How did Sanremo's cover night come about?

One of the most anticipated evenings of the Sanremo Festival is the so-called "cover night" or "duet night", whichever you prefer. In reality, the confusion between these two terms comes from its origins and subsequent developments, as it was introduced only twenty years ago and has been modified over the years according to changes made by artistic directors and, consequently, the regulations of the Festival della Canzone Italiana. To this day, it remains the most awaited event of Sanremo week, perhaps because it is the only evening of the entire Festival where participants can let loose and have fun on the Ariston stage alongside their invited guests. Cover night was born in 2005, created by the artistic director of the 55th edition Gianmarco Mazzi and the newly appointed host Paolo Bonolis in an attempt to "modernize" the Festival. The two organizers introduced a series of significant changes to the competition's rules, including a ruthless elimination system and the division of contestants into five categories: Men, Women, Groups, Young Artists, and Classics. Another idea was to introduce a special evening where the remaining contestants would perform a reworked version of their song—not a different song, but the same one they were competing with, enriched by the presence of one or more guest artists of their choice, whether Italian or international, and not necessarily singers.

From the beginning, the reason for introducing this "variant" was more about enhancing the spectacle of the TV show than the competition itself. For example, in that year, Alexia performed alongside the Gialappa’s Band, Matia Bazar with Sergio Múñiz, and Nicky Nicolai & Stefano Di Battista Jazz Quartet with Alessandro Preziosi. Naturally, some contestants chose to collaborate with well-known musicians and singers: DJ Francesco invited Max Pezzali, Toto Cutugno performed with his friend Rita Pavone, and Le Vibrazioni were joined by fellow Milanese artist Elio (without Le Storie Tese). Antonella Ruggiero, on the other hand, opted for a more sophisticated choice, bringing to the stage the guitar duo Maurizio Colonna and Frank Gambale. At the beginning, it was neither a true duet in the strict sense nor a cover, but the introduction of a special night at the Festival still marked a groundbreaking change in one of the country's greatest traditions. The innovation was well received by both the audience and industry insiders, leading to its replication in a nearly identical format for the next three editions, hosted first by Giorgio Panariello with Ilary Blasi and Victoria Cabello, then by Pippo Baudo with Michelle Hunziker, and finally by Pippo Baudo again with Piero Chiambretti, alongside Bianca Guaccero and Andrea Osvárt.

In 2006, all the guest artists chosen by the contestants were musicians, featuring some pillars of Italian music alongside other prominent figures. Roberto Vecchioni, for example, joined Nomadi for their song Dove Si Va, while Tosca and Loredana Bertè performed with Ron for L’uomo delle stelle. The following year, international guests took center stage, with some highly improbable collaborations, such as The Supremes performing with Marcella and Gianni Bella, Nelly Furtado with Zero Assoluto, or Indonesian singer Anggun alongside DJ Francesco and Roby Facchinetti—almost like an unexpected early glimpse into the metaverse. For the 2008 duet night, an attempt was made to mix various trends from previous editions, bringing together non-musical guests like Mago Forrest (paired with Tricarico), notable Italian singers like Marina Rei and Paola Turci (paired with Max Gazzè), and internationally renowned artists such as the great tropicalia singer Gal Costa (paired with Sergio Cammariere) and the former Spandau Ballet singer, Tony Hadley, who performed with Paolo Meneguzzi.

A partial renewal of the formula came once again from Paolo Bonolis in 2009, when he decided to extend the duet format to the Young Artists category. Festival newcomers were paired with "senior singers", chosen from among iconic figures in Italian music: Malika Ayane sang Come Foglie with Gino Paoli, finishing second among the newcomers behind Arisa, whose song Sincerità was performed with support from maestro Lelio Luttazzi on piano. The rest of the "big duets" followed the usual mix of entertainment (Michele Placido with Al Bano, Teo Teocoli with Alexia and Mario Lavezzi), and prestigious international artists—such as Patty Pravo, who brought together three exceptional musicians in one performance: Todd Rundgren, Dave Weckl, and Nathan East.

The first significant change came only in 2011, once again thanks to Gianmarco Mazzi alongside Gianni Morandi, when cover songs were finally introduced. On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Unification of Italy, it was decided to entrust the remaining contestants with the task of celebrating Italian music by performing historic songs from the national repertoire, such as Il cielo in una stanza, Il mio canto libero, and ‘O surdato ‘nnammurato. The choice to be accompanied by a guest was optional, and in reality, most artists opted for a solo version of the song (one of the few exceptions being Tricarico, who performed L’Italiano together with Toto Cutugno). The duets with guest artists did not disappear in 2011, as there was still the usual reinterpretation of the competing songs: among the highlights of the evening were the PFM together with Roberto Vecchioni for Chiamami Ancora Amore—the winning song of that edition—and the Sicilian trio composed of Luca Madonia, Franco Battiato, and Carmen Consoli.

In the years following 2011, each artistic director experimented with ways to revamp the format of duets and cover songs to find the winning combination of artistry and entertainment. In 2012, the Mazzi-Morandi duo once again attempted to introduce something new by proposing the “Viva l’Italia nel mondo” format: this time, the contestants had to perform only Italian songs that had been successful abroad, accompanied by a strictly foreign guest. The surprising winners of this side competition were the outsiders Marlene Kuntz with their cover of Impressioni di Settembre performed alongside Patti Smith. In the following two years, under the leadership of Fabio Fazio, the “celebratory” theme changed again: first, only songs from the history of the Festival were allowed (under the format “Sanremo Story”), and then also singer-songwriter pieces published outside the Sanremo context (for the night titled “Sanremo Club”).

The official establishment of the true "Cover Night" came under the first artistic direction of Carlo Conti—from 2015 to 2017—in the form of an elimination-style tournament, which saw Nek win first with his modern reinterpretation of Se Telefonando, followed by Stadio with La Sera dei Miracoli, and finally Ermal Meta with Amata terra mia. In the 2018-2019 biennium, there was the so-called “restoration” by Claudio Baglioni, the artistic director who abolished both eliminations and Cover Night, returning to the original duet format that involved simply reinterpreting the competing song. In the first year, there was no award given, while in the second year, the award for Best Duet—voted by the Jury of Honor—went to Motta and Nada for Dov’è l’Italia.

The five-year tenure of Amadeus as artistic director (2020-2024) established a sort of historical compromise by reintroducing the Cover Night tournament, in the style of Carlo Conti, but paired with a celebratory theme, initially inspired by Fabio Fazio’s previous editions. In 2020, only songs from Sanremo’s history were allowed to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Festival (Tosca won alongside Silvia Perez Cruz with Piazza Grande); the following year, the evening expanded to include Italian singer-songwriter music in general, with Ermal Meta winning with Caruso. The next three years broadened the range of possibilities even further—some would say too much. In 2022, any song was allowed, whether Italian or international, as long as it belonged to the last five decades of the 20th century (Gianni Morandi and Jovanotti won with a medley of their own songs). In 2023, the selection expanded to include songs released in the 2000s, though the winner was still Marco Mengoni with Let It Be by The Beatles, performed with the Kingdom Choir. That year also introduced the mandatory requirement to perform with a guest—previously left as an optional choice. By 2024, the concepts of “cover” and “duet” were completely merged, removing any temporal or cultural restrictions regarding song selection. The same rules apply to this new edition of the Sanremo Festival, directed by Carlo Conti, with one additional twist: duets can be performed between contestants. Virtually anything goes this year, as proven by the fact that one contestant (Lucio Corsi) will even be singing with Topo Gigio.