Having won twice and contributed several evergreen classics to the contest, Italy settled into a long-term absence from ESC in the late 1990s. After (or perhaps despite) many years of pleading by fans, the country finally returned to competition in 2011 – and promptly gave the EBU a heart attack by nearly winning. Subsequent Italian entries have nestled safely inside the top ten, reinforcing broadcaster RAI’s policy of simply approaching a reasonably established artist with a recent appearance at the legendary Sanremo festival and letting them more or less do their own thing.

Indeed, considering the very low profile of ESC in Italy, one can almost imagine each of their recent representatives returning to the country and telling their musician friends all about this crazy pan-continental music event with a mad fanbase, and that they should totally think about taking part. Whether that’s true or not, this year’s entry continues the now-established trend, with 2012 Sanremo winner Emma Marrone getting her turn in the European sun. A 29-year-old rock chick with a flair for vibrant live performances, Emma will certainly give this year’s contest a healthy kick up the rear end.

Her winning Sanremo song, Non è l’inferno, was seen by many as a perfect potential ESC entry, but it is with a bonus track from the reissue of her latest album Schiena that she will represent the Italian flag in Copenhagen next month. La mia città got a live première during the interval of the German preselection and came across as a chaotic and not hugely tuneful performance, but then Emma was hardly the only performer to suffer from a sub-optimal sound mix that night. Things should be better at the contest itself, although this rehearsal clip using the stand-in students might be a bad omen for what lies ahead!

Anyway, assuming Emma stays on her feet in May, what about my verdict? In many ways, the main problem with La mia città is precisely that it isn’t Non è l’inferno. It’s a perfectly competent three-minute rocker with a bit of attitude and edge that the Italian language inevitably brings (and there are precious few non-English entries this year, so it’s a breath of fresh air in that respect!), and it ticks my own personal taste boxes well enough – but it’s not particularly melodic, in keeping with its status as a bonus album filler track, and I think it could struggle to leave an immediate mark on the casual viewer.

That said, with a striking enough performance and a dose of controlled aggression in the visuals, I can still see it being sufficiently professional to attract jury votes. Combined with a middling televote, that should land Italy in a position that it has become very familiar with recently – namely the low top ten, not bothering the leaders but occasionally popping up in the announced top threes. Hence my unusual combination of a green light for the top ten but a red light for victory. And that ought to leave Emma herself satisfied enough to go home and tell another regular of the Italian music scene all about this crazy “Eurovision” thing that they really ought to take a closer look at…

Top 10	Victory	Personal