Revealing #5 of our top 10 songs this year!

At number 5, we have Italy. Italy chose Angelina Mango’s “La Noia” through their national final, Sanremo. As part of the Big Five countries, Italy automatically has a spot in the final. However, this year Angelina Mango will be performing right after Estonia in the second semifinal (13.5th).

The Italian song contest, Sanremo, which takes place over 5 nights and has a live orchestra accompanying all the songs, is the song contest Eurovision was originally based on. Out of the 30 acts competing this year, Italy selected (for the first time since we started closely following Eurovision in 2017) a female soloist as the winner. There were also some notable returning acts from previous Eurovision representatives, including Mahmood (who represented Italy in 2019 and 2022) and Il Volo (C’s favorite Italians from 2015).

“La Noia” translates to “The Boredom,” but this song is anything but boring. Angelina Mango is a very fun performer to watch since she grooves so naturally to her music. A consistent refrain in the song translates to “It’s the cumbia of boredom” (cumbia is a dance traditionally from Colombia) and she does in fact dance – a highly unusual thing for an act from Italy to do. From the multiple stages of Sanremo and at various Eurovision pre-parties, we have been impressed by her consistent vocal and charismatic delivery of the song. And we have enjoyed seeing the many different colorful prints she has worn (those with the black bodysuits, take note).

This is another entry that has continued to move up in our rankings the more we hear it and see it performed. The song is an approachable bop that still feels fresh and new, and we know she can perform. We are very happy that Italy has added some assured quality to the final as an automatic qualifier.