Composition "" was written and produced by all of
Måneskin's members
Damiano David, Ethan Torchio, Thomas Raggi, and
Victoria De Angeliswith Fabrizio Ferraguzzo credited as a producer. Måneskin spoke of the title as "referring to a cathartic anger, our anger transformed into something positive, which leads to change things". The song was written in
E minor, with David's vocals spanning from E3 to A5. As highlighted by critics, the lyrics represent a criticism aimed at the generations of adults who do not understand or value the young adults who are invited by the quartet to not lower their heads, and to be the truest version of themselves. According to
NME, "lyrically, the song deals in themes of 'challenging prejudices' and 'finding redemption' – ideas that lay at the core of Måneskin and their overall message". As described at
Wiwibloggs, the song "is a manifesto for those who want to move forward by treasuring their uniqueness. Never mind who's talking (without knowing what they're saying)." The lyrics also reference the
Greek myth of
Icarus ("Con ali in cera alla schiena/Ricercherò quell'altezza"; "With wax wings on my back I'll seek that height").
Release The song was released on 3 March 2021 to
digital download,
streaming media, and Italian
contemporary hit radio stations. The music video was directed by Simone Peluso, and premiered on 3 March 2021 via Måneskin's
YouTube channel. By 27 March 2022, the video gathered 128 million views, with an additional 83 million views from the Eurovision Song Contest's YouTube channel. By 15 June, cumulative views surpassed 54 million.
Sanremo On 6 March 2021, "" performed by the band won the "Big Artists" section of the
71st edition of the
Sanremo Music Festival, winning almost one-third of demoscopic jury votes (32.97%), the highest press jury (35.16%), and public votes (53.53%) for an average score of 40.68%, ahead of
Francesca Michielin and
Fedez's "
Chiamami per nome" (30.49%) and
Ermal Meta's "Un milione di cose da dirti" (28.83%).
Enrico Melozzi arranged and conducted the Sanremo Orchestra during their performance. As the festival was used by
Radiotelevisione italiana (RAI) to select for the of the
Eurovision Song Contest, the song became the , and Måneskin the performers, for Eurovision.
Eurovision As Italy is a member of the "
Big Five", the song automatically advanced to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 22 May 2021 at the
Rotterdam Ahoy in
Rotterdam, Netherlands. For the song to participate in Eurovision, some lyrics were changed because of profanity (words such as
coglioni and
cazzo were removed), to the band's displeasure but understanding the discussion on "common sense". During the energetic performances in Eurovision, the band members wore custom-made
glam rock leather outfits designed by Italian fashion brand
Etro, and boots by
Christian Louboutin. The outfits were described as "
Jimi Hendrix-meets
Velvet Goldmine" by
The New York Times. As the favorite for victory, the song won the contest with a total of 524 points (318 from televoting and 206 from jury score), 25 points ahead of "
Voilà" by French singer
Barbara Pravi. The song received the maximum of 12 points from judges from , , , and , and from , , , , and televoters. It was the first time since that a group had won the contest with an atypical contesting music genre, and it was Italy's first victory since . It was also the first time since that a "Big Five" nation had won the contest. Except for David, the rest of the members became the first artists born after 2000 to win the Eurovision Song Contest. In their winners reprise performance, Måneskin performed the uncensored version of the song. David remarked in his speech, "We just want to say to the whole Europe, to the whole world,
rock 'n' roll never dies!" but as explained by David, it was a "spontaneous" gesture to challenge stereotypes and in support of the
LGBT community. and the Italian media, where the win and a sense of joy were described as a reminiscence of the time when the
Italy national football team won the
2006 FIFA World Cup. By 3 June 2021, the performance in the Grand Final had gathered more than 44 million views on YouTube, which by 15 June increased to 54 million, ==Critical reception==