Italy ITALY 2017 - Francesco Gabbani - Occidentali's Karma
- Thread starter escYOUnited
- Start date
- Watchers 25
Brandt
Well-known member
- Joined
- December 27, 2014
- Posts
- 3,203
Sanremo is a cult of its own. I don't really think the format of Sanremo should be changed for the Eurovision. After all it is way more popular than Eurovision in Italy and it would be a criminally big mistake to make big changes to fit an international contest that Italy had been in only for 7 years after a long time break. Not to mention amount of all the Big 5, Italy is the one that does great almost every year.
DanielLuis
Well-known member
- Joined
- March 14, 2011
- Posts
- 8,603
He was #2 at the odds very close to Russia (pretty much tied) throughout all the pre-season.
Rusch
Active member
- Joined
- February 16, 2011
- Posts
- 583
I'm actually quite satisfied with that current voting system with a combination of jury and televotes, but the jury voting is sometimes hard to understand without seeing the seperate jury performance. I wonder: Wouldn't it be better to give the juries the chance to change their voting after every artist performed in the grand final? It should be to hard to do that.
My review of "Occidentali's Karma":
-Italy came back in 2011 for the better because they are hands-down the most reliable nation of the big 5 (not that there is much competition, but still) and every year send music that's actually in line with what Italians listen to. I like that there isn't a disconnect between their entries and their actual music scene (even though San Remo is rather conservative). Personally, I enjoyed several of their efforts (Nina Zilli, Emma Marrone, Il Volo, Francesca Michielin) and disliked some (Gualazzi, Mengoni), which overall is a good ratio imo. This year was the third year in a row I followed San Remo live and... as always I had to get used to the songs, as I never got an instant favourite moment while watching the shows. My first fave was Michele Bravi's "Il Diario Degli Errori", but in hindsight, it would have been a bit too safe-same-old-ballad tbh, hence why out of the three remaining songs in the superfinal, "Occidentali's Karma" was the best option to me (I didn't want Ermal Meta's song or Fiorella Mannoia's, which I found really bland). Francesco's song won me over during the final of San Remo, I wasn't that keen on the song before, probably because I didn't like his song "Amen" last year and the trauma was still there
Anyway, I think he was the best and most original act Italy could have sent this year imo. The lyrics - which are extremely well-written - are a satire of Western societies' lifestyle and beliefs that I find particularly compelling: not only does it cast light on the saddening moulding and evolution of Western peoples torn between frivolity of appearance and spiritual quests, but it's also filled with metaphors, literary references and other details that make the message all the more powerful and clever. Best lyrics of the year hands-down, which I'm glad they kept in Italian. Musically, "Occidentali's Karma" is a colourful uptempo pop song: it started with synth notes, background synths and the participation of backing voices as Francesco sang the first verse. The pre-chorus and chorus had a heavy and retro instrumentation which is difficult to dissect: drums, percussions, strings, synths, backing voices and certainly other elements that - put together - created a merry mess, like a wall of sound whose catchiness is undeniable. The backing vocalists repeating Francesco's lines or responding to him with exclamations played a big part in the lively vibe the song has. Past the melodic lines, the short musical part attached to the chorus (and interspersed with "Occidentali's Karma" lines) was particularly strong to me: the strings in particular added a fantastic boost of energy. The cut they made to shorten the song absolutely didn't bother me (at least less than in "Grande Amore"), I know that we lost a good verse mainly due to the "Chanel" mention (never forget this and "Facebook" were prohibited, but "FaceTime" wasn't 
), but I preferred that rather than ditching the iconic bridge which first allowed the listener to regain composure after two minutes of overwhelming instrumentation. I really like how the music resumed and built up until the unforgettable "Namasté, alé" words were pronounced. The usual chorus arrangements got back for the final 30 seconds with a short electric guitar solo as a bonus. The song ended with the "Om" sound, referring to Indian religions: what a great way of closing that piece of craziness tbh! "Occidentali's Karma" is an unapologetic and impertinent effort both musically and lyrically, it sounded like nothing else we've heard in Eurovision and represented a breath of fresh air in a very unexciting and slow 2017 lineup. This is probably one of the strongest Italian efforts of this decade to me because it was well-crafted, meaningful, and very different from what Italy usually sends. Pros: the fantastic lyrics and message, the fact they kept the song entirely in Italian, the "bulldozer" arrangements, fun and original composition. Cons: niente.
The two obvious highlights of the song to me are: 1) the second part of the choruses with "Occidentali's Karma" lines interspersed with the crazy string hook. 2) the "namasté, alé" part which will remain iconic among ESC fans I'm sure.
-Vocally, Francesco has been relatively reliable to me. In San Remo, I couldn't fault his vocals. In the snippet of the semi final 1 though, I got scared because it sounded quite flat due to his tendency of moving like crazy on stage to the detriment of his singing. During the night that mattered, he managed to get it right as he toned down his gestures. I liked his hoarse vocal tone (it did wonders during the choruses).
-Visually, I was so glad to see they basically kept the concept they had in San Remo because I thought it was very fitting and Eurovision-ready. Francesco first appeared like he was channelling his chakras with his hands in the air, while behind him the screen displayed black and white elaborate designs. With the pre-chorus, colours appeared everywhere: circles in several shades of blue on the floor, circles in shades of pink/purple on the background and striped stylised hands filled with intricate patterns with various colours. Special mention to the backing vocalists wearing colourful sweatshirts to complete the look. The series of circles surrounded by dots and the umbrellas in the rain were cute too, very vibrant. As the chorus kicked off, a figure in yoga pose and roses appeared on the led screen, followed by drawing-looking very long arms, the evolution of Man, the yin yang symbol, series of apes dancing... The visuals were high-end, super colourful and dynamic: to sum up, a crazy mix of cultural symbols and bubbly retro touch that is Gabbani's trademark. Of course, I don't forget the ape and his bow tie, as well as the easy dance routine, which just made you want to dance as well. I approved of all of that. Outfit-wise, Francesco wore a black suit with rainbow-ish lateral stripes... Well, it wasn't bad by any means, but maybe a bit too "casual" for the performance. Besides, he did blend in the black background at times: I wish he had worn the dark blue and gold jacket with drawings of geishas he had in his official MV: he would have stood out just fine without looking too colourful himself imo. Apart from that, I have nothing bad to say about the presentation: to me, this was clearly a winner performance: crazy yet mastered, feel-good vibe, original, professional, sleek, eye-catching and inviting. Bravo Italia!
-Results-wise, the song had been so hyped that seeing it land at the gates of the top 5 saddened me tbh. I'm not overly outraged it didn't win because we all knew people might not get the song or juries could mark it down since it's a fun uptempo song (and uptempo songs can only be sent by Sweden, otherwise nah!). Firstly, the 7th place with the juries isn't that bad - and I'm not too surprised it wasn't their hot favourite - however, having Australia, The Netherlands and Norway above Italy... :? Couldn't it be more random? The quality discrepancy between Italy and those countries was quite huge, but then again, they aren't music experts so... Regarding televoters, I kind of expected Francesco to do slightly better, but the competition in the fun segment was tough, and it seems Romania and Moldova stole the spotlight (which were musically inferior but more instant I guess). Overall, although their 6th final place isn't bad - Italy should still be proud - I'm sorry that Sweden overtook them by 10 points... Italy should have at least completed the top 5. In my personal ranking, "Occidentali's Karma" is my tenth favourite song of this year. Congratulazioni per il Loro risultato, sebbene potessimo aspettarsi più punti e un posto migliore. Ci vediamo il prossimo anno! Spero che vinceranno tra poco. Lo meritano
-Italy came back in 2011 for the better because they are hands-down the most reliable nation of the big 5 (not that there is much competition, but still) and every year send music that's actually in line with what Italians listen to. I like that there isn't a disconnect between their entries and their actual music scene (even though San Remo is rather conservative). Personally, I enjoyed several of their efforts (Nina Zilli, Emma Marrone, Il Volo, Francesca Michielin) and disliked some (Gualazzi, Mengoni), which overall is a good ratio imo. This year was the third year in a row I followed San Remo live and... as always I had to get used to the songs, as I never got an instant favourite moment while watching the shows. My first fave was Michele Bravi's "Il Diario Degli Errori", but in hindsight, it would have been a bit too safe-same-old-ballad tbh, hence why out of the three remaining songs in the superfinal, "Occidentali's Karma" was the best option to me (I didn't want Ermal Meta's song or Fiorella Mannoia's, which I found really bland). Francesco's song won me over during the final of San Remo, I wasn't that keen on the song before, probably because I didn't like his song "Amen" last year and the trauma was still there
Anyway, I think he was the best and most original act Italy could have sent this year imo. The lyrics - which are extremely well-written - are a satire of Western societies' lifestyle and beliefs that I find particularly compelling: not only does it cast light on the saddening moulding and evolution of Western peoples torn between frivolity of appearance and spiritual quests, but it's also filled with metaphors, literary references and other details that make the message all the more powerful and clever. Best lyrics of the year hands-down, which I'm glad they kept in Italian. Musically, "Occidentali's Karma" is a colourful uptempo pop song: it started with synth notes, background synths and the participation of backing voices as Francesco sang the first verse. The pre-chorus and chorus had a heavy and retro instrumentation which is difficult to dissect: drums, percussions, strings, synths, backing voices and certainly other elements that - put together - created a merry mess, like a wall of sound whose catchiness is undeniable. The backing vocalists repeating Francesco's lines or responding to him with exclamations played a big part in the lively vibe the song has. Past the melodic lines, the short musical part attached to the chorus (and interspersed with "Occidentali's Karma" lines) was particularly strong to me: the strings in particular added a fantastic boost of energy. The cut they made to shorten the song absolutely didn't bother me (at least less than in "Grande Amore"), I know that we lost a good verse mainly due to the "Chanel" mention (never forget this and "Facebook" were prohibited, but "FaceTime" wasn't ), but I preferred that rather than ditching the iconic bridge which first allowed the listener to regain composure after two minutes of overwhelming instrumentation. I really like how the music resumed and built up until the unforgettable "Namasté, alé" words were pronounced. The usual chorus arrangements got back for the final 30 seconds with a short electric guitar solo as a bonus. The song ended with the "Om" sound, referring to Indian religions: what a great way of closing that piece of craziness tbh! "Occidentali's Karma" is an unapologetic and impertinent effort both musically and lyrically, it sounded like nothing else we've heard in Eurovision and represented a breath of fresh air in a very unexciting and slow 2017 lineup. This is probably one of the strongest Italian efforts of this decade to me because it was well-crafted, meaningful, and very different from what Italy usually sends. Pros: the fantastic lyrics and message, the fact they kept the song entirely in Italian, the "bulldozer" arrangements, fun and original composition. Cons: niente.The two obvious highlights of the song to me are: 1) the second part of the choruses with "Occidentali's Karma" lines interspersed with the crazy string hook. 2) the "namasté, alé" part which will remain iconic among ESC fans I'm sure.
-Vocally, Francesco has been relatively reliable to me. In San Remo, I couldn't fault his vocals. In the snippet of the semi final 1 though, I got scared because it sounded quite flat due to his tendency of moving like crazy on stage to the detriment of his singing. During the night that mattered, he managed to get it right as he toned down his gestures. I liked his hoarse vocal tone (it did wonders during the choruses).
-Visually, I was so glad to see they basically kept the concept they had in San Remo because I thought it was very fitting and Eurovision-ready. Francesco first appeared like he was channelling his chakras with his hands in the air, while behind him the screen displayed black and white elaborate designs. With the pre-chorus, colours appeared everywhere: circles in several shades of blue on the floor, circles in shades of pink/purple on the background and striped stylised hands filled with intricate patterns with various colours. Special mention to the backing vocalists wearing colourful sweatshirts to complete the look.
The series of circles surrounded by dots and the umbrellas in the rain were cute too, very vibrant. As the chorus kicked off, a figure in yoga pose and roses appeared on the led screen, followed by drawing-looking very long arms, the evolution of Man, the yin yang symbol, series of apes dancing... The visuals were high-end, super colourful and dynamic: to sum up, a crazy mix of cultural symbols and bubbly retro touch that is Gabbani's trademark. Of course, I don't forget the ape and his bow tie, as well as the easy dance routine, which just made you want to dance as well. I approved of all of that. Outfit-wise, Francesco wore a black suit with rainbow-ish lateral stripes... Well, it wasn't bad by any means, but maybe a bit too "casual" for the performance. Besides, he did blend in the black background at times: I wish he had worn the dark blue and gold jacket with drawings of geishas he had in his official MV: he would have stood out just fine without looking too colourful himself imo. Apart from that, I have nothing bad to say about the presentation: to me, this was clearly a winner performance: crazy yet mastered, feel-good vibe, original, professional, sleek, eye-catching and inviting. Bravo Italia!-Results-wise, the song had been so hyped that seeing it land at the gates of the top 5 saddened me tbh. I'm not overly outraged it didn't win because we all knew people might not get the song or juries could mark it down since it's a fun uptempo song (and uptempo songs can only be sent by Sweden, otherwise nah!). Firstly, the 7th place with the juries isn't that bad - and I'm not too surprised it wasn't their hot favourite - however, having Australia, The Netherlands and Norway above Italy... :? Couldn't it be more random? The quality discrepancy between Italy and those countries was quite huge, but then again, they aren't music experts so... Regarding televoters, I kind of expected Francesco to do slightly better, but the competition in the fun segment was tough, and it seems Romania and Moldova stole the spotlight (which were musically inferior but more instant I guess). Overall, although their 6th final place isn't bad - Italy should still be proud - I'm sorry that Sweden overtook them by 10 points... Italy should have at least completed the top 5. In my personal ranking, "Occidentali's Karma" is my tenth favourite song of this year. Congratulazioni per il Loro risultato, sebbene potessimo aspettarsi più punti e un posto migliore. Ci vediamo il prossimo anno! Spero che vinceranno tra poco. Lo meritano
Mainshow
Veteran
- Joined
- December 23, 2018
- Posts
- 13,955
8 points.
I think it's final rank was justified... I didn't understand the hype either. It's a very good entry, though. I like the message of the song, Frnacesco is charming but the performance didn't work on the Eurovision stage the same way as in Sanremo.
I think it's final rank was justified... I didn't understand the hype either. It's a very good entry, though. I like the message of the song, Frnacesco is charming but the performance didn't work on the Eurovision stage the same way as in Sanremo.
mup
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 24, 2021
- Posts
- 318
I love this song (and other songs of his), Gabbani is such a nice person! The team did not work well in adjusting the song and preparing his staging, some illustrations on the background would have been helpful in conveying the message, moreover Gabbani had to capitalize on his fame through many events before ESC, which exhausted him by the time the grand final came. Still my favourite in the original version! 
The team did not work well in adjusting the song and preparing his staging, some illustrations on the background would have been helpful in conveying the message, moreover Gabbani had to capitalize on his fame through many events before ESC, which exhausted him by the time the grand final came. Still my favourite in the original version! 
bstream
Well-known member
- Joined
- November 28, 2012
- Posts
- 847
Five years ago today, this awesome Eurovision entry was released.
Gabbani posted a tribute video a couple hours ago:
fb.watch
Gabbani posted a tribute video a couple hours ago:
Sono 5 anni di “Occidentali’s Karma” 🦍 6 dischi di platino, oltre 263 milioni di visualizzazioni su YouTube e più di 350 mila copie vendute in Italia!... | By Francesco Gabbani | Facebook
Sono 5 anni di “Occidentali’s Karma” 🦍 6 dischi di platino, oltre 263 milioni di visualizzazioni su YouTube e più di 350 mila copie vendute in Italia!...
fb.watch
