An Italian rock band won the grand prize at the San Remo Festival

The Italian rock band Moneskin won the 71st edition of the festival in San Remo with the song “Quiet and Good”, RAI and ANSA reported, quoted by BTA.

The name of the group comes from the Danish word for full moon. The band, singing in the style of alternative rock, literally ignited the stage of the festival last night.

The Italian band Monesskin at the 71st San Remo Festival. (Photo: Getty Images)

In second place was the duet of Fedets and Francesca Michelin with the song “Call me by my name”. Ermal Meta came in third with the song “A Million Things to Tell You”.

The song “Voice” by the singer Madame won the award for best lyrics.

Moneskin’s victory came as a surprise because their song had not topped the overall charts in the previous four nights of the festival. The song “Quiet and Good” is a musical opposition to prejudices and stereotypes, to those that keep people always “quiet and good”. The song’s refrain reads, “I’m crazy but different, and you’re crazy but different from them, we’re crazy but different from them.” The song is part of Moneskin’s new album “Theater of Wrath”, which will premiere on March 19.

Umberto Tozzi and Amadeus performed on stage at the 71st edition of the San Remo Festival. (Photo: Getty Images)

The Moneskin gang gained notoriety with their participation in the 11th edition of the reality show Ex Factor four years ago. Then she ranked second, and then released two albums. The group includes Victoria De Angelis, Thomas Raji, Damiano David and Ethan Torquio. The name comes from a Danish word, as bassist Victoria is of Danish origin. The strange name of the group often leads to confusion in the pronunciation of its first syllable. Even last night, when the winner was announced, the host of the festival, Amadeus, called the group Maneskin instead of the correct Moneskin.

Amadeus and Tekla Insolia on the stage of the 71st edition of San Remo. (Photo: Getty Images)

In second place in this year’s edition of the festival was the duet of the influencer Fedetz, whose real name is Federico Leonardo, and Francesca Michelin with the song “Call me by my name”, which had the sound of a modern ballad with electro dance notes. The song was named one of the festival’s favorites. Fedetz is so popular in Italy that last year authorities called on him to assist in a campaign to implement social distance measures against the coronavirus.

Ermal Meta came in third with the song “A Million Things to Tell You”. The song with a classic festival sound topped the provisional overall chart of the festival until the end. But on the last night of the festival, the spectators also voted and they preferred Moneskin to Ermal Meta. Ermal Meta himself did not hide his disappointment. In 2018, he participated in the festival in San Remo in a duet with his colleague Fabrizio Moro and their anthem against terrorism “You did nothing to me” won then.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic on the stage of the 71st edition of the San Remo Music Festival. (Photo: Getty Images)

At this year’s San Remo Festival, the song “Voice” by singer Madame, whose real name is Francesca Calearo, won the award for best lyrics. The critics’ award went to Willie Peyote for “Never Say Never.” The festival’s journalists’ award was given to the duo Colapeche and Damartino for their song “Very Casual Music”.

On the last night of the festival, honorary guests were Ornella Vanoni, Francesco Gabbani, Michele Zarillo and other stars of Italian music.

One of the memorable moments of the evening was the monologue of the football star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who was one of the hosts of the festival this year. He said this year’s San Remo was a festival all over Italy, which is his second home. Ibra, as Ibrahimovic’s Italians say, recalled that he had failed during his career, saying that failure was not the opposite of success and that anyone could make mistakes. “But doing nothing is the biggest mistake one can make,” Ibra added.

Fiorello on the stage of San Remo. (Photo: Getty Images)

Undoubtedly, the highlight of the program last night was the final performance of the provocative singer Aquile Lauro. On the final night, he wore a rose-colored suit, and at one point he unfolded his jacket over his bare belly, deftly attached roses that seemed to pierce him with their thorns. In this way, Aquile Lauro wanted to recall that he had been the subject of much criticism for his performances. At one point on the San Remo festival stage, there was even an audio recording of a compilation of these criticisms from Forza Italia senator Maurizio Gaspari, leading Red Ronnie or far-right leader Matteo Salvini. Among the critics were words like “crazy”, “useless”, “plagiarism”, “vulgar”. Then Achilles Lauro delivered an emotional monologue whose message was that words can cause wounds, like the thorns of a rose. He reminded again that all people are the same. Achilles Lauro also performed his song “C’est la vie” (which means “This is life” in French).

This year’s edition of the festival was filled with many precedents. The songs for the grand prize were much more than usual – 26. The guests of honor were all Italians, because due to the coronavirus pandemic for foreign guests, such as Naomi Campbell, it proved impossible to attend. However, stars of Italian music such as Loredana Berte, Laura Pausini, Emma Marone, etc. came on stage, all of which showed that a show entirely in Italian can also be a success.

Noemi on the stage of the San Remo Music Festival. (Photo: Getty Images)

According to critics, Ibra’s ease and Achilles Lauro’s surprisingly diverse talent, whose appearance on the festival stage every night aroused as much interest as controversy over stage outfits and performances against conformism and stereotypes, contributed to this success. Every night, Aquile Lauro appeared disguised in a radically different way – as a bride in a dress with native motifs, as the Italian singer Mina with an endless braid, as a golden statue on a pedestal or as a state-of-the-art superhero with a deadly blue wig and pink feathers.

The festival in San Remo took place under tight security due to the pandemic. Even the flowers presented to the participants and guests were disinfected. There was no audience. Balloons with human faces painted on them were placed on the spectators’ seats. The orchestra was located for the first time in front of the stage itself, where the first rows with the spectators usually fall.

The pandemic set a precedent for the festival – during all five evenings, the singer Irama could not go on stage because he was quarantined at his hotel because of people infected with the virus from his team. Instead of performing live, he competed in a video of the dress rehearsal. Irama admitted that being quarantined was more stressful for him than being on the festival stage.

Italian musician Fulminacii on the stage of the 71st edition of San Remo. (Photo: Getty Images)