Sanremo 2026

A (new) essential guide to surviving Sanremo week, courtesy of Sanremo: read it, keep it handy, share it.

For each of the 30 (!) singers competing in the "Big" category, you'll find: four lines to figure out who they are, saving you a bit of online digging; the title of their competing song and a comment, drawing partly on the lyrics published by the essential "Tv Sorrisi e Canzoni" of February 17th, the sacred book of every Sanremo obsessive. To wrap things up, a prejudice that reads like a prophecy: bold, brazen, sometimes caustic.

So, as always, we're giving it our all, and you're free to enjoy the Festivalàl - or just pretend you watched it.

Not having heard the previews, we're relying on divination, tea leaves, bone-throwing and journalist-stalking (please don't ban us). In a few days, it'll all be over anyway: more or less like a bad dream. We'll also be answering the question of all questions: who the hell is Eddie Brock?

Arisa

Rosalba Pippa, born in Genoa and raised in Basilicata, chose as her alias an acronym of her family members' names: if I'd done the same, you'd all be calling me Parp. As a child she sang, then worked the piano bar circuit and various other jobs, until her debut at Sanremo in 2009 in the minor category: awkward, weird and charismatic. "Sincerità" was a hit, sweet naivety made of acoustic pop. The look did the rest: flaming red lipstick, oversized glasses with heavy frames.

In 2010 she returned to the Ariston with "Malamorenò", but finished ninth. She changed her look and took on the role of judge on "X Factor", gifting us an eternal video. In 2012 she returned (again!) to Sanremo and very nearly won, with the ballad "La notte", an Ariston-style track that was outdone by Emma Marrone's unbearable warbling.

Having shed her half-pixie, half-Amelie persona, she became more introspective and less original. She won the Festival in 2014 with "Controvento", a big ballad: the unspoken hope was that this might finally loosen her ties to the Ariston a little.

From here on, more than for her music, she emerged as an unpredictable character, an idol for trash-culture fetishists: she collaborated with Club Dogo, even joining them on stage at San Siro in a see-through dress, and took part in the reality show "Monte Bianco – Sfida verticale", where she was eliminated in the first episode; she performed in Tokyo for the event "Italy, amore mio!", organized by the Italian Chamber of Commerce; she duetted with Cristina D’Avena on "Magica, magica Emi"; she held a concert in Kuwait to close the Italian week organized by the Italian embassy; she released a sixth album titled (I swear!) "Una new Rosalba in città" (2019), paired with the tour "Una nuova Rosalba nei club", where she hit the discos with suitable remixes (!); she took part in "Il cantante mascherato", dressed as a poodle, and in "Ballando con le stelle", which she won; she founded her own record label and named it, drumroll please, Pipshow (for the more innocent among you, here's a helpful link); in 2023 she duetted with Gianluca Grignani and gifted us another gold-standard meme video: "we made a mess of it, Gianluca"; she looked for a man on Instagram with nude photos, writing: "I'm considering marriage proposals from perfectly healthy individuals, max 45 years old, financially self-sufficient, who are absolutely crazy about the female sex organ, mine in particular". Unpredictable.

The song in competition: "Magica favola"

The title suggests a track in the vein of her early days, but it's actually a retelling of her own life. What will make the difference, though, is her locura: meme-makers are already drooling.

Prejudice

AAA Seeking career relaunch through hits and memes. Call at the Ariston. No time-wasters, please.

Bambole di Pezza

Punk, at Sanremo, is only acceptable if watered down into a carnival act, as happened with La Sad. These Milanese feminists, with plenty of live experience behind them, will give it a shot, likely leaning on pop-rock. Even in an edition as weak on names as this one, they stand out: two weeks before the Festival kicks off, they're pulling in around 55,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. Their most-streamed track is "Favole (mi hai rotto il caxxo)" (2023), spelled exactly like that: what nerve! It's mellow melodic pop-punk that at least pushes back a bit against gender stereotypes. They have a long, patchy career behind them, which began as an imitation of American pop-punk bands. After a change of singer and label, they opted for a more direct sound on their second album "Strike" (2005), on which they cover "Freeway" by Bee Hive: the strategy is clearly to poke fun at themselves, catching critics off guard.

The project collapsed, but incredibly the world kept turning. They returned in 2021 with a new lineup, earning a bit of timid attention for their feminist stance and for a style that is, at the very least, out of step with the times.

The song – "Resta con me"

It's hard to play rock at the Ariston if you have a habit of sweetening it with pop: it often ends up as karaoke. The punk spirit will live on in the outfits, the message mostly in the interviews. Let's hope the live performance delivers.

Prejudice

A flamboyantly dressed all-female, feminist band plays homeopathic, flat punk-rock. In the relegation zone.

Chiello

Rocco Modello, from Potenza, despite having an incredible name straight out of a spin-off of “The Sopranos”, chose the stage name Chiello. Among the youngest competitors this year, born in '99, he's part of the group unknown to (almost) everyone over thirty. He used to be part of a violent, one-of-a-kind trap group, FSK Satellite (FSK Satellite). He then launched a solo career geared towards more it-pop and singer-songwriter sounds, often leaning towards the depressive. Sanremo could be his way out of the trap-listener niche.

The song – “Ti penso sempre”

Granted that this title already belongs, irreplaceably, to a song close to this writer's heart, it will introduce half of Italy to his way of singing, mumbling and clipping his words. The lost-boy image with the face tattoos will do the trick. Then again, we've had quite enough of Achille Lauro (though he'll actually be co-hosting the second night...).

Prejudice

A sad boy lost at Sanremo, reaching only those who listen with the heart and not with their ears.

Dargen D’Amico

Born in 1980, Jacopo Matteo Luca D’Amico is a Milanese with Aeolian roots who started out rapping as Corvo D’Argento. He met Guè Pequeno and Jake La Furia while still at school and joined them for the Sacre Scuole project, one of the turning points in the rebuilding of our scene at the turn of the century.

The two friends went on to become Club Dogo, while he broke away to start a solo career that couldn't be more eccentric, built on electronic, surreal, ironic rap: 2006's “Musica senza musicisti” remains unique to this day.

A microphone virtuoso, he's released albums that merge Lucio Dalla with techno, occasionally turned singer-songwriter, and collaborated with, among others, Crookers, Two Fingerz and Fabri Fibra. He's delivered absurd disco versions of “La guerra di Piero” but also two extended stream-of-consciousness tracks, collected on the experimental “Nostalgia istantanea” (2012).

He gradually drifted towards pop-rap, was featured by Fedez and hosted J-Ax, yet still allowed himself the odd curveball: in 2017 he re-recorded some tracks accompanied by pianist Isabella Turso, effectively contradicting “Musica senza musicisti”.

After twenty years, and following a masterpiece like “Bir Tawil” in 2020, he finally became a rap star with “Dove si balla”, presented at Sanremo in 2022: a blend of dancefloor and introspection, energy and irony; seven platinum records, yet it only placed ninth. He tried again with “Onda alta”, tackling migrants over an upbeat rhythm, and sank to twentieth place at Sanremo 2024 (to put it in perspective, Il Volo came eighth...).

Of his multifaceted talent, Sanremo only gets the slightly dazed character, a boisterous friend out for a party who likes to play with words: unsurprisingly, he's trying again with “Dove si balla”, hoping to score the second hit of his life.

The song – “AI AI”

Made for dancing, but with a touch of nostalgia, a smiling sadness. He uses AI more as a sound than as a theme. One of the few genuinely fun lyrics of this year's edition.

Prejudice

A likeable, forty-something party animal tries to get people dancing and thinking at the same time, playing the irony card. The audience, however, would rather cry and pine away.

Ditonellapiaga

Margherita Carducci, born in Rome in 1997, is a Gen Z artist who loves the eighties, stands out for her irony and love of citation, and moves between mainstream appeal and authorial ambition. Energetic, as few contenders in this line-up manage to be, she found with her 2022 debut album "Camouflage" an unstable balance between her various sides, in a whirl of references, provocations, over-the-top flourishes, and a few things still to be refined.

Most people got to know her through the explosive "Chimica" (a platinum record), sung with Donatella Rettore and also performed at Sanremo 2022. Her second album, "Flash" (2024), is a typical, and therefore difficult, follow-up, only half successful. But the talent is there, and she's one of the few acts this year bringing a healthy, overwhelming erotic charge. In late January she released a single, "Sì lo so", which recalls the winking, self-mocking rap of Myss Keta. A stage name dangerously prone to Freudian slips.

The song – "Che fastidio!"

Tipped as the smash hit that will dominate streaming and social media. Plenty of electronics, hefty doses of rap, and probably a frenetic, colourful performance. We'll wake up with a tune stuck in our heads that's hard to shake off... want to bet?

Prejudice

Ditonellapiaga plants an earworm in the head of anyone watching Sanremo, even just through social media. The first hit of the summer.

Eddie Brock 

Edward Charles Allan "Eddie" Brock grew up in a Catholic family in San Francisco. His mother dies giving birth to him, his father is emotionally cold. Eddie studies, becomes a journalist, and one drunken night kills a child but escapes prison. As a journalist he chases a killer, who is instead caught by Spider-Man: Eddie had been following the wrong lead all along. He gets fired and wants revenge on Spider-Man, so desperate that he bonds with an alien symbiote: he becomes Venom. Edoardo Iaschi, born in Rome in 1997, has had a much quieter life by comparison: no murders, no superpowers, no aliens. His most famous track, "Non è mica te", is a terribly sad pop-rock ballad with lyrics straight out of middle school, released in 2003. We owe his presence here mainly to TikTok, where this tear-jerking dirge went viral: maybe the Luddites had a point after all...

The song – "Avvoltoi"

A lesser Tommaso Paradiso, Purgatorio at best. Melancholic, facile, predictable.

Prejudice

Largely unknown, arriving via TikTok, he lands a modest placing despite a track that ought to tear up the charts.

Elettra Lamborghini 

Born in Bologna in 1994, daughter of the car-and-tractor dynasty, she's a personality who's leapt off the screen ever since her TV debut on "Chiambretti Night" in 2015.

Famous even in Spain and England, because we only export the best, she's delightfully self-mocking, decidedly extroverted, gloriously curvy, and heavily tattooed. At a certain point she also started playing at being a singer, dishing out reggaeton best paired with a long drink or two. Between reality shows, TV programmes, gossip and hits of varying trashiness, she reached her album "Twerking Queen" in 2019: inevitably. At Sanremo in 2020 she landed a thoroughly deserved last place with "Musica (e il resto scompare)", temporarily making all of Italy's desire to listen to music disappear too. A goddess of kitsch, she's a personality who's always good for a laugh, if you take her for what she is: a wealthy heiress playing around in showbiz, often laughing at herself. A Paris Hilton who actually made it.

The Song – “Voilà”

No reggaeton, don't worry: there's a four-on-the-floor beat, a bit of funk, and all in all nothing too serious. Which is just as well: it'll make us dream, a bit awkwardly, on stage. TikTok is waiting for nothing else.

Prejudice

Milionaria is having fun while everyone else risks their own career. She'll probably tank, but this time she won't come last: that would be a triumph.

Enrico Nigiotti

This voice-and-guitar singer-songwriter from Livorno, born in 1987, has occasionally been spotted even outside the Sanremo competition. He's been writing songs since childhood, and Caselli noticed him and signed him: is that why he keeps blooming back like a stain on the parquet? He entered "Amici" in 2010, but dropped out for love. He tried again the following year with a talent contest run by Mara Maionchi, without success. He reached Sanremo's "New Proposals" section in 2015, finishing third. He tried "X Factor" in 2017, finishing third. The turning point came in 2019, when at Sanremo he became known across all of Italy with "Nonno Hollywood", dedicated to his beloved late relative and marked by the immortal lines "I miss your whistling while you take a piss". Indeed (?) he won the "Premio Lunezia" for musical-literary merit. In the final ranking he stopped at tenth place, so he tried again in 2020: nineteenth. In the last five years, little to report, aside from his role as songwriter for the banger "Il lupo Duccio", entered at the Zecchino d'Oro in 2025.

The Song – “Ogni volta che non so volare”

Melancholic, it speaks to the heart, drowning in nostalgia. Having ruled out the possibility of writing a song about his grandmother humming while she farts, he talks about himself and also about his first time. Who knows if she ended up whistling…

Prejudice

Livorno's own Grignani tries again; it's a shame not to feel moved, but it's all already been heard before. Mid-table. He'll be back: it's almost a threat.

Ermal Meta

Born in 1981 in Albania and naturalized Italian, he grew up in Bari away from his violent father. He plays various instruments and arrives at Sanremo in 2006 among the "Giovani" with Ameba 4, where he acts as protist-guitarist. In 2007 he founds the pop-rock group "La fame di Camilla", which also passes through "Giovani" in 2010. Appetite sated, and the group disbanded, he becomes a songwriter for others and releases music under his own name.

He enters as a solo artist at Sanremo Giovani (third time's the charm!) in 2016, and releases his first album, "Umano", in clear contrast with his past as a single-celled organism.

With this pop sound tinged with singer-songwriter flourishes, he finally reaches the "Big" competition at the Ariston in 2017, with "Vietato morire", a song with a message; he places third and wins the "Critics' Award".

The self-titled album, certified platinum, establishes him as one of the pop singers of the era: talk about a "dark period". He returns to Sanremo in 2018 and wins, paired with a Fabrizio Moro perfectly in his element: "Non mi avete fatto niente", once again a socially conscious song, overflowing with drama, between terror attacks and pacifist messages that aren't exactly original ("there's no such thing as a pacifist bomb", "your pointless wars"). They fly off to Eurovision, winning the "soul of the party" award.

On his own, he returns to Sanremo in 2021, finishing third with nothing much new to offer. He carries on a career that unfolds between one Sanremo appearance and the next. This time, though, he'll surprise us… more or less.

The Song – “Stella stellina”

From terrorist attacks to reggaeton, but really it's about dead children and war. It's hard to picture him dancing, so he must have drained every last drop of joy from this music, leaving it bloodless: he's the Nosferatu of latin pop.

The prejudice

A singer prone to drama invites you to a Latin dance class. You leave in tears, devastated over children dead in war. He almost wins.

Fedez and Marco Masini

The most dangerous pairing, and therefore the most interesting. The first is a Milanese born in '89, with three first names and no surname: Federico Leonardo Lucia. He debuts as a tongue-in-cheek pop-rapper, curious but not exactly essential listening. It doesn't last long, because he veers towards emo-rap with his third album "Sig. Brainwash – L'arte di accontentare" (2013, triple platinum) and a string of hits that establish him as a personality.

Together with Chiara Ferragni he forms the final boss of Italian gossip, Ferragnez, while with J-Ax he churns out summer singles by the dozen. Things end badly with Ferragni, and with J-Ax too, and now he's showing up alongside Marco Masini, a man who became famous (partly) thanks to an indefensible song like "Bella stronza", which Fedez performed on cover night a year ago, leaving out the most shameful lines.

They evidently took a liking to each other, probably united by their unquestionable respect for women. The Florentine afflicted with coprolalia, born in 1964, could well be his dad. He's won Sanremo both in the "Newcomers" category in 1990 and among the "Champions" in 2004. He made his name in the early Nineties, scoring great commercial results by leaning into a bleak, explicit vocabulary, starting with the furious "Vaffanculo" (1993; ever so delicate) and then the aforementioned "Bella stronza" (1995), which is hard not to read as a provocation. The era of hits comes to an end: as everyone knows, a "fuck off" is like a boomerang.

In 2001 he announces his retirement, but of course! he returns and triumphs at Sanremo in 2004: he shows up cleaned up, it's something of a rebirth. Believe it or not, he's the voice behind the theme song of the cartoon "Shaman King" and co-author of the song that wins the 64th Zecchino d'Oro, "Superbabbo" (2021): they turned down his "Marmocchio di merda".

The song - "Male necessario"

Fedez is still licking his wounds, Masini brings the professional touch. They're aiming very high, banking on the momentum of controversy, gossip and rumors. The lyrics even mention Fedez.

Prejudice

Sensitive, slightly aggressive men bring their bromance to the Ariston, more than ready to make headlines.

Francesco Renga

Born in Udine in 1968 to Sardinian parents, he grows up in Brescia, where he has his first musical experiences. The turning point comes with Timoria, in which he sings. They reach Sanremo in 1991, clearly relegated to the kids' table; they win the "Critics' Award". Timoria write a landmark record of Italian rock, "Viaggio senza vento", followed by significant commercial success and, as the script demands, tensions between singer and guitarist: Renga and Pedrini, like Pelù and Renzulli, go their separate ways.

Rumor has it that he might actually replace the shaggy-haired Florentine himself, but instead he launches a solo career. Initially following in Timoria's rock footsteps, he moves towards pop and gives the Ariston another shot: in 2001, among the "Newcomers" when he's the "age of Christ"; in 2002, with the big names, with "Tracce di te", finishing eighth and picking up the "Premio Lunezia" for musical-literary merit.

He practices a classic brand of pop centered on his vocal power: an Al Bano raised on alternative rock. He finally wins Sanremo in 2005, with a vocal show of force like "Angelo": he wins over the Sanremo crowd, rhyming love, bel canto and emphatic crescendos. He seems to want to return to rock, then thinks better of it, heading towards orchestral pop instead. He returns to Sanremo in 2012 (eighth), 2014 (fourth), 2019 (fifteenth), 2021 (twenty-second). The script is always the same, with tidal waves of sustained vowels, and even the audience seems weary. He teams up with Nek, and they manage to finish 25th at Sanremo 2024. With a career in free fall, lacking any commercial certifications for singles or albums since 2017, and without Nek's charm, which he clearly lacks, could things get even worse?

The Song – “Il meglio di me”

A few small variations, before landing on the usual vocal showoff AAAA-EEEEE-AAAAA-OOOOOO-EEEEEE. For him too, a reggaeton turn remains just a dream.

Prejudice

In the competition of the thirty, this hairy Brescia native with a titanium set of lungs is aiming high but risks a terrible faceplant.

Fulminacci

Filippo Uttinacci, born in Rome in '97, evidently needed a stage name, and he found the perfect one. His debut album, “La vita veramente” (a “Targa Tenco” winner for “Best First Work” in 2019), is built on a gentle, emotional, classic strain of indie-pop. He already appeared at Sanremo in 2021, finishing sixteenth: enough to get his name around. Two more albums and a return to Sanremo alongside Gazzelle for the 2024 covers night have kept attention on him reasonably high. He represents the indie singer-songwriter quota for the moderate left, the same camp that in 2025 was led by Brunori Sas. This is what the convent can afford…

The Song – “Stupida sfortuna”

It'll probably be a little ironic and a little bitter, like many of his songs. Don't expect a twist or a creative spark, but rather that poetic breath which, at the Ariston, is like the color black: always works. Reassuring.

Prejudice

The same good old Italian singer-songwriter tradition, one more time, and then one more time again. Never gets old (?).

J-Ax 

Alessandro Aleotti, born in 1972, is among the best-known rappers and singers of his generation. Early on, he sang the jingle for the Fiat Uno Rap Up ad in 1992: a start perfectly in keeping with his image as a nonconformist rebel. Together with Dj Jad he founded Articolo 31, with whom he achieved massive popular success thanks to a fun, carefree pop-rap formula. When rap fell into crisis, in Italy they took the route of a somewhat punk-inflected rap that, unsurprisingly, plenty of people loved: millions of flies can't be wrong… 

Starting in 2006 he began a long solo career, still active on the scene, cultivating a devoted fanbase that also appreciates his easygoing public persona, rebellious but harmless, against (and within) the system. After surviving a tragicomic experience with Neffa in “Due di Picche”, which lasted about as long as a blind cat crossing the ring road, he established himself more and more as a TV personality, including as host of the deeply trashy “Sorci verdi”, to which we owe at least one Jerry Calà pimp-and-trap moment.

He began collaborating with Fedez in 2013: they'd rack up a string of chart-toppers that many are happy to have forgotten, then have an ugly falling-out. He returned to Sanremo with Articolo 31 in 2024, prompting yawns and finishing sixteenth. Let's at least hope he and Fedez fight it out live on air.

The Song – “Italy Starter Pack”

It's a somewhat country-flavored track, with violins and a singalong chorus for everyone to join in on. It will once again lecture the average Italian. It'll feel different, sound terribly banal, and shock absolutely no one.

Prejudice

A rapper on loan to pop-punk, a champion of summer hits, also tries his hand at country by turning it into a farce. He's laughing. We're not, quite so much.

LDA & AKA 7even

Born in Rome but raised in the city of Pulcinella, Luca d'Alessio, born in 2003, is quite obviously the son of a famous father. Gigi even features him on one of his albums: how far can a father's love go? With absolutely no help whatsoever, he takes part in "Amici" in 2021 and, without his surname having anything to do with it, even makes it to the final. He performs a kind of love-pop you can easily picture without ever having to hear it.

In 2023 he gets into Sanremo: fifteenth place. Brace yourselves, though, because in 2025 he's changed direction, aiming for a Bruno Mars-style R&B: give "Shalla" a listen, it's an almost hallucinogenic experience. On stage he'll team up with Luca "AKA 7even" Marzano, a Neapolitan born in 2000. He owes his name to a week-long coma he had at age seven, just so we don't make it sound too dramatic. He enters "X Factor" in 2017, and gets axed straight away. He tries again with "Amici" in 2020, finishing fourth. His big hit is "Mi manchi", a mushy, tedious double-platinum ballad. He also offers up an irritating fairground-style reggaeton, see "Loca" (triple platinum).

He already passed through Sanremo back in 2022: thirteenth place, but his fans still rewarded him with "Perfetta così", a song whose title is rather misleading.

Without a proper album since 2021, and with his sales certifications gathering dust, he'll be joining forces with LDA for the forthcoming "Poesie clandestine", one of the most thoroughly skippable albums of 2026.

The song – "Poesia clandestine"

Reggaeton with Neapolitan touches, complete with the obligatory nods to Naples, racking up over 3 million smartphones. Inevitable lines in dialect included.

Prejudice

A pair of young Neapolitan singers celebrate love and their beloved Naples on stage: as contagious as herpes.

Leo Gassmann

A Roman born in '98, he has an important surname and does nothing to hide it, if only because had he done what Luca D'Alessio did, it would have looked like a smokescreen.

He studies guitar but then turns to singing, certainly not out of natural talent. He too goes through "X Factor", reaching the semifinal, absolutely not helped by his surname. At Sanremo he wins the "Nuove Proposte" section in 2020, then tries again in 2023: he finishes eighteenth. He releases solo albums, but what's worth mentioning here is that one of his songs, "Dammi un bacio ja'", is part of the soundtrack for "Un professore": you'd never guess who the lead actor of that series is... He made his acting debut in the TV movie "Califano", because he's aiming to do a lot of things, none of them particularly well. He practices an intense, emotional style of singer-songwriting that's predictable and forgettable.

The competing song – "Naturale"

A slow-building ballad we'll forget the second it ends. Personally, I still prefer "frizzante".

Prejudice

The most TV-friendly of the competing singers is LG. But once you switch off the screen, the song is nowhere to be found.

Levante

The Sicilian, now based in Turin, Claudia Lagona, born 1987, picked her stage name from a character in the film “Il ciclone”: talk about having “highbrow” cultural references; Osvaldo would have been much funnier.

She goes to Leeds, comes back and releases “Alfonso”, the one with “che vita di merdaaaaa”: one of the most jarring songs of 2013. Her singer-songwriter pop, well represented on her 2014 debut “Manuale distruzione”, earns her a certain visibility, even with some international reach.

She turns up just as readily at socially-conscious events as at fashion ones, taking her live show everywhere to great acclaim.

She sings on the quadruple-platinum hit “Assenzio”, with J-Ax, Fedez and Stash. Her ego gorges on this success, fed by fans, colleagues and journalists alike: she writes two novels; becomes a judge on “X Factor”; writes a song for Gianni Morandi; is named by Vogue as someone capable of influencing global trends in fashion and art (!). Beyond the list of milestones, though, her career keeps alternating between more pop-oriented phases and more author-driven ones.

She first reaches Sanremo in 2020 with “Tikibombom”, finishing twelfth but going platinum. She tries again in 2023 with “Vivo”: twenty-third.

Borrowing the words from the review of her 2023 album “Opera futura”: “at a certain point in her career she was overtaken by a delusion of artistic omnipotence, which led her to believe herself a great poet, novelist and musician”, while being none of the three. At the Ariston, then, she'll arrive in the popemobile: the cardinal protodeacon will apparently be played by Sergio Mattarella… habemus Levante!

The song – “Sei tu”

A classic track with poetic aspirations, somewhat cinematic, built around her vocal performance and around herself: love me, admire me, worship me. Pretentious, but the audience will lap it up. It's the fifth song at Sanremo with this title: let's hear it for originality.

Prejudice

She descends from Heaven to be admired, the smitten audience loves her, but doesn't fully understand her. She doesn't win, and out of spite rains down fire: damned infidels.

Luchè

The Neapolitan Luca Imprudente, born 1981, made history in Italian rap with Co'Sang, with whom he chronicled life in Naples' housing estates before “Gomorra” came along. Shame the project didn't last long, like all good things: but let's not talk about Ricchi e Poveri right now.

He launches a solo career, invests in a pizzeria in London and then does the same in New York, to shake off the stereotypes about Neapolitans. He rubs shoulders (…) with more or less new names on the scene, from Marracash, the rapper not the city, to Achille Lauro, the singer not the ocean liner. He even founds a clothing line, Black Friday: the Pasquetta alternative was scrapped.

He seems to find his footing with his third album, “Malammore” (2016; double platinum), riding the new trap wave. The success is also down to the use of the single “O' primmo ammore” in the soundtrack of “Gomorra – La serie” (…of course). He moves away from dialect and becomes a rap star with “Potere” (2018; quadruple platinum). Clearly, the raw storytelling of Co'Sang is now seen through binoculars, replaced by lots of pop, romantic themes and simplistic formulas, as in his most-streamed track on Spotify, “Non abbiamo età”, which, surprisingly, isn't a parody.

With Guè and a then largely unknown Rose Villain, he co-writes “Chico” (2020; quadruple platinum), one of the year's biggest hits, featuring a wonderfully original nod to “Scarface”.

After the Copernican revolution, we're now witnessing the Luché-an one, in which creation itself revolves around this seductive, dreamy alpha male and mic virtuoso, dispensing shivers of pleasure to the extremely lucky women he sleeps with. 

The song – "Labirinto"

How could a Luché song be about anything other than Luché? And obviously about love, suffering, intense emotions. His audience will love it. Lucky them.

Prejudice

A winking fortysomething-plus, also a pizza entrepreneur, he raps about love and feelings, stalling in the middle of the rankings.

Malika Ayane 

Born in Milan in 1984, she's lucky enough not to need a stage name. She studies cello alongside singing. She broadens her horizons, also dabbling in blues and jazz. She works at a high level in opera, as a child soprano, but once grown, moves from the stage to the coffee shop counter: that's the Italian idea of a woman "making a career" for herself.

Someone eventually notices her, and she starts over doing advertising jingles. She debuts with a self-titled album in 2008, met with decent success. She has a distinctive timbre all her own, an innate elegance, a soothing sense of restraint.

She arrives at Sanremo, in the "Newcomers" category, in 2009, with "Come foglie", an intense ballad that's still among her most-streamed songs on Spotify today; she returns in 2010 with "Ricomincio da qui": she wins both the "Critics' Award" and the press room prize, finishing fifth. She becomes the unwitting focus of a protest by the Ariston orchestra, annoyed at her failure to win.

She returns in 2014 (fourth) and in 2015 (third; "Critics' Award"). She magnificently performs Vasco Rossi's "Vivere" on cover night, without the notoriously mild-mannered vasconvolti burying her in insults. Despite the good commercial results racked up over the years, the triple-platinum hit "Senza fare sul serio" (2015) comes as a surprise: for once, chart-topping pop isn't just fodder for the tasteless masses. She works on the "Evita" musical, serves as a judge on "X Factor" and then returns to Sanremo in 2021, with her usual great class: the nocturnal electronic pop of "Ti piaci così" stalls at fifteenth place, because it's an unjust world. Just to put things in perspective, Fedez came second.

She seems to be heading into a slump, with two record label changes. At the Ariston she could relaunch herself, especially considering her last studio album, "Malifesto", dates back to 2021.

The song – "Animali notturni"

A track that, it seems, is rhythmic and a bit retro. Hard to win on a stage that craves the usual tearjerking slop. One of the few intriguing entries.

Prejudice

An elegant singer acts as balm for the eardrums, amid the nepo babies and dubiously talented unknowns.

Mara Sattei 

Born in Fiumicino in 1995, Sara Mattei has a stage name that's dyslexic in its own, oddly brilliant way. She's the older sister of Thasup, the madcap rapper and producer. She enters "Amici" in 2013 without success, and nearly vanishes from the radar until her little brother starts producing her, in 2019. She struggles to take off, blending in with other pop mush of the period.

With one solo album under her belt, "Universo" (2022), she arrives at Sanremo in 2023 and stalls at nineteenth place: too classical, too pompous, too banal, her "Duemilaminuti" sounds like it's still 2005. Perhaps out of a shortage of ideas, she reworks "All The Things She Said" into "Tempo", an unexpected cybernetic trap track with a touch of hyperpop, then signs off on an entire album with her little brother, "Casa Gospel", autobiographical and a bit muddled.

She arrives at Sanremo on the back of "Che me ne faccio del tempo", a freshly released album that still doesn't clarify why, out of everyone, she was the one picked.

The song – "Le cose che non sai di me"

Despite Thasup's production, this should be yet another classic, predictable piano-voice-feelings dirge. The lyrics sound like they were generated by an AI.

Prejudice

An aspiring pop star, no longer in the first bloom of youth, tries the camouflage route: she passes almost unnoticed, gathering the votes of dyslexic music lovers.

Maria Antonietta and Colombre 

Maria Antonia Giuseppa Giovanna von Habsburg-Lothringen, known simply as Marie Antoinette, born in Vienna in 1755, would surely be pleased to lend her name to Letizia Cesarini, an Italian singer-songwriter born in 1987. She studied medieval art history and theology, and still found time to make music - talk about having your priorities straight. In the duo Young Wrists she handles vocals and guitar. As a solo artist she started out as Marie Antoinette, leaning punk with English-language lyrics, before morphing into Maria Antonietta and switching to Italian. The self-titled album, from 2012, was recorded and produced by Dario Brunori, who presented it as a mix of Italian and international influences. She continued with "Sassi" (2014), firmly in indie-rock territory. Her sound has grown progressively lighter, so much so that "Deluderti", from 2018, is an apt title. For 15 years she has loved Giovanni Imparato, aka Colombre, whose name owes nothing to any 18th-century aristocrat and everything to Dino Buzzati. Together, they're the new Coma_Cose, in case you were missing them.

In 2025 they also released a jointly credited album, "Luna di miele", so saccharine that it's advised against by ten dentists out of ten.

The song – "La felicità e basta"

This carefree, somewhat danceable track will mostly work if there's chemistry on stage. We're in for some little skits, cutesy moves and plenty of meme material.

Prejudice

Indie cosplayers of Coma_Cose win over soft hearts on social media: you'll remember the song even if you'd rather not.

Michele Bravi 

Born in the province of Perugia, this 1994-born artist won "X Factor" in 2013. He tried his hand at talent shows and, under the guidance of Morgan, triumphed with an emotional pop sound marked by his androgynous timbre. His career has stumbled since, though, as shown by the baffling choice to release English-language tracks without bothering to change his name to Michael Good.

In 2017 the Ariston puts him back on the map with "Il diario degli errori" (double platinum), an orchestral, mournful track that earns him fourth place. He releases albums and singles but, above all, surprises pretty much everyone by teaming up with Elodie and Guè for the club-ready "Nero Bali" (2018; double platinum).

He returns to Sanremo in 2022 with "Inverno dei fiori": piano, orchestration, dramatic lyrics - the same old recipe, in other words; he comes tenth, and it's not like there were only ten entrants! Also active in film and television, he's excluded from Sanremo 2025: he had prepared a song dedicated to grandparents afflicted by Alzheimer's, but then again, Cristicchi had already covered that ground.

The song – “Prima o poi”

Utterly predictable, it seems. Piano, love, orchestra: a losing formula, though one could argue it's time for a change. The trap turn remains a pipe dream.

Prejudice

With the grandparents-tribute phase behind us, we're back to aching emotions and the classic Sanremo-pop crescendo. It's floating in the lower half of the standings.

Nayt 

William Mezzanotte, born in 1994 in Molise and raised in Rome. Don't mistake him for just another cookie-cutter trapper: he practices an emotional pop-rap built on solid traditional foundations, and his lyrics never shy away from social commentary. He started out hardcore, then grew more poetic, lyrical and introspective, without ever giving up his fast flow or the chance to cross-pollinate with trap and the latin world.

Maturity arrives with the mirror-image album pair “Mood” and “Doom” (2021), at times almost psychoanalytical. He carries on in this vein, without the anxiety of chasing the 'album of his life', on the subsequent “Habitat” (2023) and “Lettera Q” (2024). Among his generation, he's one of the few who writes lyrics that don't mangle the Italian language.

The song – “Prima che”

A list-song that talks about fragility with real sincerity. It remains to be seen whether it can hold up on a stage that rewards orchestral arrangements and voices that shatter glass (…and not only that).

Prejudice

Wrongly written off as just another one of many, this young rapper is making a name for himself. But he deserved more.

Patty Pravo

Venice-born Nicoletta Strambelli, born in 1948, is the veteran of this edition. She became famous in the Sixties as “The Girl from the Piper” club in Rome. The era brought her numerous hits: from the cover “Ragazzo triste” to the massive success of “La bambola”. She became an idol of her generation, gorgeous and charismatic, sensual and mysterious. She dabbled in film, without much success, and recorded an orchestral album, “Concerto per Patty”, in 1969. She reached Sanremo the following year, paired with Little Tony on “La spada nel cuore”: fifth place. She turned into a sort of dark, dramatic diva, winning strong acclaim in France too. Across a long and winding career, she occasionally veers into the theatrical (and the pompous) but tries her hand at everything, nailing other classics of Italian song like “Pazza idea” (1973) and “Pensiero stupendo” (1977). She even attempts heavy metal, with a Styx cover, earns herself a charge for obscene language, flies off to the United States, and poses nude for Playboy and for Penthouse; she gets married, though it seems she was already married. In 1984 she returns to Sanremo with a Japanese-inspired look, winning the “Critics' Award”. On Canale 5 she performs early-20th-century songs alongside a Japanese mime! At the 1987 Sanremo she's accused of plagiarism. She opens the Nineties at the Ariston, then withdraws on the eve of the show.

She gets caught up in drug-related affairs, even jailed. She departs for China in 1994, seeking inspiration for the albums of that period. At Sanremo in 1995 she brings a shortened version of a twenty-one-minute romanza: with characteristic elegance, she labels the audience “bedouins”.

She returns two years later and lands the last great hit of her career, “…e dimmi che non vuoi morire”, written by Vasco Rossi; another “Critics' Award”, though she only places eighth. She's celebrated as a living monument of Italian song, the last true diva. She returns to the Ariston in 2002 (sixteenth), in 2009 (fails to reach the final), in 2011 (eliminated), in 2016 (sixth), in 2019 (twenty-first). Especially over the last two decades, awards and accolades have piled up, only adding to her aura of undying celebrity. This will be her eleventh Sanremo.

The song – “Opera”

At this point, it's hard to imagine her springing any surprises – otherwise the “bedouins” won't give her any standing ovation. Expect a dramatic, theatrical, classic performance.

Prejudice

The last diva re-emerges from her chambers to grant an audience to her devoted subjects: like any deity, eternal and unchanging (but not a winner).

Raf

Raffaele Riefoli could have gone by Rief, but he opted for Raf instead. Born in '59, he's the second-oldest contestant in the competition. He was born in Margherita di Savoia, back then part of the province of Foggia but today swallowed up into the administrative hydra known as Barletta-Andria-Trani, better known as BAT. Nowadays, he might have called himself BATMan instead.

His career, in brief: from BAT he moves to Florence, then to London, where together with Ghigo Renzulli (yes, that one) he founds Cafè Caracas; he washes dishes, scrapes by, and returns to Florence, where he meets a Midas of Italian pop, Giancarlo Bigazzi.

He breaks through with the English-language album "Self Control" (1983) and, above all, with the massively successful title track, a landmark of italodisco that became a hit internationally too. He writes the music for the song that wins Sanremo 1987, "Si può dare di più", then duets with Tozzi on "Gente di mare" at that same year's Eurovision Song Contest. He closes out the decade with an anthem, "Cosa resterà degli anni 80", a huge hit, though his subsequent Sanremo appearances prove disappointing. The public sticks with him regardless, so much so that he wins Festivalbar in both 1989 and 1993.

With the millennium behind him, he's reborn with the single "Infinito" (2001; triple platinum): a big romantic ballad that recasts him as a mature, contemporary songwriter. In 2015 he returns to Sanremo after 24 years: it goes badly again, partly due to a bout of bronchitis. He forms a duo with Tozzi tailor-made for boomers, then writes an autobiography. Forty years on, he celebrates "Self control" with not one but two anniversary tours. He bears an uncanny resemblance to Rocco Siffredi. 

The song – "Ora e per sempre"

A classic tune, no surprises, with a predictable lyric about boundless — one might say infinite — love.

Prejudice

A well-endowed lookalike performs a classic track, perfect for wedding videos.

Sal Da Vinci

Salvatore Michael Sorrentino was born in New York in 1969, but he's inextricably tied to Naples and its tradition. He makes his debut alongside his father, a singer and actor, at just seven years old: talk about childhood trauma. He gains experience as a stage and screen actor.

His debut album, surprisingly (?) made up of Neapolitan classics, arrives as early as 1982. For a record of original material, we have to wait until "Sal Da Vinci" in 1994. Among many other things, he sings for Pope John Paul II, one of his songs is successfully covered in South America, and he composes a Neapolitan gospel piece — though thankfully it isn't called "Oh Happy San Gennaro".

He arrives at Sanremo in 2009, placing third with "Non riesco a farti innamorare", hardly a title befitting a ladies' man. Beyond the Circumvesuviana, he only becomes famous in 2024, when "Rossetto e caffè" brings Gigi D’Alessio into synth-pop territory: it racks up huge streams on Spotify, with some listeners even taking it seriously. He also performed it at Sanremo 2025, together with The Kolors. Given his profile, both in age and career, he'd be well suited to play the role of Massimo Ranieri.

The competing song – "Per sempre sì"

A song about international politics? An electronic rap about gender identity? Or perhaps an over-the-top, kitsch-tinged love song, perfect for TikTok? The third one, obviously. Complete with the obligatory lines in Neapolitan. 

Prejudice

A Neapolitan New Yorker hugely popular with the audience, split between sincere admirers and jokers. The critics, on the other hand, don't think much of him.

Samurai Jay 

Naples-born Gennaro Amatore, born in 1998, grew up on Linkin Park, Jay-Z and Co'Sang, yet what he offers us is a nauseating blend of trap, pop and reggaeton closely recalling Fred De Palma and Irama: listening to it counts as penance for one's sins.

He's collaborated with plenty of names, more or less famous, from the overcrowded Italian pop-rap-trap scene, but also with Gigi D'Alessio, that likeable little parsley sprig.

He has one album and a couple of EPs to his name, which fortunately went unnoticed. His most-streamed track, "Gang", owes practically everything to the guest spot from Geolier, otherwise it makes no sense. The second, "Halo", is a summary of everything that can go wrong when you fuse trap and reggaeton, stuff next to which Fedez and J-Ax looked like Brian Eno and David Byrne. At the Ariston he's among the total unknowns.

The song – "Ossessione"

A fearsome reggaeton track, out of place at the Ariston but ready for the club. Which is exactly why it's the kind of place where people get high.

Prejudice

Gala night brings us the music of the young, that is, the same tum-cha-tum-cha-tum that's been tormenting us for a decade now. Relegation zone.

Sayf 

One of the certified unknowns, at least for the RAI audience. The only one without a Wikipedia page. Adam Viacava, a Genoese of Italian-Tunisian descent, sprouted from the scene around Bresh and Izi: and then people complain about pesticides. He hasn't released an album since 2020, the year of the biggest pandemic of the last century: coincidence? Among those at Sanremo desperate to get themselves noticed: he's also put out a track with Guè, who'll probably duet with anyone if you pay him, and in turn features big names on his own would-be hits.

The competing song – "Tu mi piaci tanto"

The title is worthy of Gazosa, and the lyrics try to cram lots of things together in the laziest way possible. It'll go down well with the young, famous for their bad choices. I wouldn't bet on him even with money that isn't mine.

Prejudice

An unknown tries hard to make us like him a lot, throwing lots of different things into one very likeable, very viral track. Maybe it's too much.

Serena Brancale 

This Bari-born artist, born in '89, could already have broken through with last year's entry, but the song just didn't land: too rich a dish to work on a TV show, and yet it was a seriously good neo-soul party that didn't deserve to finish twenty-fourth.

After studying violin, she got a diploma in jazz singing and tried her luck on “X Factor” in 2009, without success. Already at Sanremo in 2015, gently turned down as “Nuova Proposta,” her career truly took off not so much through her albums as when Dropkick_m co-wrote with her one of the maddest tracks of this decade, the absurd electro-Bari sound of “Baccalà” (2024), a viral hit on social media.

With Alessandra Amoroso she tried to pull off a repeat coup in the wake of the modest Sanremo success of “Anema e core,” with “Serenata”: a spicy triumph of Southern Italy and village-fair vibes, only for those with strong stomachs.

The song – “Qui con me”

The strategy is the same as Alexia's: she showed up with the lively “Dimmi come” (2002), narrowly missing the win, then won the following year with the aching ballad “Per dire di no.” This time Brancale is banking on vibrant emotion: less rhythm, more sustained notes and high belts. She dedicates the song to her recently deceased mother. Her sister conducts the orchestra. It's an attack on the heart but (let's hope) it won't turn into another Cristicchi.

Prejudice

If you can't make them dance, you can always make them cry. And soar up the charts.

Tommaso Paradiso 

Born in Rome in 1983, he used to be thegiornalista then became a “Space Cowboy,” practicing an emotional, nostalgic Eighties-style songwriting steeped in a kitsch that resonates with nostalgic millennials, somewhere between Carboni, Vasco and Dalla. The initial enthusiasm, including from the audience, has since deflated: his first solo single, “Non avere paura” (2019), went triple platinum, followed by moderately successful hits, but since 2023 he's been somewhat stuck, despite the albums “Sensazione stupenda” (2023) and “Casa Paradiso” (2025)… could it be the fault of these terrible titles?

The song – “I romantici”

Perfectly in line with the artist's persona, geared toward the past, toward longing, toward sentiment. Expect a knowing, flirtatious track, which he'll sing while charming everyone with his well-groomed little beard.

Prejudice

A romantic old charmer woos the ladies, everyone else yawns. Triumphs on Radio Italy.

Tredici Pietro 

Pietro Morandi, like Leo Gassmann, couldn't take his cue from LDA or he'd have sounded like a judge. His first single, “Pizza e fichi” (2018), will make you reconsider the one with pineapple.

He's put out three studio albums and singles nobody remembers. In 2025 a boost from Fabri Fibra, who featured him on the hit “Che gusto c'è,” put him back on the radar. His pop-rap is designed to please families, mums, and the elderly without bothering anyone. More Jovanotti than Noyz Narcos, in short: what a surprise!

The song – “Uomo che cade”

A relationship track about falling apart and picking yourself back up. Let's hope the arrangement saves it. He'll bring a face just like his father's, his father's surname, his father's big hands, and a song destined to live on streaming.

Prejudice

Thirteenth would be a numerologist's dream. If all goes well, maybe just a bit above that, without overdoing it: Dieci Pietro?

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