Eurovision 2019 spotlight: Italy's Mahmood with "Soldi"...

Well folks, we have finally come to the final country in my series spotlighting the entries competing in the Eurovision Song Contest being held next week in Tel Aviv, Israel. You can go through the rest of the series by clicking here. And now, the last of the "Big Five" countries, who took a 12 year break until 2010 and possibly may win this year...

Last year Italy came in fifth place thanks to the huge televote advantage with "Non mi avete fatto niente" ("You Haven't Done Anything To Me") from Ermal Meta and Fabrizio Moro. It was a complete surprise to me, since the song didn't really grab me before the show, and I thought the staging with the lyrics overlaid on top. It's their sixth top ten finish since coming back to the contest in 2010. This year's selection was again selected at the San Remo Festival national final contest. One of the first songs announced, it's also one of the contenders for the prize according to the bookies...

Italy - "Soldi" from Mahmood

Alessandro Mahmoud comes from Milan, where he was born to an Egyptian father and Italian mother. His parents split when he was a child, which fuels the emotion behind his song "Soldi" ("Money"). Written by Mahmood with producers Charlie Charles and Dardust, it explore his resentment and alienation with a father who was more concerned about money. With an unusual song structure which grounds it on repetitive actions, like the handclaps and the repeated "Come Va"'s, it's a striking and real expression of art unlike anything else in the competition...

Unlike other songs this year that have waxed and waned, "Soldi" does nothing but continue to stun me in its feelings and beauty. In the video, where the image of the child in the car is shuffled with Mahmood getting a giant back tattoo matching his dad, and you can see the conflict and desperation for wanting to be like him or please him. Add in the pressures of being Muslim and gay in a country that is experiencing a right-wing furor presently, and you've got something that doesn't just entertain, but makes you think. (Rating: 10/10)

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Italy has been participating in Eurovision since the start in 1956, but have only won twice. The first came in 1964 when Gigliola Cinquetti with the pretty controversial "Non ho l'età" ("I'm Not Old Enough (To Love You)". She was sixteen at the time. In 1974, Gigliola returned to Eurovision with the song "Si", which came in second behind ABBA's "Waterloo"...

The country's second and most recent win came in 1990 with "Insieme: 1992" ("Together: 1992") from Toto Cutugno, which was a prophetic look at the future European Union...

As for my personal favorite, there is no question - in 2017 Francesco Gabbani's "Occidentali's Karma" was originally a favorite to win, until everyone got on the Salvador Sobral train for Portugal. I still feel it was the best that year, and remains an all-time favorite...

I don't think Italy has ever bothered to send a clunker - in fact, one of the other non-winners is also one of the most famous Eurovision songs, "Nel Blu, Dipinto Di Blu" ("In the Blue Painted Blue"), more commonly known as "Volare", from Domenico Modugno came in third place in 1958, before eventually topping the American singles chart...

Thanks everyone who has been following this series - I'll be back next week with the final results!