Sanremo 2014 — the first night of the Festival

The Festival della canzone italiana di Sanremo, often referred to simply as "Festival di Sanremo" or even just "Sanremo" (the town where it is held) started its 2014 edition last night.  Now in its 64th year, the festival has played a part in introducing Italy and the world to new music and artists and inspiring Europe's Eurovision song contest.

The festival consists of a competition with two major categories: Campioni (Big or known artists) and Nuove Proposte (newcomers).  Both groups perform previously unreleased songs and on the final night, a winner for each category is chosen by a combination of viewer and Jury votes.  There are also guest performances and tributes from international and Italian artists alike.

Photo via repubblica.it: "Sanremo, partenza con brivido" (in italiano)

This year, Ligabue (one of my favorites) kicked off the festival with a birthday tribute to famed artist Fabrizio de André who would have turned 74, singing one of his songs "Creuza de mà".  I thought his performance was great, and it was interesting to hear the lyrics in dialect, and see the standard Italian lyrics in subtitles below as well. I also particularly enjoyed the sounds of the Bouzouki, played by co-author of the song Mauro Pagani [See the video on the Festival site.]


The official competition started with 7 of the 14 "Campioni" artists, who performed two songs each.  Through a mixed voting process, one song from each artist was chosen to continue in the competition.


The winning songs for each artist are starred…Let me know what you think! Which songs do you like/dislike?  Do you agree with the winning song votes?


(Click the song titles to link to videos of each performance)

Arisa

Lentamente (Il primo che passa)  | Slowly (The first one to pass)

*Controvento |  Against the wind

Frankie Hi-Nrg mc

*Pedala |  Pedal!

Un uomo è vivo |  A man is alive

Antonella Ruggiero

Quando balliamo |  When we dance

*Da lontano | From afar

Raphael Gualazzi & The Bloody Beetroots

*Liberi o no | Free or not

Tanto ci sei |  In any case you're there

Cristiano De André

Invisibili | Invisible

*Il cielo è vuoto |  The sky is empty

Perturbazione

*L'Unica |  The only one

L'Italia vista dal bar |  Italy as seen from the bar

Giusy Ferreri

L'amore possiede il bene |  Love possesses the good

*Ti porto a cena con me |  I'll take you to dinner with me

Links to all videos from "La prima serata" available on rai.tv

Again, I'd love to hear what you think!  Do you agree with the winning songs for each artist? Any favorite songs or artists? Comment below or you can also connect and comment via Via Optimae on Facebook if you prefer!]

Buon Ascolto!

(happy listening!)

~Alex

P.S. You can also watch the entire Prima Serata (first night) here