At Ariston there are those who seek consecration and those, like Ditonellapiaga, who bring dissent. Like the one stated in a long list of things she doesn't like and would like to change contained in How annoying!, his return to the race in 2026. A piece that sounds like an irruption rather than a proposal. She confirmed it to us when we met her before leaving for the Festival: «My song in Sanremo is a kick in the face».
It is not a provocation as an end in itself, but arises from a real outburst: a discussion with her record companies (“which then had a positive epilogue”) and the growing feeling of alienation towards certain social rituals that are restrictive to her. «Of the things I list, I am part of some too. There is no arrogance or malice, but sympathy. Like that relative you see at Christmas and who, sometimes, might keep what he says to himself.”
The song has a club mood transported to the Ariston, with the orchestra. “It's a song I didn't expect to sing on that stage.” But perhaps it is thanks to that friction that it can explode. There are those who compare it to Nuntereggae more by Rino Gaetano. She holds back: “He wasn't an inspiration, even though I know him.” The first to point out the resemblance was Donatella Rettore, who saw in it “a 2.0 version” of that evergreen: “I'm glad you noticed the resemblance.” In short, if it is not a tribute, but at least there is a kinship in using irony to expose hypocrisies.
Toe in the sore. Photo: Ilaria Ieie
After all, Ditonellapiaga has always moved in the border area that many struggle to label. And he is aware of it: «They tell me too pop for the underground and too underground for pop. For me it's not a problem, it's a virtue to cherish. AND my most instinctive approach.” In fact, his reaction is consequential: «When there are two paths, I choose a third path». And that's where «I recognize myself 100%”.
His life trajectory, on the other hand, seems a bit like that of his music. In particular when he announces to us that he got his driving license at 29, a few hours before the meeting: «Are you saying that I have strange priorities in life? It's actually a bit late to get your driving licence, but it's equally incredible that four entries to the Festival arrived first. In this too I confirm myself as going against the grain, right?”.
Could it be that Margherita Carducci, this is her real name, hides a much more complex universe behind the caricature of the pop star? Already for the album Camouflagefrom 2022, had won the Targa Tenco for best first work. And when he remembers Vanoni, with whom he collaborated and went to dinner (“an intellectual” and «a cultural loss”), perhaps she reveals to us that Ornella, in choosing her, had glimpsed deeper qualities in her: “I can't define myself as an intellectual, but if you do, you flatter me”, she jokes. But immediately afterwards she becomes serious again: «I think I have content in the songs I write, but always with lightness». Saying serious things through a smile that makes you think, this is his style.
Like on the new album Miss Italy (out April 10), which was born «from a moment of crisis of mine and is not linked to love». Instead it comes from “a relationship with myself, my expectations and my feelings.” The cover tells it explicitly. There she is in the Miss Italia version, but with drawn mustaches and horns: «It focuses on the relationship with myself and respect for the canons. I had an image of myself that was too forced, fake, always smiling, wanting everyone to like me. And for that reason I am Miss Italy, but smeared, who plays between the more spontaneous part and the one who, at a certain point, feels like she has to be accessible, polite and cuddly.”
And this time he really questions everything, even his stage name: «It has often been perceived as repellent. I have experienced some hesitations in a project like mine, which is not a sugar-coated project. I have an irreverence that is not well-groomed.” They suggested she change it: «There was a moment of confusion in which to adhere to a model that I am not and will never be. It made me feel bad and, among other things, it didn't work.” So Ditonellapiaga remained Ditonellapiaga, even at the cost of not everyone liking her.
In the meantime, he is preparing for the cover evening with Tony Pitony, one of the most appreciated and criticized musical revelations at the same time, to the tune of The Lady Is a Tramp: «I couldn't have chosen a better partner. He is a master of irony and irreverence and has a sensational vocal delivery. Musically we will do something very different from my competing song.” And he underlines his acting skills: «For me he is like Checco Zalone».
After Sanremo? «I would like a holiday, but it won't be possible. Later I want to take a long trip, which is relaxing and a source of new inspiration.” First, however, there is still a Festival to face and then, in the autumn, the return to the clubs: November 27th at the Alleanza in Rome and November 30th at the Fabrique in Milan. The more physical and less glossy dimension of music where, perhaps, annoyance will become a pleasure.
