"Soldi" (; ) is a song recorded by Italian singer
Mahmood
Mahmud is a Romanization of Arabic, transliteration of the male Arabic given name (), common in most parts of the Islamic world. It comes from the Arabic triconsonantal root Ḥ-M-D, meaning ''praise'', along with ''Muhammad (name), Muhammad''.
...
. 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 Charles
Paolo Alberto Monachetti (born 24 March 1994), known professionally as Charlie Charles, is an Italian record producer and DJ from Milan. He started his career in 2015, releasing the collaborative album ''XDVR'' with rapper Sfera Ebbasta. In 2019, ...
, who also produced it.
Mahmood performed the song for the first time at the
69th Sanremo Musical Festival in February 2019 and won the competition, receiving the right to represent
Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019
Italy participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019. Italian broadcaster RAI announced in November 2018 that the winning performer(s) of the Sanremo Music Festival 2019, later turning out to be Mahmood with "", would earn the right to represen ...
.
"Soldi" was later confirmed as his Eurovision entry, eventually reaching second place in the final. The song is predominantly in
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
, with one line in
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
, making it the fourth time that a Eurovision song features the Arabic language after entries by in , in and in . "Soldi" topped the charts in Greece, Israel, Italy and Lithuania and reached the top 10 in five more countries. The song became the most-streamed Eurovision song ever on
Spotify
Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...
, a record held until late January 2021 when it was surpassed by the 2019 Eurovision winner, "
Arcade
Arcade most often refers to:
* Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine
** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware
** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board
* Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games
* ...
" by
Duncan Laurence
Duncan de Moor (; born 11 April 1994), known professionally as Duncan Laurence, is a Dutch singer and songwriter. He represented the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with his song "Arcade" and went on to win the competition, giv ...
.
Background and composition
Interviewed by ''
TV Sorrisi e Canzoni
''TV Sorrisi e Canzoni'' (''TV Smiles and Songs'') is an Italian weekly listings magazine published in Segrate, Italy.
History and profile
''TV Sorrisi e Canzoni'' was established in 1952. Based in Segrate, Milan, the magazine is published by ...
'', Mahmood revealed he started writing the song while hanging out with some friends. Despite this, it took a long time for him to complete the song.
Producers Dardust and
Charlie Charles
Paolo Alberto Monachetti (born 24 March 1994), known professionally as Charlie Charles, is an Italian record producer and DJ from Milan. He started his career in 2015, releasing the collaborative album ''XDVR'' with rapper Sfera Ebbasta. In 2019, ...
contributed its sound, renewing it with contemporary elements borrowed from
trap music
Trap is a subgenre of hip hop music that originated in the Southern United States during the 1990s. The genre gets its name from the Atlanta slang word "trap", a house used exclusively to sell drugs. Trap music uses synthesized drums and is ch ...
.
Hip hop sounds are also mixed with Arabic influences.
The song structure does not include a proper chorus. According to Italian producer and musician Andrea Rodini, the song's hook is based on three different elements: the repetition of the word "soldi" (''money''), the verse "come va" (''what's up?''), pronounced multiple consecutive times, and the sound of clapping hands, which Rodini describes as a "cubistic" chorus.
"Soldi" is an autobiographic song about Mahmood's "unconventional family".
Its lyrics explore Mahmood's relationship with his father, who left his family while he was a child.
It depicts a lying, contradictory and unreliable father, whose main priority is money instead of his own family. Money is therefore represented as one of the causes of the end of a father-and-son relationship, marking a strong departure from trap music themes, which usually depicts money as the ultimate goal of life.
Mahmood explained that the song's lyrics "evoke a memory" and that "there's a lot of anger" in it.
Its verses reproduce a series of different pictures, often used by Mahmood as metaphors.
The song also includes a sentence in Arabic. Although he cannot speak Arabic, Mahmood explained that he remembers how his Egyptian father called him when he was a child, and that he chose to include this verse as a way to bring him back to a particular moment in time.
Song contests
Sanremo Music Festival
In December 2018, Mahmood was one of 24 acts selected to compete in ''Sanremo Giovani'', a televised competition aimed at selecting two newcomers as contestants of the
69th Sanremo Music Festival. Competing acts were split in two separate groups, which performed in different live shows. A winner from each group was declared, and Mahmood placed first in the second episode of the show, with his entry "Gioventù bruciata". Mahmood also received the Critics' Award among acts performing in the second final.
"Soldi" was later announced as his entry for the Sanremo Music Festival 2019.
Mahmood performed the song for the first time during the first live show of the 69th Sanremo Music Festival, which was held on 5 February 2019. He was the 24th and final act to appear on stage, performing after midnight. Dario "Dardust" Faini, co-writer of the song, directed the Sanremo Orchestra during his performance. During the third live show, "Soldi" was the first performance of the night. On 8 February 2019, Mahmood performed the song in a new version, featuring rapper
Gué Pequeno.
During the first round of the final, "Soldi" placed 7th in the televote, but was the most voted by the experts jury, and the second most voted by the press jury. As a result, Mahmood gained a spot in the top three acts of the competition. After an additional performance, the song was declared the winner of the 69th Sanremo Music Festival, beating
Ultimo's "I tuoi particolari" and "Musica che resta" by
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 ...
, which placed second and third, respectively.
Mahmood also received the "Enzo Jannacci" Award for Best Performance.
Eurovision Song Contest
Following his win, it was confirmed by
RAI
RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...
and the
European Broadcasting Union
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; french: Union européenne de radio-télévision, links=no, UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations whose countries are within the European Broadcasting Area or who ar ...
that Mahmood had accepted the invitation to represent Italy in the
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 ...
, which is given to the winner of the Sanremo Music Festival, and that he'd be performing "Soldi" at Eurovision. As Italy is a member of the "
Big Five", he automatically advanced to the final, held on 18 May 2019 in
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
, Israel. The song finished in second place with 472 points, and won the
Marcel Bezençon Composer Award.
Music video
The music video for "Soldi" was directed by Attilio Cusani.
As of October 2021, the video has over 184 million views on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
.
Track listings
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
, +Certifications and sales for "Soldi"
References
{{Authority control
2019 singles
2019 songs
Eurovision songs of 2019
Eurovision songs of Italy
Island Records singles
Mahmood (singer) songs
Number-one singles in Greece
Number-one singles in Israel
Sanremo Music Festival songs
Number-one singles in Italy
Songs about parenthood
Songs written by Mahmood
Songs written by Dario Faini