The Sanremo Music Festival 2011 (Italian: Festival di Sanremo 2011), officially the 61st Italian Song Festival (61º Festival della canzone italiana), was the 61st annual Sanremo Music Festival, held at the Teatro Ariston in Sanremo between 15 and 19 February 2011 and broadcast by Rai 1. The festival was presented by singer Gianni Morandi with Paolo Kessisoglu, Luca Bizzarri, Belén Rodríguez and Elisabetta Canalis,[1] while artistic director was Gianmarco Mazzi.[2]
For the first time since 1997, the festival also served as the Italian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2011, with the country returning to the competition after being absent for 13 editions. The Italian entry, also "Follia d'amore" by Gualazzi (in a new version titled "Madness of Love"), was chosen among the contestants by a specific jury, composed of Gianni Morandi, Rai 1 director Mauro Mazza, Rai 2 director Massimo Liofredi, the mayor of Sanremo Maurizio Zoccarato, the municipality's promotional board member Giorgio Giuffra and director of international affairs Marco Simeon.[3]
Presenters and personnel
Sanremo Music Festival 2011 presenters
Gianni Morandi
Belén Rodríguez
Elisabetta Canalis
Luca Bizzarri and Paolo Kessisoglu
After some rumours emerged in September 2010,[4] it was officially announced that Gianmarco Mazzi was confirmed as the artistic director of the Sanremo Music Festival.[5] It was Mazzi's sixth Sanremo Music Festival as the artistic director.[6] Italian singer Gianni Morandi was chosen as the main presenter of the show. Negotiations for his contract started in June 2010,[7] and on 6 October 2010, RAI's board of directors confirmed his role in the show and announced Elisabetta Canalis, Belén Rodríguez, Luca Bizzarri and Paolo Kessisoglu as co-presenters of the festival.[5]
The authors of the show were Simona Ercolani, Martino Clericetti, Ivano Balduini, Francesco Valitutti, Michele Ferrari, Gianni Morandi and Italian film director and writer Federico Moccia.[8][9]
The Sanremo Festival Orchestra was conducted by Marco Sabiu,[8][10] but each contestant chose a different conductor for the competing song. For the first time in the history of the Sanremo Music Festival, two choreographers were involved in the show, Daniel Ezralow and Franco Miseria.[11] Duccio Forzano directed the show,[8][12] and the scenography was by Gaetano Castelli and Maria Chiara Castelli.[8]
Selections
Newcomers section
AreaSanremo
The artists competing in the newcomers section were selected through two different contests. The first one, formerly known as SanremoLab, was called Area Sanremo, and it was organized by the Comune di Sanremo. The contest was divided into two different sections, SanremoLab, featuring Italian-language songs, and SanremoDoc, reserved to songs in an Italian dialect.[13] After some courses and lectures, two different juries chose 8 artists in the SanremoLab section and 2 artists in the SanremoDoc section as the winners.[14] The jury for the SanremoLab section was composed of Mario Lavezzi, Roy Paci, Eleonoire Casalegno and Mariano Dapori, while the jury for the SanremoDoc section included Maurizio Coruzzi, Davide Van De Sfroos, Giordano Sangiorgi and Enrico Giovannini.[15] The winners—Ida Massaro, Lorenzo Vizzini, Roberto Amadé, Erika Mineo, Eleonora Crupi, Ernesto De Luca, Martino Iacchetti and Gabriella Ferrone for the SanremoLab section, Trenincorsa and Ilaria Palmieri with Terre del sole for the SanremoDoc section—were announced on 24 November 2010.[16][17] On 27 November 2010, a jury presided by Gianni Morandi selected two artists, Roberto Amadè and Gabriella Ferrone, among the ten winners, which became the first confirmed participants in the newcomers section of the Sanremo Music Festival 2011.[18]
Sanremo Giovani 2011
The second contest held to select the remaining 6 participants in the newcomers section of the Sanremo Music Festival 2011 was held in two separate steps. During the first step, auditioning artists were asked to uploaded a video including the proposed song on the official website of the festival, or to send a DVD containing it by ordinary mail.[19] The SanremoAcademy technical jury, presided by Gianni Morandi and Gianmarco Mazzi, selected nine artists. The artists chosen in this step were:
Anansi, performing "Il sole dentro"
Serena Abrami, performing "Lontano da tutto"
BTwins, performing "Mi rubi l'amore"
Raphael Gualazzi, performing "Follia d'amore"
Infranti Muri, performing "Contro i giganti"
Marco Menichini, performing "Tra tegole e cielo"
Micaela, performing "Fuoco e cenere"
Neks, performing "Occhi"
Le Strisce, performing "Vieni a vivere a Napoli"
During the second step, the selected artists performed a popular Italian song during three different episodes of Domenica in, and a ranking was compiled based on televoting and on the points given by a jury representing Italian radio stations.[19] The top 6 artists were admitted to the newcomers section of the Sanremo Music Festival 2011.
The winners of the contest, Serena Abrami, Anansi, Btwins, Raphael Gualazzi, Marco Menichini and Micaela, were announced on 30 January 2011, during the TV programme Domenica in.[25]
Big Artists section
The acts competing in the Big Artists section were chosen through an internal selection. The first confirmed artist was Roberto Vecchioni, announced on 5 November 2010.[26] On 24 November 2010, it was confirmed that Franco Battiato and Luca Madonia were included as a duo in the official list of the participants.[27] The complete list of the fourteen participants in the Big Artists section was revealed on 20 December 2010, together with the titles of the chosen songs. Alongside Vecchioni, and Madonia with Battiato, the list included Anna Oxa, Max Pezzali, Tricarico, Al Bano, Nathalie, Modà with Emma Marrone, Davide Van De Sfroos, Patty Pravo, Giusy Ferreri, Anna Tatangelo, La Crus and Luca Barbarossa with Raquel del Rosario.[6][28]
Shows
First night
Big Artists section
During the first night, each act in the "Big Artists Section" performed a previously unreleased song. Each song was ranked by 300 people between the age of 18 and 65 years, selected by Ipsos among music listeners.[29] At the end of the night, the two songs receiving the lowest points, Anna Tatangelo's "Bastardo" and "La mia anima d'uomo" by Anna Oxa, were eliminated from the competition.[30][31]
Performances of the contestants of the Big Artists section on the first night
"Amanda è libera" (Fabrizio Berlincioni, Albano Carrisi, Alterisio Paoletti)
11
1,775
Guests and other performances
Antonella Clerici, who presented the Sanremo Music Festival 2010, opened the show. The Italian presenter told her experience in a dialogue with her three-year-old daughter, Maëlle, who was on the stage with her.[35]
Luca Bizzarri and Paolo Kessisoglu sang a satirical version of the song "In amore", originally performed by Gianni Morandi and Barbara Cola during the Sanremo Music Festival 1995.[36] The comic duo's version of the song, "Ti sputtanerò", featured lyrics referring to the clashes between Silvio Berlusconi and Gianfranco Fini.[35]
Argentine tango dancer Miguel Ángel Zotto performed La cumparsita with co-presenter Belén Rodríguez, and danced with Daiana Guspero to the song Canaro en Paris.[37]
Second night
Big Artists section
On 16 February 2011, each song was performed for a second time by the singers still in competition in the Big Artists Section. As in the first night, the songs were rated by 300 people chosen by Ipsos,[29][38] and the songs receiving the lowest points, "Amanda è libera" by Al Bano and "Il vento e le rose" by Patty Pravo, were eliminated.[39]
Performances of the contestants of the Big Artists section on the second night
At the end of the night, four artists in the newcomers section performed their entries for the first time. A ranking was obtained combining televoting with the points given by the Sanremo Festival Orchestra technical jury,[38] and the artists in the bottom two slots, Anansi with "Il sole dentro" and Gabriella Ferrone singing "Un pezzo d'estate", were eliminated.[42]
During the show, Cuban American actor Andy García was interviewed by Gianni Morandi. He also played piano while Morandi sang "Cuba Libre" and co-presenters Belén Rodríguez and Elisabetta Canalis danced to the song.[44]
British singer–songwriter Eliza Doolittle sang her hit single "Skinny Genes".[44][46] After her performance, she was briefly interviewed by Gianni Morandi and Elisabetta Canalis.[47]
Third night
Celebration of the anniversary of the Italian unification
On 17 February 2011, all the acts competing in the Big Artists section, including the eliminated ones, performed a cover of a popular Italian song, in order to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Italian unification.[48] During the night, the public's vote determined the winner of the prize "Nata per unire" (English: Born to unify), which was completely unrelated to the outcome of the contest. The song receiving the most votes was "Va, pensiero", performed by Al Bano.[49]
Performances of the contestants of the Big Artists section on the third night
After all the Big Artists' performances, the four newcomers which didn't sing on the second night performed their entries for the first time. As in the previous night, the two artists receiving the lowest rating obtained combining the points given by the Sanremo Festival Orchestra technical jury and by the public's vote were eliminated.[38]
Performances of the newcomers on the third night[49]
"Fuoco e cenere" (Luciano Nigro, Alfio Santonocito, Francesco Muggeo)
1
24
7,640
Roberto Amadè
2
"Come pioggia" (Roberto Amadè)
2
26
1,771
BTwins
3
"Mi rubi l'amore" (Saverio Grandi, Cesare Chiodo)
3
7
9,884
Marco Menichini
4
"Tra tegole e cielo" (Stefano Senesi, Andrea Perrozzi, Maurizio Galli)
4
23
4,442
Repechage round
In the end of the night, the four artists eliminated during the previous nights performed again their entries. The two acts receiving the most votes, Anna Tatangelo and Al Bano, were reinstated in the competition.[52][53]
Roberto Benigni (center) performing at Sanremo 2011; host Gianni Morandi is on the left
Roberto Benigni, after entering the stage on the back of a horse, performed an exegesis of the Italian national anthem, "Il Canto degli Italiani". His long monologue included several references to current political events in Italy.[48]
Gianni Morandi performed the previously unreleased song "Rinascimento". Its lyrics, referring to the Italian unification, were written by Mogol, while the music was written by Italian singer-songwriter Gianni Bella some years before.[54]
Luca Bizzarri and Paolo Kessisoglu performed Giorgio Gaber's "Noi due stupidi", as a tribute to the popular Italian singer-songwriter.[55]
Fourth night
Big Artists section
During the fourth night, the twelve remaining artists in the Big Artists section performed their entries in a new version, together with guest artists. Each song was ranked by the Sanremo Festival Orchestra technical jury and the results were combined with televoting. The two songs in the bottom two slots were eliminated.[38]
Performances of the contestants of the Big Artists section on the fourth night[56]
Raphael Gualazzi, winner of the Sanremo Music Festival 2011 in the Newcomers Section.
In the end of the night, the four newcomers still in competition performed their entries for a second time, and the winner was determined by combining the public's vote with the ratings given by the Sanremo Festival Orchestra technical jury.[38]
Performances of the newcomers on the fourth night[56][57]
Luca Bizzarri and Paolo Kessisoglu performed a satiric version of Morandi's "Uno su mille", featuring lyrics about leadership problems in the Italian Democratic Party.[58]
Fifth night
First round
During the final of the show, the ten remaining artists in the Big Artists section performed their entries, and were voted by the Sanremo Festival Orchestra technical jury and by the public, through televoting. Music journalist were asked to vote for one of the artists, who received the "Golden Share" and was allowed to gain four slots on the previous chart.[59] The Golden Share was received by Roberto Vecchioni, who already was in the top three artists of the night.[60]
Performances of the "Big Artists" on the first round of the final[34][61]
In the end of the night, the top three artists performed their entries for the last time, and the winner was determined by televoting only.[38]
Performances of the "Big Artists" on the second round of the final[34][61]
Artist
Order
Song
Place
Televotes
Roberto Vecchioni
1
"Chiamami ancora amore"
1
48.34%
Modà & Emma Marrone
2
"Arriverà"
2
39.88%
Al Bano
3
"Amanda è libera"
3
11.77%
Guests and other performances
Belén Rodríguez performed the song "Tú", accompanied by her father Gustavo Rodriguez playing guitar.[62]
Elisabetta Canalis danced to Ciara's song "Like a Boy", with Italian dancer Valerio Pino.[63][64]
Luca Bizzarri and Paolo Kessisoglu performed the traditional Italian songs "Reginella" and "Ma se ghe penso", dueting with Massimo Ranieri.[64]
Canadian singer Avril Lavigne sang her single "What the Hell" and answered a few questions by presenter Gianni Morandi.[64]
Massimo Ranieri was interviewed by Gianni Morandi. During the interview, they performed together Ranieri's "L'amore è una cosa meravigliosa", Morandi's "La fisarmonica" and Domenico Modugno's "Nel blu dipinto di blu".[64]
Orchestra conductor Marco Sabiu performed his composition "Sabiu n. 7".[65]
A few minutes before the announcement of the top three artists, Luca Bizzarri and Paolo Kessisoglu performed Cochi & Renato's "Finché c'è la salute".[65]
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