Amid unending rumors about Sanremo 2025 contestants, Jalisse, Italy’s Eurovision 1997 representatives, announce they will submit two songs to the Italian festival. Are past representatives on their way to return to Eurovision 2025?
As every year, the Italian national broadcaster RAI will host the traditional Sanremo Festival in February, which also serves as the Eurovision national finals for the country. In keeping with Italian tradition, the winner of the Sanremo Festival is not automatically Italy’s representative and song for Eurovision. However, they are given the right to represent the country in the competition if they wish. If they decline, RAI will choose the representative and song for Eurovision themselves, usually from among the Sanremo Festival participants who have expressed interest in representing Italy.
Potential Comeback of Eurovision Veterans at Sanremo 2025
The official list of participants for the Sanremo Festival has not yet been published, but recent leaks suggest that quite a few former Italian representatives are expected to return to the festival. These include Francesco Gabbani (Italy’s Eurovision 2017 representative), Achille Lauro (San Marino’s Eurovision 2022 representative), Blanco (who represented Italy as the host country at Eurovision 2022 with Mahmood), Emma (Italy’s Eurovision 2014 representative), and Albano & Romina (Italy’s Eurovision 1976 and 1985 representatives).
Now, the duo Jalisse, who represented Italy at Eurovision 1997 with the song “Fiumi di parole“, is planning to return and participate in the upcoming Sanremo Festival. Could the duo be on their way to a Eurovision comeback in 2025 after 28 years?
Jalisse: A Look Back at Their Eurovision Journey
Jalisse is an Italian singing duo consisting of Fabio Ricci and Alessandra Drusian, who are also a couple in real life. Jalisse won the Sanremo Festival in 1997 and represented Italy at Eurovision held in Dublin, Ireland that year, where they placed fourth with the song “Fiumi di parole”. Their participation in Eurovision 1997 marked Italy’s return to the competition after being absent between 1994-1996, and Italy’s last participation before the country began a long 14-year absence from the competition until 2011. Since Italy’s return to the contest just over a decade ago, Italy has made a historic comeback, joining the “Big 5” countries and becoming one of the strongest participants in the competition.
Since 1997, Jalisse has tried to return to compete in the Sanremo Festival many times, but as they themselves testify, they have experienced many failures and rejections from the various artistic directors who have changed in the festival over the years.
Jalisse’s Persistent Efforts for a Sanremo Return
This year, for Sanremo 2025, Jalisse is submitting two songs, as Fabio explains in an interview: “We wrote two songs. We offered both songs and we’re waiting.” Alessandra added: “If it’s the right time – okay, if not, we’ll continue on our way.”
Despite their difficult journey, Jalisse is known for their great determination to make music and perform on stage. After winning Sanremo 1997 and participating in Eurovision, the duo hoped to ride the wave and continue to thrive in the Italian music industry, but immediately afterwards experienced a series of failures and disappointments that distanced them from the fame they hoped for. Nevertheless, Jalisse is still not giving up on the opportunity to return to the prestigious Italian stage of the Sanremo Festival, and is waiting for the decision of the professional artistic committee that will determine whether they will enter the competition at Sanremo 2025 or not.
Sanremo Festival 2025 Dates and Format
The festival will unfold over five nights, each with its own unique voting mechanism. The first three nights will feature performances from all 24 artists, with results determined by a combination of televoting, press, and radio juries. Notably, the top five performances each night will be announced in random order to prevent bias and maintain suspense.
Day 1: Tuesday, February 11, 2025
All 24 artists in the “Campioni (Big)” category will perform their songs for the first time. The results will be determined exclusively by a jury composed of professional journalists from television and online outlets. The top five performances of the night will be announced in random order, without revealing the precise ranking.
Day 2: Wednesday, February 12, 2025
12 artists from the “Campioni (Big)” category will perform their songs again. The outcome will be decided by a 50-50 split between televoting and votes from experts in Italian radio. The top five performances will be announced in random order.
Day 3: Thursday, February 13, 2025
The remaining 12 artists will perform their songs. Similar to the second night, the results will be determined by a combination of televoting and radio jury votes. The top five performances will be announced in random order.
Day 4: Friday, February 14, 2025 (Cover Night)
All 24 artists will perform a cover of a popular Italian or non-Italian song. The performances can be solo or feature a guest artist. The results will be determined by a triple vote: 34% from televoting, 33% from journalists, and 33% from radio experts. A special award will be given to the winner of the Cover Night, but the results will not affect the main competition.
Day 5: Saturday, February 15, 2025
All 24 artists will perform their songs again. The outcome will be determined by a triple vote: 34% from televoting, 33% from journalists, and 33% from radio experts. The results from the first three nights will be combined with those from the fifth night to select the top five for the superfinal. In the superfinal, the winner of Sanremo 2025 will be decided by a combination of jury and public votes.
The winner, if interested, will have the first option to represent Italy at Eurovision 2025. Should they decline, the festival’s committee will select another participant who has expressed interest.
Italy in Eurovision 2024
“La noia” is the song performed by singer Angelina Mango in the grand final of Eurovision 2024. The song was selected at the Italian Sanremo Festival 2024. In the Eurovision final, the song placed 7th with 268 points. Italy has successfully ranked in the top 10 for eight consecutive years.
Source: Assodigitale.it
Eurovision 2025: This will be Italy’s 50th participation in Eurovision. Italy joined the contest in 1956, was one of the seven founding countries, and has won three times over the years. Italy’s most recent victory was at Eurovision 2021 with the song “Zitti e buoni” performed by the band Måneskin.