Breaking news: I'm now officially estranged from my extended family! According to my beloved cousins, since childhood I've always been a nuisance for everyone, being ban mannered, a complete brat, always answering back, and if you look closely I'm probably also responsible for the Gaza genocide, for war in Ukraine, and for any awful thing ever happened under the Sun since 22nd December 1973 (and probably even before that, because, y’know, I'm really a timeless villain, you know me…). Everything is my fault, of course.
You know how gaslighting works, don't you?
So, since I'm now persona non grata in my own family, let's focus on DUETS NIGHT at Sanremo!
[disclaimer: despite other people eventual claims, these medleys and duets are IN NO WAY my fault, so please don't add them to the above list of atrocities I'm allegedly responsible for, thank you.]
08:45 PM - here we go again! All 30 contestants will perform tonight, brace yourselves…
08:52 PM - Sangiovanni duets with Aitana, singing a medley of his own hit song, Farfalle, and its Spanish version, Mariposas.
08:59 PM - Annalisa with La Rappresentante di Lista and Coro Artemia perform their rendition of Eurythmics’ Sweet Dreams (are made of this).
09:06 PM - Rose Villain performs with Gianna Nannini a spectacular medley of Nannini’s songs, they're both enjoying the moment, and the music, instead of worrying about the competition, and so am I. Bravissime!
09:16 PM - Gazzelle sings Notte prima degli esami with Fulninacci: you know what? I can't stand Antonello Venditti, but I loved their rendition of his song. Well done.
09:29 PM – The Kolors sing a medley of Umberto Tozzi songs, with Umberto Tozzi himself.
09:35 PM - Alfa sings Sogna, ragazzo, sogna with its author, Roberto Vecchioni: two generations, separated by at least three more in-between, a very moving moment indeed. I'm weeping.
And here's a pic of my Mum chatting with Roberto Vecchioni in Rome, a couple of months ago:
09:42 PM - Lorella Cuccarini sings and dances a medley of themes from TV show from the ‘80s and ‘90s she took part to. Fiorello doubles as her dance partner: he’s ready for the Italian remake of Versailles, the TV series, in the role of the Chevalier de Lorraine… move over Evan Williams!
Or perhaps he's channeling Mandy Patinkin, who knows…
09:51 PM – Bnkr44 duet with Pino D’Angiò on his 1980 hit: Ma quale idea.
10:03 PM - Irama is overshadowed by Riccardo Cocciante as they duet on Quando finisce un amore (not even one of Cocciante best songs…).
10:12 PM - Fiorella Mannoia and Francesco Gabbani perform a Che sia benedetta/Occidentali’s Karma mashup: something we could've done without, thank you.
10:19 PM - Santi Francesi duet with Skin on Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah, and there's clearly a choir of angels and cherubims and seraphims on backing vocals, it's marvelous!
10:31 PM - Arisa (guest) sings La notte on the external stage, probably the best song in her repertoire.
10:36 - Ricchi e Poveri sing a medley of Sarà perché ti amo and Mamma Maria with Paola e Chiara, they're clearly having fun, good for them.
10:47 PM - Ghali, with Ratchopper, sings his own song, Italiano vero, which also doubles as a homage to the late Toto Cutugno: somewhere, in their respective homes, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Home secretary Matteo Salvini are having a nervous breakdown.
11:02 PM - Clara with Ivana Spagna sing the Italian version of Elton John’s Circle of life, together with Coro di voci bianche del Teatro Regio di Torino.
11:08 PM - Amadeus si collega con Fiorello, pretending to be a magician: he says a formula and… OMG IT'S BEPPE VESSICCHIO1!!!
11:15 PM - Loredana Bertè sings Ragazzo mio (written by Luigi Tenco in 1964, rearranged for her in 1984 by Ivano Fossati), with Venerus (wearing a tank top…) — they have to repeat the song because of a technical problem, but then the rendition is simply impeccable. I love this song.
11:25 PM - Geolier performs a medley with Guè, Luchè, and Gigi D’Alessio: tiresome.
11:39 PM - Gigi D’Agostino (guest) DJing on the Costa Smeralda cruise ship, moored off the Sanremo coast.
11:44 PM - Angelina Mango sings La rondine, one of her late father’s most beautiful songs, accompanied by Il quartetto d'archi dell'Orchestra di Roma. Very moving.
11:50 PM - Alessandra Amoroso sings in Apulian dialect during a forgettable medley with Boomdabash.
11:59 PM - Dargen D'Amico performs an unexpected homage to Ennio Morricone with BabelNova Orchestra.
00:09 AM - Mahmood sings an incredible version of Come è profondo il mare, by Lucio Dalla, with Tenores di Bitti (Sardinia traditional singers). Bravi!
00:18 AM - Mr. Rain sings Mary, with its IG performers, Gemelli Diversi: never liked that song, not even today.
00:30 AM - Negramaro murder La canzone del sole, and Malika Ayane is accessory to the crime: the yassification of Lucio Battisti.
00:40 AM - Emma and Bresh sing a medley of songs by Tiziano Ferro - why, why so many younger singers cover their vowels when they sing? It sounded more like a parody than a cover… peccato.
00:46 AM - Il Volo sing Who wants to live forever, with Stef Burns. And it's mini-Pavarotti and friends all over again (and no, that was not meant as a compliment).
00:53 AM -Diodato and Jack Savoretti (and Filippo Timi, too) perform Fabrizio De André’s Amore che vieni, amore che vai. I'm always a bit wary of people singing songs by De André, but I quite enjoyed this rendition.
01:00 AM – La Sad and Donatella Rettore sing Lamette, one of her most famous songs, from 1982. Thanks but no, thanks. Next.
01:06 AM – Il Tre and Fabrizio Moro perform a medley of songs by Moro himself: a technical issue again at the beginning of the performance, so they start over again. But I can only hear two people either talking or yelling, not really singing…
01:15 AM – BigMama with Gaia, La Niña and Sissi perform Lady Marmalade, interspersed with some rapping and some Neapolitan vocalising. Not bad. Also, +20 Fantasanremo “bonus Pelù” points for bag-snatching…
Also, orchestra conductor Mº Alberto Cipolla goes “F*UCK PATRIARCHY!”:
01:21 AM – Maninni and Ermal Meta sing Non mi avete fatto niente, which Meta brought to Sanremo with Fabrizio Mori in 2018, winning that year’s competition. Sounds too much like the OG version, so I'm disappointed.
01:30 AM - Fred De Palma and Eiffel 65 perform a medley of Eiffel 65 songs, after which I fall asleep on the sofa, thus missing RENGANEK… sorry not sorry.
To cut a long story short, at 2:00 AM Geolier is declared winner of the duets night, and the audience in the theatre impolitely express their dissent…
Let me be clear on this: I didn't like his duet, either, but boo-ing artists doing their job is a no-go. Moreover, this will lead to futile controversies, mark my words… just like in my extended family.
Beppe Vessicchio, orchestra conductor, one of the most loved in Sanremo 🥰
Thank you for your summary of duet nights! There were some gems that evening but I personally thought most of the songs we could have done without 😁
Cover night is my favorite night. I have been watching Ghali's performance on repeat. The way he looks at the audience as he declares sono Italiano vero is so forceful and moving to me.