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Italy hasn't competed in the Eurovision since 1997. Their reasons include:
-having their own great (if tedious, repetitive and a tad grandiose) San Remo song festival
-electing a right wing fucktard who already had a hate on for all things European (Berlusconi). Or anything that allowed Italian public TV (RAI) to compete with his privately owned networks.
-sour grapes
Apparently consistently finishing in the top 5 wasn't enough for Italy. After all, their songs were better, they deserved to win. Just ask any Italian. Basta!
Yet...Italy only won the Eurovision twice, even though a number of their entries went on to be hits outside Italy. Like Volare, which finished 4th (out of only 10 songs) in 1958, but even hit #1 in the States. So there is perhaps some legitimacy in their outrage because *puts on Sophia Loren voice*Iidiots! You know nothing! Or, as Laverne DiFazio once eloquently put it "we got more culture in our pinkie than you got in your whole thumb."
In 1964 Italy tapped into what remains a very reliable formula ("Eurovision by the numbers") for their first Eurovision win. Pretty teen gilr who sings (well) about "love" (sex really). In this case the song is also excellent.
Voici la gagnante du concours Eurovision de la chanson 1964, Gigliola Cinquetti, Italia, Non ho l'eta:
-having their own great (if tedious, repetitive and a tad grandiose) San Remo song festival
-electing a right wing fucktard who already had a hate on for all things European (Berlusconi). Or anything that allowed Italian public TV (RAI) to compete with his privately owned networks.
-sour grapes
Apparently consistently finishing in the top 5 wasn't enough for Italy. After all, their songs were better, they deserved to win. Just ask any Italian. Basta!
Yet...Italy only won the Eurovision twice, even though a number of their entries went on to be hits outside Italy. Like Volare, which finished 4th (out of only 10 songs) in 1958, but even hit #1 in the States. So there is perhaps some legitimacy in their outrage because *puts on Sophia Loren voice*Iidiots! You know nothing! Or, as Laverne DiFazio once eloquently put it "we got more culture in our pinkie than you got in your whole thumb."
In 1964 Italy tapped into what remains a very reliable formula ("Eurovision by the numbers") for their first Eurovision win. Pretty teen gilr who sings (well) about "love" (sex really). In this case the song is also excellent.
Voici la gagnante du concours Eurovision de la chanson 1964, Gigliola Cinquetti, Italia, Non ho l'eta:
