Introduction

For the first time in Eurovision history a singer is representing a country three times in a row! It’s Valentina Monetta from San Marino. Together with the team of Ralph Siegel and the cooperation of the San Marinese TV RTV this could have taken into reality. Ralph Siegel is one of the Eurovision icons and he believes in Valentina and describes her as one of the best singers he has ever worked with.

But the reality is that Valentina could not make it into the Grand Finals so far. Last year she almost passed the semi final, but only came 11th. The song “Chrysalide” was completely different from her first song “The Social Network Song”. A lot of people thought that a slow and a fast part in one song was not really matching. So finally we are going to have a slow from the start to the end.

Valentina was born in 1975 in San Marino; her parents come from San Marino and Italy. She graduated from highschool for arts in Rimini, Italy; she has no academic background, but has been singing at an early age in several bands, plays the piano and has a talent for improvisations. Valentina has a passion for Jazz, R&B, Pop and Italian music. She already released her first album in which she composed the music and written the lyrics all by herself. Her biggest music influences are coming from Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Joni Mitchell, Whitney Houston and Caterina Valente. Valentina has already tried to enter the ESC in 2008 with the song “Se non Ci Sei Tu”, but Miodio has been chosen as first San Marinese entry.

San Marino’s song this year is called “Maybe” and is a lovely ballad sung in English. Judging by the beautifully made video clip the team around Valentina has tried to concentrate on her strengths: long tones, fervently singing and a dramatic finish. The sound of “Maybe” is unmistakably written by Ralph Siegel with the typical climax and intervals. There is also a slight rhythm change in this song as well. Due to the fact that there are less countries participating and only 16 songs in the first semi final, the chance might have improved to qualify for the grand final.

History

Participations: 5

Debut: 2008

Biggest success: 1x 11th place in the semi final 2013 “Chrysalide” by Valentina Monetta

This is the fifth time that mini state San Marino takes part in the Eurovision Song Contest. The debut song in 2008 was “Complice” by the group Miodio, which made an undeserved 19th place in the semi final – it was one of the strongest songs in the Belgrade competition, but probably this has been overseen. This entry might have shaped up very well in the final. Last year’s entry “Chrysalide” sung by Valentina Monetta made an 11th place in the semi final. Unfortunately, the San Marinese entries never made it into the grand final so far. On the other hand it can be seen as an achievement that such a small country with a little bit over 31.000 inhabitants is taking part in this big event. In recent years also other mini states tried their luck in the ESC like Andorra and Monaco, with a little success only. In the case of a victory a country must make sure that it can host the next contest. It seems that it’s a bit unrealistic that those countries have the infrastructure in regards of an appropriate arena, but that’s another story. If San Marino would win, Bologna in Italy might be a realistic host city.