Gina expressed a desire for clarified voting procedures and what it all means when it comes to the San Remo Music Festival next month. A very logical request, because I’ve tried to read up on how the festival works and had to speak with two knowledgeable people before I think I’ve finally got it down. And I’ve always thought of myself as a reasonably intelligent person (nobody comment on that!).
In a simple form, San Remo is indeed a competition in which music is being judged in several categories, but it’s also a bit of a popularity contest in all of Italy and Europe for the artists involved. When the time comes, it will be a 60% to 40% split between the judges and the fans respectively, so all of the TV shows and appearances that involve Il Volo are to create and maintain buzz about them going into the competition.
The competition itself is full of little competitions within the big one. Most notably (in the category Il Volo is competing in), there is the competition between artists in how they interpret the music given to them, as well as a competition between the song writers and their songs–which are being performed for the first time ever by the artist assigned to it. As noted in a previous article about this competition, Il Volo will be singing, “Grande Amore,” written by Francesco Boccia. [Invited to San Remo in 2015] In this scenario, if Il Volo is declared the winner of their category, so will Francesco, as the writer of the song. To win the competition would give Il Volo another level of prestige and the chance to compete–if they choose–in the Eurovision Competition.
So, what is the deal with the voting? The voting, again, is two-fold. There is the voting that is occurring now, and there will be separate voting when the competition actually starts. When the competition starts in February, there will be Televoting, which will actually count toward the final results. The voting that is occurring now, is unofficial, does not–as I think I understand it–count toward final results in February, but probably helps with that buzz that needs to surround Il Volo in the coming days, so I say, “Keep voting!”
As far as I know, there are four places that voting is taking place. Two polls are a “one and done” type of poll, which I know will appeal to many of our readers, one is one in which you can vote more often, and a fourth that is via Facebook. If you have not been voting and would like to, here are the links:
One and Done:
polldaddy.com (featured on this site already)
Optimaitalia.com Blog (featured on this site already)
Follow the instructions as outlined in the Facebook post. As noted, it seems that this really influences public opinion, so if you really want to help, try this avenue as well
I hope this answers your questions. As more information is found, we will bring it to you as quickly as possible. Thank you LiJoy (conferring with Athina for clarification) and Bev Olsen for your help!
~~Kelly
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