🇮🇹 60 artists announced for Sanremo Giovani 2026 auditions

Rai has announced the 60 artists who will take part in the live auditions for Sanremo Giovani 2026, including X Factor 2025 winner rob and former Eurovision participant Emma Muscat. Fifteen of them will progress to the next stage, where they will compete for a place in the Sanremo 2027 line-up.

The 60 artists selected for auditions

The 60 acts were selected by the Sanremo Giovani Musical Commission following the first round of evaluations. The live auditions will take place at Sala A in Via Asiago, Rome, towards the end of October, with the commission choosing the 15 artists who will continue in the competition.

Here is the complete list of those selected:

Familiar names from talent shows and Eurovision

Seventeen of the 60 artists have previously appeared on Amici, X Factor or Netflix’s Nuova Scena. Among them is Emma Muscat, who represented Malta at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 with ‘I Am What I Am’. She reached the semi-final but did not qualify for the Grand Final. Muscat had previously competed in Amici 17 in Italy and is now among the artists hoping to progress through Sanremo Giovani.

rob, whose real name is Roberta Scandurra, won X Factor Italia in 2025 as part of Paola Iezzi’s team, beating EroCaddeo in the final. She released her EP ‘Chaos perfetto‘ in April 2026 and will compete at Sanremo Giovani with ‘NON IMPARO MAI‘.

The list also includes several artists who have competed in previous editions of Sanremo Giovani: Petit took part in the 2025 competition with ‘Un bel casino‘, while Jacopo Sol reached the final in 2023 with ‘Cose che non sai’. Seltsam and Lea Gavino competed in 2025, with ‘Scusa mamma‘ and ‘Amico lontano‘ respectively. OCCHI also took part in the 2025 edition, while OrioN, Arianna Rozzo and Lor3n previously competed in 2024 and 2023.

How will Sanremo Giovani 2026 work?

As previously reported, Sanremo Giovani 2026 will offer one artist a place in the Campioni category at Sanremo 2027. The competition follows a selection process involving both Sanremo Giovani and Area Sanremo.

The first round of live auditions will take place in Rome towards the end of October. From the 60 artists announced today, the Musical Commission will select 15 to continue in Sanremo Giovani. They will join another 15 artists selected through Area Sanremo, bringing the total to 30.

The next auditions will take place in Sanremo over two weekends in November, with Artistic Director Stefano De Martino in attendance. Six finalists will be chosen from the 30 artists, split equally between the two selection routes: three from Sanremo Giovani and three from Area Sanremo.

The six finalists will then compete in the final, which will be broadcast on Rai 1 from the Teatro del Casinò in Sanremo. The winner will earn a place in the Campioni category at the 2027 Sanremo Festival.

Who is on the Sanremo Giovani Musical Commission?

Rai announced the seven members of the Musical Commission in September. The commission consists of:

• Stefano De Martino, Artistic Director of Sanremo 2027
• Claudio Fasulo, Deputy Director of Rai’s Prime Time Entertainment division
• Fabio Volo, writer, actor and radio presenter
• Carlo Pastore, radio presenter and music journalist
• Pino Perris, musician and musical director
• Noemi, singer who has competed at Sanremo several times
• Ema Stokholma, radio and television presenter

Italy’s Eurovision journey

Italy has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest since the very beginning and have always been considered a powerhouse in the contest. The country has won the contest on three occasions in 1964, 1990 and 2021. Italy withdrew after 1997, returning again in 2011 with Raphael Gualazzi who sang ‘Madness Of Love’. Raphael placed second in the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest after scoring 189 points.

Italy’s renowned Festival di Sanremo is, in many ways, the original Eurovision – the contest we know and love was modelled after it, after all! First broadcast in 1951, it is the longest-running annual TV music competition in the world. Sanremo was developed as a way to revitalize the city of Sanremo’s economy and reputation after the Second World War, and has since split into two smaller contests: the “Big Artists” section, whose winner gets first refusal to represent Italy in Eurovision, and the “Newcomers” section, first included in 1984. Scores are determined through public voting and two groups of juries, and the festival takes place across five nights. Changes to the show often happen year on year, and the winner of the festival does not always go on to represent Italy at Eurovision, as was the case in 2025.

Italy’s most recent Eurovision entry in 2026 was “Per sempre sì” by Sal da Vinci, who won the 2026 edition of Festival di Sanremo. Italy does not compete in the semi-finals and has a secured spot in the Grand Final of the contest. At the close of voting in the Grand Final of Eurovision 2026, Italy scored a total of 281 points, placing 5th. Of these, 134 points came from the juries, whilst the remaining 147 points came from the televote.

Which of the 60 artists are you hoping to see progress to the next stage? As always, please let us know what you think by getting involved in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Threads, tumblr, Bluesky, and ZOOP for more information about Eurovision 2027!

News Source: Rai

Image Credits: EXCLSV, Kris Micallef / Eurovision.tv, Petit. Collage by That Eurovision Site