Released 16 February 2011 Genre Pop, Jazz Label Sugar Music | Format Digital download Length 3:35 Writer(s) Raphael Gualazzi | |
"Follia d'amore" (Madness of love) is a song by Raphael Gualazzi. It was the winner of the Sanremo Music Festival 2011 in the newcomer artists' section and also won the Critics' "Mia Martini" Award for newcomers.
Contents
On 19 February 2011, Gualazzi was chosen by a specific jury among the participants at the Sanremo Festival to be the Italian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in Düsseldorf, Germany. The song won second place in the contest, surpassing most expectations. It was the first Italian entry at the Eurovision Song Contest in 14 years, having last entered in 1997. The song was performed in both Italian and English, as "Madness of Love".
The song is included in the soundtrack of the movie Manuale d'amore 3, directed by Giovanni Veronesi. It also received a nomination for the Nastro d'Argento 2011 for Best Original Song.
Background
Written by Raphael Gualazzi and produced by Gualazzi himself with Ferdinando Arnò, "Madness of Love" is a stride piano song with swing, R&B and blues influences, characterized by a retro style inspired by the American popular music of the 1920s. Gualazzi described the song as the "perfect synthesis of the musical world that inspired me, from Art Tatum to Duke Ellington and Oscar Peterson, the stride piano, an evolution of ragtime, a genre with which I got in touch when I was twenty, and I immediately loved it. I later tried to mix this genre with my classical music education and with the Italian vocal style".
Talking about the lyrical content of the song, Gualazzi explained that it is based on the two most important ingredients to enjoy life, madness and love.
Sanremo Music Festival
Gualazzi performed the song for the first time on 16 February 2011, during the second night of the 61st Sanremo Music Festival. After qualifying for the final, Gualazzi sang his entry again on 18 February 2011, and on the same night he was declared the winner of the newcomers' section. The following night, Gualazzi received the Mia Martini Critic's prize, receiving 67 points out of 108, and he was officially chosen as the act representing Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest 2011. The song also received the Press, Radio & TV Award.
During Gualazzi's performances, the Sanremo Festival Orchestra was conducted by Ferdinando Arnò, co-producer of the song.
Eurovision Song Contest
During the Eurovision Song Contest, Gualazzi performed a half-English version of the song, titled "Madness of Love". His performance marked Italy's comeback in the competition, after a 13 years long absence. The last Italian entry at the Eurovision Song Contest was "Fiumi di parole" by Jalisse in 1997.
Since Italy was included in the "Big Five", Gualazzi automatically qualified for the Eurovision final, held on 14 May 2011. His performance was the twelfth of the night. Receiving 189 points, Gualazzi came in second place, behind Ell and Nikki's "Running Scared", representing Azerbaijan.
Music videos
The Italian version of the videoclip was directed by Valentina Be. For the English-language version of the song, another videoclip was filmed, directed by Duccio Forzano.