Welcome back to the 74th edition of one of the most beloved shows in Europe, the Festival di Sanremo, or the Italian Song Festival 2024! After the magnificent and grand opening of the last First Night, during which the audience around Europe and the world had the opportunity to listen to all of the thirty (30) entrants for this year’s Festival, it is time for tonight’s Second Night, or for the Seconda Serata. Taking place in the coastal Italian town of Sanremo and held in the Teatro Ariston, the Festival di Sanremo offers to its winners the so called “right of first refusal” to represent Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, only if they wish to do so. Alora, brace yourselves because the Second Night has officially begun!
Of course live on RAI Uno and RAI Play, the Teatro Ariston opened its gates for the Second Night of the Festival, while it became clear that almost 9 million viewers watched the First Night yesterday! Moreover, before the official opening of the Night, a few live interviews from BigMama, Angelina Mango and Negramaro were aired.
The presenters
The Serata opened by Ruggiero, who later was accompanied by Amadeus on stage. For once more, the famous Italian television and radio presenter, Amadeus, was, for his fifth and last year, not only the main host of the Night but also the artistic director of the whole Festival. Amadeus was welcomed firmly by the audience of Ariston. Right after, Amadeus welcomed back the audience of the theatre but also the millions of viewers all around the world. During each one of the Five Nights, Amadeus is not all alone on stage, but he is accompanied by a famous artist of the Italian music stage. Thus, during the Second Night, the famous Italian singer and songwriter Georgia was Amadeus’ co-host, who has already participated at the Festival di Sanremo four times, with the first one in 1995 being her winning one, while her last participation so far was last year, in 2023 with the song “Parole dette male”. After the first two performances, Georgia sang one of the most well known songs of her, “E Poi” which had first been presented in Sanremo 1994 in the “Nuove Proposte” section.
The Second Night’s format
In contrast to what happened during the First Night, in which all of the thrity (30) participants performed their songs for the very first time, during the Second Night only the half of them had to present again their entries, meaning the fifteen (15) of them. At the end of the Night, the fifteen entrants were judged not by the press jury this time but from a 50/50 split system between the public’s vote and the jury of the radio, where the latter has been detached from the press jury and has replaced the demoscopic jury from the previous years.
The Second Night’s performances
As it is already mentioned, during the Second Night half of the entrants had to perform once again their songs, meaning the fifteen (15) of them. All of the participants were introduced by Amadeus once more and were accompanied on stage by the rest fifteen (15) artists who will perform their entries during the Third Night. Remember that all of the Festival’s songs are accompanied by a live orchestra within the theatre. The lines opened for the public to vote right before the first performance and remained open during the whole time that the songs were performed. Thus, the first fifteen entrants who reperformed their songs were the following:
(You can listen to all of the Night’s live performances by clicking on the songs’ titles)
01) Fred De Palma – “Il cielo non ci vuole”
Fred was accompanied by Ghali on the Festival’s stage. Fred De Palma performed his song with much more confidence than the previous Night and initiated the Serata with a powerful presence; it’s a 7/10 by me.
02) Francesco Renga and Nek – “Pazzo di te”
Francesco Renga and Nek were accompanied on stage by La Sad. Renga and Nek gave a passionate performance of their song, filled by emotion. However, personally I do not think that they will have a place in the Night’s final top five; it’s a 6/10 by me.
Right after, Amadeus presented the official mascots for the Winter Olympic Games 2026, which are set to be held in Milano.
03) Alfa – “Vai!”
Alfa’ entry was presented by Mr. Rain. Alfa’s song “Vai!” seems to have been influenced enough by the sounds of the American band OneRepublic. Although a little bit stressed, Alfa seemed to enjoy his presence on stage; it’s a 6/10 by me.
04) Dargen D’Amico – “Onda alta”
Dargen was accompanied by Diodato on stage. Dargen was totally confident while he performed his song among the audience and seemed to have a great time, which of course affected the viewers as well; it’s a 7/10 by me.
05) Il Volo – “Capolavoro”
Rose Villain was the one who accompanied Il Volo on stage. Probably my personal favourite entry of this year’s Festival Il Volo appeared in totally different clothes than the First Night and performed their song with passion and confidence, being perfect vocally speaking; it’s a 10/10 by me! I really wish for a place at the Night’s top five.
06) Gazelle – “Tutto qui”
Bnkr44 announced Gazzelle’s turn to perform. Gazelle’s performance was quite emotional, with him being respectable vocally; it’s a 7/10 by me.
07) Emma – “Apnea”
Emma was accompanied by Santi Francesi on stage. The representative of Italy in Eurovision 2014, Emma Marrone was even better than she was yesterday and gave a quite energetic performance of her song; it’s a 6/10 by me.
08) Mahmood – “Tuta gold”
Alessandra Amoroso was the one who presented Mahmood to the audience. In his third participation in the Festival di Sanremo, Mahmood is a favourite for this year, since he was at the top5 of the press jury at the end of the First Night. Personally I think that Mahmood is going to be present again at the Night’s final top5, since he delivered a very good performance of his song; it’s a 8/10 by me.
09) BigMama – “La rabbia non ti basta”
Il Tre accompanied BigMama on Sanremo’s stage. BigMama performed her song dressed in black and red, sharing her anti-bullying message through a quite energetic performance; it’s a 6/10 by me.
10) The Kolors – “Un ragazzo una ragazza”
The Kolors were announced by Angelina Mango. The band gave a vivid and lively performance of their song on stage, full of positive energy. it’s a 8/10 for me; plus the chorus is really catchy!
11) Geolier – “I p’me, tu p’te”
Geolier was accompanied by Fiorella Manoia on stage. Geolier shared his performance with the audience and he was a little bit reserved in my opinion. However, the song has a catchy beat and rhythm; it’s a 7/10 by me.
12) Loredana Bertè – “Pazza”
Sangiovanni was the one who welcomed Loredana Bertè on stage. A veteran of the Festival di Sanremo, Loredana Bertè came first at the voting of the press jury at the First Night. She shared her powerful and dynamic performance of her song “Pazza” and the audience seemed to enjoy the performance more than anyone else, since she received the loudest round of applause; I totally agree. It’s a 9/10 by me.
13) Annalisa – “Sinceramente”
Maninni accompanied Annalisa on stage. Another most likely favourite to win is Annalisa who performed her song “Sinceramente” on stage; an extremely catchy song in Italian which the audience loves as well. I am 100% sure that Annalisa will end up at a high place, the question is which is going to be this place… It’s a 8/10 by me.
14) Irama – “Tu no”
The duo of Ricchi e Poveri ushered Irama on stage. Although a little bit nervous, Irama was very good vocally at a very demanding ballad, which becomes even “greater” when it is performed live rather than in studion. It’s a 7/10 by me.
15) Clara – “Diamanti grezzi”
Last but not least, Negramaro accompanied Clara on Sanremo’s stage for the final performance of the Second Night. Personally one of my favourites, the beautiful Clara performed her totally catchy song and thus she closed the Night’s running order. It’s a 9/10 by me.
After a quick recap the lines closed for the public.
Special Guests
La Seconda Serata had even more special guests than the First Night, coming not only from Italy but also from the rest of the world. Among them was of course a world-wide icon of the American cinema, John Travolta, who made a surprising entrance and danced along with Amadeus. The guest list also included the French record producer and DJ Bob Sinclar aboard on the “Costa Smeralda”, the Italian pianist and composer Giovanni Allevi who shared a deeply emotional recitation and a piano recital with the audience, the Nuova Orchestra Santa Balera who performed the famous song “Romagna Mia“, the Italian rapper Rosa Chemical who sang his song “Made in Italy” and the whole cast of the Italian TV series “The Sea Beyond” or “Mare Fuori”, while one of the members of the cast had the Ukrainian flag on her bossom, expressing this way her support for the country. Also, the famous Italian painter and set designer Gaetano Castelli was a special guest. Finally, the Italian singer Leo Gassmann performed at the very end of the Second Night, after all the fifteen (15) entries had been presented.
The results
As it is already known this year’s Festival encountered some significant changes. Thus, the results of the Second Night were determined by a split system between televoting and the Jury of the radio, where the former held the 50% of the Night’s final result and the latter the rest 50%. For the first time, as it happened at the First Night as well, only the top entries of the Senond Night’s ranking were revealed, meaning the top five. So, these were the results of the Second Night:
- Geolier – “I p’me, tu p’te”
- Irama – “Tu no”
- Annalisa – “Sinceramente”
- Loredana Bertè – “Pazza”
- Mahmood – “Tuta gold”
Source: RAIPlay
Stay tuned at Eurovisionfun for even more news regarding Sanremo 2024! See you tomorrow for La Treza Serata!
Måns Zelmerlöw – “Heroes”– Sweden 2015
Iru – “Echo” – Georgia 2023
Victor Vernicos – “What They Say” – Greece 2023
THE BUSKER – “Dance (Our Own Party)” – Malta 2023
Eleni Foureira – “Fuego” – Cyprus 2018
Barbara Pravi – “Voilà” – France 2021
Subwoolfer – ”Give That Wolf A Banana” – Norway 2022
Sergey Lazarev – “You Are The Only One” – Russia 2016
Sunstroke Project & Olia Tira – “Run Away” – Moldova 2010
Mia Nicolai & Dion Cooper – “Burning Daylight” – Netherlands 2023
maNga – “We Could Be The Same” – Türkiye 2010
Lordi – “Hard Rock Hallelujah” – Finland 2006
Monika Linkytė – “Stay” – Lithuania 2023
Lena – “Satellite” – Germany 2010
Voyager – “Promise” – Australia 2023
Alika – “Bridges” – Estonia 2023
Remo Forrer – “Watergun” – Switzerland 2023
Luiz Ejlli – “Zjarr E Ftohtë” – Albania 2006
