Perhaps Italy didn’t get the memo about hosting the contest being a chance to send in whatever you want, rather than trying to win it again, as they seem to be doing with “Brividi”, a big emotional ballad by 2019 Eurovision alumni Mahmood and relative newcomer Blanco. Then again, when your national selection pre-dates Eurovision itself and is a huge deal both within your country and internationally, I guess you can’t help sending in the best you find each time, right?

Italy has finished in the top 10 of Eurovision for all but two of the ten contests since they returned in 2011 from a 13-year hiatus. They usually have a strong televote and a decent jury vote. While I think this track will be one more for the juries than the viewers, I’d be surprised if it didn’t finish well into the top 10 come the grand final. It is a quality song, with impressive vocal performances. I have no doubt the lads will be able to bring their emotionally-charged staging to Turin and make sure those of us who don’t speak Italian will feel some connection and investment in their characters nonetheless.

Having said that, on a personal level this hasn’t exactly set my world on fire. I recognise that it may technically be the best song released so far, but it hasn’t really won me over yet like previous Italian entries did (2017 and 2018 in particular). There’s still time of course — over three months to be exact. But it’s not going to be at the top of my rankings for now at least.