The Eurovision Song Contest took place on May 12th. It had beautiful singing performances from all over Europe and beyond.
To us lovers of IL VOLO, the Eurovision brings to mind memories that couldn’t be much nicer.
Published by OGAE ITALY, is a beautiful article that talks about Eurovision, it is very interesting and I will translate it for you.
The televoting: power to the people!
Just a few hours before the end of the 2018 edition, let’s take a brief analysis of the voting system currently in force and the results obtained.
Since 2009 the final result of the Eurovision Song Contest is formed by 50% of the votes of the expert juries and the remaining 50% of televoting votes.
The juries have always played a primary role since the first edition of 1956. But times change and even Eurovision needs to make the public interact from home, thanks to the televoting.
It was 1998, although a first trial with only five countries was successfully completed in 1997. With the increase of the countries in the competition are introduced semi-finals but we realize that to pass the turn are always the same countries, the strongest on televoting thanks to the various diasporas around Europe and neighboring countries that they vote among themselves because of the various cultural affinities.
As a result, in 2009 there is a fair compromise and it is decided to entrust the verdict to 50% + 50% between juries and televoting.
Everything runs smoothly and many countries are finally able to access the long-awaited final even if only in alternate years. Obviously a lot also depends on the quality of the song presented.
But with the passage of time the juries learn to do the good and the bad. As in any self-respecting jury, the jurors can decide which country to push to the top and which to go down to the last so as not to assign the fateful 12 points and other points available for the top 10.
Some countries are favored on the eve of the festival and some are sunk by the various European jurors because they do not fall into their tastes or simply because of favoring their favorite.
Every year the same Hamletic doubt: yes or jury no? Impossible to say …
We have fun pretending that the result from 2009 is still that of televoting as the prevailing method. We note however that it would not have changed much except in two editions: that of 2015 and that of 2016.
And it is precisely that of 2015 that interests us more because just the Italy represented by IL VOLO with “GRANDE AMORE”, third classified, wins televoting! Oh yes, that’s right! Italy would have added a gold medal in its trophies of Eurovision victories. Obviously it is not a great consolation but it is Italy in 2015 to have the highest percentage of votes received from a country in contention since the voting system exists with televoting.
In 2016 the Russian Sergey Lazarev would have won the televoting role, but only sixth for the juries. Also for him a good third overall place and the winner Jamala who wins the crystal microphone for Ukraine.
Below is the top 10 of the most televised countries since televoting was introduced.
1 Italy 2015: “GRANDE AMORE” IL VOLO 78.21% (366 out of 468 available)
2 Norway 2009: Alexander Rybak “Fairytale” 76.83% (378 out of 492 available)
3 Portugal 2017: Salvador Sobral “Amar pelos dois” 76.42% (376 of 492 available)
4 Estonia 2001: Tanel Padar & Dave Benton “Everybody” 75.00% (198 of 264 available)
5 Russia 2016: Sergey Lazarev “You are my only one” 73.37% (361 of 492 available)
6 Austria 2014: Conchita Wurst “Rise like a phoenix” 71.99% (311 out of 432 available)
7 Denmark 2000: The Olsen Brothers “Fly on the wings of love” 70.65% (195 of 276 available)
8 Sweden 2012: Loreen “Euphoria” 69.72% (343 of 492 available)
9 Bulgaria 2017: Kristian Kostov “Beautiful mess” 68.50% (337 of 492 available)
10 Russia 2012: Buranovskiye Babushki “Party for everybody” 67.48% (332 of 492 available)
In fact, the average of televotes on the result that would have decided the winner of IL VOLO is 15.78%. In second place we find the Norwegian winner Alexander Rybak (also competing this year in Lisbon) with 15.52% while the third is the last winner in 2017, the Portuguese Salvador Sobral, with 15.44.
And the juries? What would they do? Even here our regret is called Raphael Gualazzi and the year is 2011. In fact in the year of our return, the juries reward us with an excellent first place that then earned a second overall behind Azerbaijan. Nothing changes until 2016 when Australia with Dami Im wins the jury’s preferences but she has to settle for second place in favor of Ukraine.
So, this article was not written three years ago, it was written today, in 2018.
This confirms that the disappointment of us fans was not dictated just because we wanted our favorites at the top, but it was because they DESERVED the first position.
The song HEROES that won that year, no one remembers any more, and in the final video is in twentieth place.
GRANDE AMORE – remember it and everyone is singing it.
If you can read the comments under the video of the TOP 50, you understand how much affection and admiration have excited the boys that evening.
For those who can not do it, I copy only two comments, and they were not written three years ago, but they are recent.
IL VOLO will be present at the Wind Music Awards 2018.
The event will take place on June 5th at the Verona Arena, which on its historic stage will resound the notes of the greatest hits of recent months with the performance of the stars of Italian and international music. There will be many guests, and like all, even IL VOLO, will perform a single song.
The question arises: What song will they sing ?????
Since the WMA audience is essentially a young audience, that wants to move and dance, I hope that for that date, the new single has been published.
I think that making the new music would make us feel, in an evening like this, over the top. Moreover the boys have warned us several times that with that Latin rhythm, they will make us “dance.”
So, I hope we will all be ready to dance with them!
On May 9th Piero was very busy. The GIRO D’ITALIA, stopped in Agrigento, and who lives near Agrigento? PIERO.
For those who do not know what GIRO D’ITALIA is, it is a cycling race in stages, very renowned internationally. This year the race started on May 4 from Jerusalem.
On Wednesday there was the fifth stage, starting from Agrigento.
And here’s who was at the start, who congratulated the cyclists.
Giro 04 Giro D’Italia – Agrigento 5/9/18
Giro 05 Giro D’Italia Agrigento 5/9/18
Giro 06 Giro D’Italia Agrigento 5/9/18
Giro 07 Giro D’Italia – Agrigento 5/9/18
Giro 08 Giro D’Italia Agrigento 5/9/18
Giro 09 Giro D’Italia Agrigento 5/9/18
Piero says that the Sicilians have a unique way of welcoming people and cyclists will not forget this stage.
And here is Piero in the company of our esteemed Marino Bartoletti, who is an excellent sports journalist.
Here’s what Bartoletti wrote on his Facebook page:
“Even the champions of music, accustomed to the audiences of the world, when they live close to a beautiful reality involving the Giro d’Italia become almost children with wide eyes. It happened to Piero Barone of IL VOLO in his Agrigento. He wanted to photograph himself with the pink jersey, shaking hands with dozens of runners, admiring their availability and humility, which are also its characteristics. It was missing only, that Piero asked the autograph of Aru. I think I gave him a little gift that he will not forget.”
And here is the video of Bartoletti’s interview with our Piero.
Translation:
B=Dear Piero, great member of IL VOLO, do you know what this is? It is the “WITHOUT END” trophy, welcome to GIRO D’ITALIA.
P = Thank you, thank you, it’s an honor for me and a truly, a living experience.
B= I see you almost excited, you who live the great theaters, the great masses, the great moments.
P = To know new things is always a pleasure, it is good for everyone. When you phoned me to invite me, I had to free myself from some commitments, but it was really worth it.
B = Do we want to say that we are in Agrigento, and therefore at your house?
P = Yes, I’m from Naro, a village near here, but Agrigento is my land, I was born and raised here, and I keep coming often.
B = Do you love your land a lot?
P = I am in love with my land.
B = Then Piero, an unpublished day for you, what impression did you have of this GIRO D’ITALIA, now that the cyclists are aligning at the start?
P = Definitely I will bring it in my baggage of experiences, I am excited because the GIRO D’ITALIA belongs to everyone, all the riders will not forget this stage and we Sicilians, Agrigentini above all, we will not forget this great experience.
Very good Piero, with your presence you have done a great job!
Really with very little notice, this news appeared two days ago:
Immediately followed by the announcement on the official page:
Ieri alle 15:45
Piero, Ignazio e Gianluca saranno ospiti speciali al serale di Amici di Maria De Filippi domani sera! Tutti sintonizzati su Canale 5 dalle 21.10.
Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca will be special guests at the evening of Amici di Maria De Filippi tomorrow night! All tuned to Channel 5 from 9.10pm.
It seems that two of the girls finalists will have a duet with IL VOLO, in an elimination trial. The two girls are Carmen and Emma.
Here we are at the evening.
And here is the performance with the two girls:
In the next video, Maria de Filippi asks the guys what they are doing in this period and Piero answers as follows:
“We are working on new projects.”
Ignazio intervenes, joking:
“I’m learning to dance because I do not want to make a bad impression with Celentano (dance teacher), even if I’m not in shape, but I’ll try”.
Gianluca continues saying:
“We are working on many projects, especially for next year there will be many surprises, perhaps even unexpected.”
Below you will see a test of lip syncs to which the boys had to undergo.
Prepare to laugh!
Here is a second video where you can hear the Bee Gees song if you are unable to hear it in the one above.
Luca Tommassini, dancer and choreographer, had this to say about working with IL VOLO on the show:
“It was wonderful to embrace Ignazio, Piero and Gianluca, after many years … nice to remember their first / our first tour in the United States of America … the long bus rides … the first dialogues tried on stage …
I dressed them with my clothes … the many laughs with their parents who discovered America … the first applause …. I love them!” <3
Luca Tommassini with our guys
This video was recorded in the backstage of the program, where the boys joined the chorus of wishes to celebrate the birthday of one of the participants.
Really very nice.
Ok, the lights go out, the program is over and has made the record of plays, consider that on another channel they broadcast the Eurovision Song Contest.
It seems that the guys had fun, they were at the game and they made people laugh.
Honestly I would have preferred to hear another song.
