Maneskin

Måneskin is an Italian rock band formed in Rome in 2016. The band is composed of vocalist Damiano David, bassist Victoria De Angelis, guitarist Thomas Raggi, and drummer Ethan Torchio. Performing in the streets in their early days, they rose to prominence after finishing second in the eleventh season of the Italian talent show X Factor in 2017. Their international breakthrough ensued when the foursome won the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 for Italy with the song "Zitti e buoni".

The band has released two studio albums, entitled Il ballo della vita (2018) and Teatro d'ira: Vol. I (2021). They have also released one extended-play and ten singles, which have topped the Italian and European music charts. They have collected 34 platinum and 7 gold certifications from FIMI, and have sold over one million records in Italy before their post-Eurovision breakthrough. Up to that point in their career, their most successful Italian single was "Torna a casa". In 2021, Måneskin became the first Italian rock band to reach the top 10 on the UK Singles Chart, with their songs "Zitti e buoni", "I Wanna Be Your Slave" and their cover of The Four Seasons' "Beggin'" reaching the top 10 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart, collecting multiple international certifications for sales of over three million copies internationally, and four million in total.

2015–2016: Beginnings on the street

The logo of the band

Members Damiano David, Victoria De Angelis, and Thomas Raggi first met each other as students during their high school days in Rome, with Ethan Torchio from nearby Frosinone soon joining them when they inquired on Facebook in a "Musicians Wanted" advert for a drummer to complete the line-up. Although the band's origins can be traced to 2015,it was officially formed in 2016 when the members had to choose the band's name because they had decided to register for Pulse, a local music contest for emerging bands. While brainstorming, De Angelis, who is half Danish, was asked by her bandmates to toss out some Danish words, and they agreed on Måneskin ("moonlight"), although its meaning is not related to the band itself. The Pulse Contest also marked a turning point in their career, since they had to start writing their own songs. The competition led them to perform at the Felt Music Club & School in front of 200–300 people, and they later went on to win first prize.

They later performed as buskers in the streets of the Colli Portuensi district of Rome, as well as in the historical centre of Rome, including in Via del Corso. One of their first live concerts outside their native city took place in Faenza, at the 2016 Meeting of Independent Record Labels. Approximately 30 people attended the show. After a trip to Denmark, during which the band also performed some live shows, Måneskin strengthened their cohesiveness, and started to play together for several hours a day.

2017–2019: X Factor and debut breakthrough with Il ballo della vita

In 2017, they took part in the eleventh season of the Italian talent show X Factor, under the guidance of mentor Manuel Agnelli, finishing in second place behind Lorenzo Licitra. There they covered "Beggin'" by the Four Seasons, "Take Me Out" by Franz Ferdinand, and "Somebody Told Me" by the Killers, among others. The original song they performed during the show, "Chosen", was released as a single on 24 November 2017 by Sony Music and charted at number two on the Italian FIMI Singles Chart. It was included in the extended play of the same title, released in mid-December 2017 and mainly consisting of covers previously performed during the X Factor live shows. The EP was later certified double platinum by FIMI.

On 23 March 2018, the band released their first Italian-language single, "Morirò da re", which continued their commercial success. Måneskin's first full-length studio album, featuring "Morirò da re" and preceded by the ballad single "Torna a casa", was released on 26 October 2018. Both the album, titled Il ballo della vita, and the single "Torna a casa" topped the charts in Italy. To promote the album, the band theatrically released a documentary film, titled This Is Måneskin. The film premiered in Italy on 26 October 2018.

In January 2019, the band released their fourth single "Fear for Nobody", while in April 2019 their fifth single "L'altra dimensione" rose to fourth on the FIMI Singles Chart. Their sixth single "Le parole lontane", which was released in September 2019, reached top 5 of the FIMI Singles Chart and was certified platinum. During their first tour, held between 2018 and 2019, they sold-out over 70 dates along with selling more than 140,000 tickets, a figure that also included their first European tour with eleven sold-out dates in Spain, France, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and the United Kingdom.

2020–present: Teatro d'ira and global breakthrough

From late 2019 until spring 2020, the band lived in London where they worked on their music style and new material.[In October 2020, their seventh single "Vent'anni" was released. On 6 March 2021, the band won the Sanremo Music Festival 2021 with the song "Zitti e buoni", ahead of runners-up Francesca Michielin and Fedez, and Ermal Meta. Their win was viewed by many to be a surprise, as rock is considered an atypical contesting music genre in the history of the Festival. Prior to Sanremo, the band announced its new recording project entitled Teatro d'ira, with the second studio album Vol. I released on 19 March 2021.

Eurovision Song Contest

The band performing "Zitti e buoni" during a rehearsal for the Eurovision Song Contest 2021

As the winners of the Sanremo Music Festival 2021, Måneskin were designated as the Italian representatives at the Eurovision Song Contest 2021, held in Rotterdam, Netherlands, with "Zitti e buoni". On 15 May, Italy climbed to the top of the betting odds to win the contest, surpassing competitors from France, Switzerland and Malta, all of whom had occupied the top spot at one point between the release date of their songs and the night of the grand final. On 22 May, the band confirmed the predictions by going on to win the contest with an energetic performance, having received a total of 524 points, thus giving Italy its third Eurovision triumph after Gigliola Cinquetti in 1964 and Toto Cutugno in 1990. Måneskin also became the first band and "Zitti e buoni" the first rock song to win the contest since Lordi with "Hard Rock Hallelujah" for Finland in 2006.