On 13 December 2015, during
Massimo Giletti's
TV show ''L'arena'',
Carlo Conti announced the list of performers and songs selected to compete in the
66th Sanremo Music Festival, which included Francesca Michielin's "Nessun grado di separazione". Michielin performed the song for the first time at the
Teatro Ariston in Sanremo during the second evening of the show, on 10 February 2016. The song placed second in the competition, behind
Stadio's "
Un giorno mi dirai". The band was then eligible to represent Italy in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2016, but they declined, stating they would be on a previously planned tour in May 2016. Their decision led RAI to select Michielin as the Italian entry for the 61st edition of the European competition. On 14 March 2016, a bilingual version of "Nessun grado di separazione", titled "No Degree of Separation", was announced as Michielin's entry for the contest. This version is entirely in Italian, except for the last chorus, which was adapted in English by American songwriter
Norma Jean Martine; the track also has a different arrangement. Michielin performed this version for the first time on 22 March 2016, during the Web show
Webnotte, streamed live by
la Repubblica's website. Since Italy is part of the "Big 5", Michielin automatically qualified to compete in the final on 14 May 2016, where she placed 16th with 124 points. ==Media appearances==