San Marino’s annual hot mess of a national final, “Una Voce per San Marino,” chose Gabry Ponte and his song “Tutta l’Italia” to represent them at Eurovision. San Marino performed 11th in the First Semi-Final, and will perform 25th in the Grand Final this Saturday. 

Some Context:

San Marino is an itty-bitty country within Italy – roughly halfway between Rome and Venice. Italy’s song contest this year had a theme song entitled “Tutta l’Italia” by Gabry Ponte. Gabry’s song was loved so much that he was encouraged to apply to the song contest in San Marino. Subsequently, “Tutta l’Italia” (a song title that means “All of Italy”) won that song contest and will be representing San Marino, and not Italy, at Eurovision. 

Please enjoy this incredibly Italian song and music video: 

We love this song because it is a party. It combines so many elements of Eurovision in one. Strange hairstyles, a DJ bouncing up and down, grandmothers in the kitchen, a contemporary dance troupe that is in turns cringey and relatable – all wrapped up with a dazzling bow of national pride. And at the end of the day, if you can’t jump up and down along with the beat of an accordion, is it really Eurovision? 

It is worth mentioning however, that we have been less than impressed by the staging of this number. Despite being the one with his name on the song, Gabry does nothing but stand at his DJ table, which we know isn’t actually sending any sound because there is live instrumentation on the Eurovision stage. Meanwhile, the two singers whose vocals we are hearing live, stand on the edges of the stage, their faces covered in masks. It feels like they could have done so much more.  

As a fun side note, Gabry Ponte is most well known as a member of the band Eiffel 65, famous for the hit song “Blue (Da Ba Dee)” from 1998.