36th edition of the Sanremo Music Festival. The semi-autobiographical lyrics were eventually ...

" by Eros Ramazzotti (1986), " La solitudine" by Laura Pausini (1993), and " Il Mare Calmo della Sera" by Andrea Bocelli (1994) also became international hits. In 1994, the song "La mia storia tra le dita", which Gianluca Grignani sang at Sanremo, became a hit in South America, selling two million copies. Nek sang " Laura non c'è" at the Sanremo Music Festival in 1997, with the song becoming a hit in Europe and Latin America; the Spanish version charted in the US and peaked at no. 21 in the Billboard Hot Latin Songs Chart. The song "

Soldi "Soldi" (; ) is a song recorded by Italian singer Mahmood. It was released on 6 February 2019, as the fifth single from his debut studio album, ''Gioventù bruciata'' (2019). Mahmood co-wrote the song with Dario "Dardust" Faini and Charlie Cha ...

" by Mahmood won the 69th Sanremo Musical Festival in 2019 and topped the charts in Greece, Israel, and Lithuania and reached the top ten in five more countries. The song " Zitti e buoni" won the Sanremo Music Festival and Eurovision Song Contest in 2021, topping the singles chart in several European countries. It peaked at number seventeen on the UK Singles Chart and reached top ten on the Billboard Global Exclusive US chart.

Hosts

The first edition of the Sanremo Music Festival was hosted by Nunzio Filogamo. He also hosted the next three editions of the musical event. In 2003, Pippo Baudo hosted for the eleventh time, matching the record previously held by Mike Bongiorno. He later overtook this record, hosting the Sanremo Music Festival in 2007 and in 2008. Only seven women have hosted the festival as main presenters. The first women ever to host the event alone were Lilly Lembo and Giuliana Calandra in 1961, followed by Maria Giovanna Elmi in 1978,

Loretta Goggi Loretta Goggi ( born 29 September 1950) is an Italians, Italian singer, actress, comedian and TV host. Goggi is also an acclaimed singer and her records have sometimes entered the Italian pop charts. She was the first runner-up at the 1981 ''Fe ...

in 1986, Raffaella Carrà in 2001, Simona Ventura in 2004, and

Antonella Clerici Antonella Clerici (; born in Legnano on 6 December 1963) is an Italian television host and journalist. Biography She debuted in 1985 in Telereporter as a TV announcer. In 1987, she switched to Rai 2 where she presented ''Semaforo giallo'', ''Oggi ...

in 2010. Full list of festival hosts:

Controversy

In 2009, the song "Luca era gay" (''Luca Was Gay''), written and sung by Povia, was considered by some gay rights organizations as an anti-gay song. The controversy was also based on the name of the song's character: according to Aurelio Mancuso, president of the

Arcigay Arcigay is Italy's first and largest worldwide gay organisation. The association was first founded as a local association in Palermo in 1980, then nationally established in Bologna in 1985. The organisation became known throughout Italy for its c ...

, the name refers to Luca Tolvi, who claimed that

Joseph Nicolosi Joseph Nicolosi (January 24, 1947 – March 8, 2017) was an American clinical psychologist who advocated and practised "reparative therapy", a form of the pseudoscientific treatment of conversion therapy that he claimed could help people over ...

cured his homosexuality. Povia denied this thesis and claimed that the song is about a man he met on a train, whose real name is Massimiliano. The song won second place at the Festival.

Trivia

* In '' The Talented Mr. Ripley'' by Patricia Highsmith and its film adaptations, Dickie Greenleaf invites Tom Ripley to travel to the Sanremo Music Festival to enjoy some jazz, as a parting gesture before sending Ripley on his way. The ensuing events in Sanremo have major implications for all of the characters. * In 1960, future Italian pop legend Mina Mazzini made her Sanremo debut. The contest helped launch her career. * The song "Perdere l'amore" was proposed in 1987 by Gianni Nazzaro and rejected in the preliminary song screening. A year later, it was proposed by Massimo Ranieri and won the contest. * In 1990,

Patty Pravo Patty Pravo (born Nicoletta Strambelli on 9 April 1948) is an Italian singer. She debuted in 1966 and remained most successful commercially for the rest of the 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Having suffered a decline in popularity in the followin ...

turned down the opportunity to participate in the Sanremo Music Festival with " Donna con te", which was sung at the event by Anna Oxa. * In 2007, the song "Bruci la città" was rejected in the screening, mainly as a decision of that year's artistic director Pippo Baudo, who later explained that the decision was due to the poor quality of the received demo. However, the song was later released by Irene Grandi and became one of her biggest hits.

References

External links

*
Festivaldisanremo.com – Independent website on Sanremo Music Festival since 1998
*
City of Sanremo
{{coord missing, Italy Song contests Music festivals in Italy Sanremo Italian music television series Music of Liguria Tourist attractions in Liguria 1951 establishments in Italy Annual events in Italy Music festivals established in 1951 February events Winter events in Italy Eurovision Song Contest selection events

History

Origin and development

Winners

''Big Artists'' section

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Newcomers section

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Other sections

"Mia Martini" Critics Award

''Big Artists'' section and Newcomers section

Notable foreign duet singers

International successes

Hosts

Controversy

Trivia

See also

References

External links