Sanremo: the report cards of the Festival final
Sanremo Festival 2026, final act. All the juries decided the winner by voting: Televoting (34%), the Press Room, TV and Web jury (33%) and the Radio jury (33%). The votes were added to those of the previous evenings, decreeing a five which were then voted once again, determining the final winner. Rockol, as always in the press room at the Ariston, was part of the press jury. Our ratings are those of the reviews. In the final five we voted for Sayf and Ditonellapiaga.
Here is the lineup and release order:
Eddie Brock – “Vultures” – 6
From an interpretative point of view it has a lot of limits, but it is self-ironic and careless enough.
Maria Antonietta & Colombre – “Happiness and that’s it” – 7
They sing about the right to happiness and they do it with a delightful and fun song. A pop injection that revitalizes.
Enrico Nigiotti – “Every time I don’t know how to fly” – 5
A song that failed to emerge in a Festival that was too long and too full of songs, not of quality.
Dargen D’Amico – “Ai ai” – 5
A subdued and tasteless Sanremo.
Mara Sattei – “The things you don’t know about me” – 6
It melts and raises the interpretative level of the piece, which is anything but banal. She is finally at the Festival with a song that represents her and feels truly hers, also because she contributed to writing it.
Thirteen Peter – “Man falling” – 6
More focused than the first performances, Pietro finds the right angle and enhances a piece on human frailties. Many people flex, he talks about falls, he stands out and will stand out.
Luchè – “Labyrinth” – 5
Plans must be separated: the piece is done well, but the performance on stage doesn’t work as it should.
Thunderbolts – “Stupid bad luck” – 8
The Roman singer-songwriter does what he does best. He presented one of the most focused pieces of this edition of the event, both on the textual and musical front.
Michele Bravi – “Sooner or later” – 5
A song that warms his fans, but will not be remembered by the general public.
Samurai Jay – “Obsession” – 4
He also brings his mother on stage and tears fall away. The piece seems to come from a Karol G album.
Fedez & Masini – “Necessary evil” – 5
A song built only for Sanremo as happened in the Festivals of several years ago. A piece full of overacting.
Levante – “It’s you” – 7
Among the ballads in the competition it is probably the most beautiful and intense: a Levante of light.
Sayf – “I like you a lot” – 8
Starting from the underdog, he is among the names who will compete for the podium. He sings almost emotionally and in the end he brings his mother, to whom he is very close, on stage. However it will end: he has already won his Sanremo.
Arisa – “Magical fairy tale” – 6
A growing Sanremo (even in the predictions) for a while very, for us too much, Disney.
nayt – “Before” – 8
One of our favorite pieces: nayt did a Sanremo without masks, without pandering attitudes. As an artist. The piece, produced by Zef, is dense, with soaring strings and beautiful phrasing with the electronic part.
Toonellapaga – “How annoying!” – 9
Intelligent and funny song, a rarity in this Festival.
Ermal Meta – “Stella Stellina” – 5
The song doesn’t completely convince us, but he made Sanremo exactly how he wanted it, with a song produced by Dardust that tells a story of war, while the world burns.
Elettra Lamborghini – “Voilà” – 4
The music is not hers, the world of the show is: give her the After Festival, the hosting, whatever you want. Between “bilateral parties” and funny answers in interviews, she is one of the very few to have brought a bit of joy to a buttoned-up Festival. Ten for sympathy.
Sal Da Vinci – “Forever Yes” – 5
A hit programmed to kill. The final ballet with Mara Venier is yet another meme moment.
Patty Pravo – “Opera” – 4
Total diva: capable of singing at the Ariston and at the same time being elsewhere.
Serena Brancale – “Here with me” – 7
However it goes, she was one of the protagonists of this edition: the more you listen to the piece, the more you perceive its courtly and slightly sugary side, but the interpretation remains sumptuous.
LDA & Aka 7even – “Clandestine Poems” – 6
The song grows a little and will be successful – it’s hyper-pop. But is Frassica right when he presents them as “LDA and Alka Seltzer”?
J-Ax – “Italy starter pack” – 4
“All cowboys!” he shouts at the end of the performance, saying he had fun. But it’s all too much.
Tommaso Paradiso – “The romantics” – 7
Another artist who made a growing Sanremo with a song perfectly placed in his pop-melancholy universe.
Malika Ayane – “Nocturnal Animals” – 7
We love her: for the class, for having brought a rhythmic and nostalgic song, completely different from what we listen to this year. We need pop done well.
Leo Gassmann – “Natural” – 5
Another of those pieces that didn’t puncture, getting lost among the waves. Leo also interprets it well, but it resembles too many things we’ve already heard.
Rag dolls – “Stay with me” – 6
A Sanremo in great growth for the rock band that has put sisterhood and fun at the center, knowing how to express itself through music and beyond.
Raf – “Now and Forever” – 6
Sanremo starts with three of the least televised songs. This is a classic ballad, well written and out of time, with Raf who is moved by looking at his wife (even if the direction first framed a few various presenters).
Chiello – “I always think of you” – 5
Chiello appears a little more comfortable on a stage that didn’t seem made for him, but the song remains better in the studio version, where it has another shot.
Francesco Renga – “The best of me” – 5
A “renga” with a slightly more modern feel, but it is a song that failed to make space in the sea of songs of this edition.
