Today we head to the smallest nation in the contest, the world’s oldest republic and the home of Queen Valentina (no, not that Valentina). It’s San Marino!
History
San Marino first participated in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2008 and will make their 14th appearance in the contest this year. Their first appearance in the final was in 2014, when Valentina Monetta (who has represented her country four times) finished 24th with “Maybe”. Their best result was in 2019, when Serhat finished 19th in the final with “Say Na Na Na”. At the 2023 contest, Piqued Jacks finished last in the second semi-final with “Like an Animal”, failing to score a single point.
Selection
The Sammarinese broadcaster, Radiotelevisione della Repubblica di San Marino (SMRTV) used the third edition of Una voce per San Marino to select their 2024 entry. After a series of auditions, 129 acts competed across four semi-finals. In each semi-final, one artist was chosen to advance to the final while another four advanced to the Second Chance round. A fifth semi-final featuring only Sammarinese artists sent one artist to the final. In the Second Chance Round, three artists were chosen to advance to the final.
In the final, the semi-final qualifiers joined eight established artists and one artist with a song that was written using AI (no joke). In all rounds of the contest, a jury decided the results. After receiving the highest points from the jury in the final, Megara were awarded the Sammarinese ticket to Malmö.
Artist
Megara was formed in Madrid in 2015. The current line-up consists of Kenzy (vocals), Vitti (bass), Rober (guitar), and Ra Tache (drums).
Megara released their debut EP “Muérase quien pueda” (Die if you can) in 2015. They released their debut studio album “Siete” (Seven) in 2016, which was followed by “Aquí estamos todos locos” (We’re all crazy here) in 2018. From that point on, the band’s popularity started to grow and they performed at Resurrection Fest in 2019. They have released a further two studio albums; “Pink Side” in 2021 and “Truco o trato” (Trick or treat) in 2022. In 2023, they supported Babymetal on their Spanish tour.
In 2023, Megara attempted to represent Spain by competing in Benidorm Fest. They finished fourth in the final with “Arcadia”.
The song that Megara will perform in Malmö is called “11:11”. It was written and composed by Roberto la Lueta Ruiz and Sara Jiménez Moral.
Song Review
Megara were one of my favourites in Benidorm Fest 2023, so it was a nice surprise to see them in San Marino and an even bigger one to see them winning a final which lasted for approximately 170 hours.
This is a great song from Megara, alternative metal with a touch of pink. It was clearly written for Benidorm Fest but somehow it also works as an entry for San Marino. Megara are a band who give so much energy when they perform live. This is a band who has been working towards Eurovision and now that they are in it, they are putting their best foot forward.
Despite all of this, I don’t think San Marino is going to qualify, even with a guaranteed 12 points from Spain in the public vote. I just think voters will go for other songs in this semi-final. Regardless, I hope Megara live out this experience like they have dreamed about. And why couldn’t they perform in 11th in the semi-final?!
What Could Have Been
Megara’s victory came as a huge surprise because it seemed like the whole contest was made for one woman’s victory: Loredana Bertè.
Loredana has been performing since 1969 and is a legendary figure in the Italian music industry. She has released 18 studio albums, worked with many famous artists and at the age of 73, she is not slowing down.
Loredana participated in the Festival di Sanremo earlier this year with “Pazza” (Crazy). She finished 7th but then was approached by SMRTV to participate in Una voce per San Marino, which she accepted. It seemed all but certain that she would win but she ended up second. It’s a pity that she didn’t get to Eurovision because Loredana said that she wanted to go to Sweden to annoy her ex-husband, former number 1 tennis player Björn Borg. Honestly, iconic behaviour.
In boca al lupo San Marino!
Is 11 Megara’s lucky number or has their luck run out? Leave your comments below. Stay tuned tomorrow for another Eurovision preview!
(Sources: eurovision.tv, SMRTV, YouTube)
Thinking About It 