Valentina Monetta

Valentina Monetta
Valentina Monetta (2014)
Background information
Born	(1975-03-01) 1 March 1975 City of San Marino, San Marino
Genres	Jazz, Pop
Occupation(s)	Singer
Labels	Jupiter Records
Website	http://www.valentinamonetta.com/

Valentina Monetta (born 1 March 1975) is a Sammarinese singer. She represented San Marino in the 2012, 2013 and 2014 Eurovision Song Contest and announced the Sanmarinese points at the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 in Vienna. Monetta began her singing career in 1995 as the front for the group Tiberio. She was then involved in a number of bands including Parafunky, Harem-B, 2blackBluesmobile, and My Funky Valentine. She submitted a song for the 2008 Eurovision but was not selected. She performed in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2012 but did not make it to the finals. She sang again in the Eurovision 2013 contest but did not make it to the finals. She released an album in 2013 entitled La storia di Valentina Monetta. Once again, in the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest she represented San Marino and was the first singer to represent a nation in three consecutive Eurovision contests since 1966. She made it to the finals for the first time.

Early life

Valentina Monetta was born and raised in San Marino, the younger of the two children of a Sammarinese mother and an Italian father. A graduate of the Giovanni da Rimini school in Rimini, she played piano and sang from an early age. She began her singing career in 1995 fronting the group Tiberio and was subsequently involved with a number of bands including Parafunky, Harem-B, 2blackBluesmobile, and My Funky Valentine.^[1] She competed in the 2001 edition of the televised singing competition Popstars. (it).

Career

Eurovision 2008

In 2008 Monetta sent in the song "Se Non Ci Sei Tu" for the San Marino national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2008, but she was not selected by San Marino RTV.

Eurovision 2012

On 14 March 2012, it was announced by San Marino RTV, that she would represent San Marino in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012, to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan with the entry "Facebook Uh, Oh, Oh". She was internally selected by RTV.^[2][3] However, on 18 March 2012, a few days after the song was announced, the EBU deemed that the song contained an unreasonable commercial message for Facebook, which resulted in the lyrics' disqualification; according to the Eurovision Rule 1.2.2.g, commercial messages within songs are not allowed. San Marino was then given the option of submitting a new song for Monetta, or revising the lyrics to remove any references to Facebook, no later than 23 March 2012 12:00 CET. On 22 March, SMTV announced that the song and its lyrics has been revised with a new title, "The Social Network Song (OH OH – Uh - OH OH)", with mostly the same lyrics, except without directly mentioning Facebook.^[4][5] Monetta performed at the first semi-final but failed to qualify for the grand final. However, she placed 14th with 31 points making it San Marino's best ever placing in Eurovision Song Contest.^[6]

Eurovision 2013

On 30 January 2013, it was announced by San Marino TV that Monetta would return for a second time in a row representing San Marino in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö^[7] with the entry "Crisalide (Vola)", composed by Ralph Siegel with lyrics by Mauro Balestri. She competed in the second semi final on 16 May 2013 and once more failed to qualify for the grand final, despite her performance having been voted second only to Denmark (the eventual winners) by the Organisation of Eurovision Fans, OGAE. Her performance gained 47 points and was the best of the non-qualifying countries in either of the two semi-finals and consequently improved their previous best placing of 14th in 2012. Crisilide (Vola) gained them an eleventh place in Semi Final Two.

New album 2013

In June 2013 Monetta released her new album La storia di Valentina Monetta which included multiple versions of "Crisalide (Vola)" and some songs previously available on her 2011 EP.^[8]

Eurovision 2014

Valentina Monetta presenting herself during the Eurovision Song Contest 2014

Monetta once again represented San Marino in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014.^[9][10] This made Monetta the first singer to represent a nation in three consecutive Eurovision contests since 1966, the year Udo Jürgens of Austria competed in Eurovision for the third consecutive time. Monetta became the fourth singer to compete in three consecutive Eurovision contests as prior to Jürgens both Lys Assia of Switzerland and Corry Brokken of the Netherlands competed in the Eurovision contests of 1956, 1957, and 1958. Assia, Bokken and Jürgens each won one of the three consecutive Eurovision contests in which they competed.

Monetta unveiled her third Eurovision song on 14 March 2014. It will be included on her forthcoming album, which will include songs composed by Ralph Siegel and by Monetta herself.^[11] The first single from her upcoming album, "L'amore verrà", was released along with the music video on 11 October 2013.^[12]

During the Eurovision semifinal Monetta made it to the final for the first time in three attempts, achieving her personal best placing in the contest but also securing San Marino's first, and so far, only qualifying song. She finished the final in 24th position.

Possible Eurovision entry 2015

In a video of the official Eurovision channel on YouTube, Valentina said that she would perhaps represent San Marino for the fourth time in a row, and consequently enter into Eurovision history as the only artist ever to represent their nation four consecutive times. In May 2014, it was confirmed by SMTV that Valentina would not return in 2015.

The singer later confirmed on Instagram that she would never return to the contest for a long while and it was her own decision not to go to Eurovision again.^[13]

On February 2, 2015, it was announced that Monetta would announce Sanmarinese votes at the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria, although this has been met with rather a lot of confusion as Monetta herself said that she had not been asked to do it yet although most people expected the microstate to choose Monetta to read out the Sanmarinese votes in Vienna ^[14]

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links

• Valentina Monetta on Facebook
• Valentina Monetta on Twitter
  
• Valentina Moneta official site

San Marino in the Eurovision Song Contest
Participation 2008 2009 to 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Artists 2000s Miodio 2009 2010s 2010 Senit Valentina Monetta Michele Perniola and Anita Simoncini Serhat
Songs 2000s "Complice" 2009 2010s 2010 "Stand By" "The Social Network Song" "Crisalide (Vola)" "Maybe" "Chain of Lights" "I Didn't Know"
(Note: Entries scored out are when San Marino did not compete)