There is another winner in Sanremo: it’s Dardust
In 2019 something surprising and unexpected happened: Alessandro Mahmoud, aka Mahmood, 25 years old at the time, after winning Sanremo Giovani together with Einar, against all odds and predictions, he also triumphed among the Bigs with the song “Soldi”. Something different and new for the television audience. Not just any victory, but a checkmate to an old system and an open window on the future of music. Since that moment the Festival has never been the same, opening the doors to an eager generation of artists and a new sound, which in that case it bore the signature of two producers who symbolize the renewal, Charlie Charles and Dardust. It was the first great blow of the pickaxe by Dario Faini, this is the real name of Dardust, al old Sanremo wall. Dardust in recent years has left a decisive mark on the Festival, changing its boundaries and breaking its limits on the wings of “Soldi”, “Cenere” by Lazza and the recent triumphant “La noia” by Angelina Mango. On a musical level, he is the true great winner of the Amadeus Festivals. And they are also realizing it beyond the borders: the artist has produced and created the music of “Fighter”, the song that the Luxembourg singer Tali will present at the next Eurovision.
“Money” by Mahmood
The new talents who from Sanremo Giovani, in these years of artistic direction of Amadeus, have arrived at the Ariston together with the Bigs, all, without thinking twice, attribute to “Money” a “revolutionary” scope. It is a song that inspired them. “Since then an entire generation understood that Sanremo was no longer an alien stage and that we too had a chance there,” Olly, who was barely an adult at the time, explained last year. “He was for us and for our generation the first real attack on an old song ideaafter that piece nothing was the same as before: a boy like us at the top, up there, with a new sound”, say Bnkr44 this year. “Soldi”, after that verdict, reached four platinum recordsbreaking through with millions of plays on streaming platforms (today it has 231 million of plays on Spotify), breaking records on the radio and in the international charts, becoming an unstoppable and at times unquantifiable wave. But above all he left an indelible mark on Sanremo and on Italian music: a cultural impact that, year after year, shows its fruits.
“Ashes” and “Boredom”
Not in such a decisive way, but it certainly acted as a watershed, “Cenere” by Lazza, which once again bears the signature of Dardust. It is not a given that whoever wins the Festival will also turn out to be the actual winner in the rankings. The Milanese rapper himself knows something about it. Last year, in fact, his “Cenere” was the real winning song of the event. After second place behind Marco Mengoni and his “Due vite”, the song sold the equivalent of 700 thousand copies and won seven platinum records, totaling over 140 million of streams in a year. And even in this case the sound changed the cards on the table by definitively clearing electronics in Sanremo: “ip’ me, tu p’ te” by Geolierthe rapper himself admits, is the daughter of the path traced by Lazza.
“If I’m here it’s also thanks to him – admits Geolier – he demonstrated that a certain world, the urban one, can get to the Ariston and play it all the way. And I agree with the analysis regarding ‘Cenere’: thanks to the success it had, it paved the way for a certain type of song, different from the classic one and more based on rhythm”. And even in 2023 Dardust’s influence was felt. Until today: “La noia” by Angelina Mango, just crowned winner of the 2024 edition. Another lap, another podium. The third. How much do we bet that this warm, Latin sound will be one of the next trends of the event and of music in general? Dardust, once again, has shown the wayconfirming itself as one of the most innovative producers in our country.
