Italy at Eurovision: 1983-1990

Apologies in advance: no Italo disco entries to be found.

Make sure you catch up with the disco years

As Eurovision entered the 1980s and into 1990, we can clearly see a clear display of emotional maximalism: artists like Anna Oxa and Fausto Leali brought a level of theatrical intensity to the stage, in line with past genre-defining schlager entries like “Ein bisschen Frieden” (which won in 1982) and Céline Dion’s own “Ne partez pas sans moi” (which won in 1988). And speaking of Nicole’s plea for “A Little Peace,” that anthem actually set the stage for the political and hopeful themes seen later in Toto Cutugno’s “Insieme: 1992.” It was a soft-rock and gospel-influenced ballad that is as cheesy as it is fist-pump-in-the-air worthy.

Also, Despite the dominance of Eurodisco and Italo disco in the European imagery of Italy, Italy’s 1980s entries during this time, such as “Magic oh Magic” and “Insieme: 1992,” have a strong “anthemic pop” component. The chosen songs often featured mid-tempo verses that exploded into massive, communal choruses, in l…