Måneskin

Italy’s Måneskin are a flamboyant rock outfit whose hooky, tongue-in-cheek anthems evoke a wry blend of 1970s dance-punk, glam rock, and early-2000s indie sleaze. Enormously popular in their home country since coming in second on 2017′s X Factor and hitting number one with 2018′s Il ballo della vita, they gained widespread fame and won the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest with “Zitti e buoni.” The song took 2021′s Teatro d'Ira, Vol. 1 to the top of the charts in Italy and helped garner the group a Grammy nomination ahead of their third album, 2023′s Rush! Based in Rome, the group — consisting of Damiano David (vocals), Victoria De Angelis (bass), Thomas Raggi (guitar), and Ethan Torchio (drums) — met at high school, where they formed Måneskin in 2016. They started out as buskers, but they quickly became much more after an appearance on the Italian X Factor in 2017, where they finished in second place by performing a cover of the Killers’ “Somebody Told Me.” Hot on the heels of their newfound recognition, they set to work on their debut album, Il ballo della vita, which saw release in 2018. It hit number one on the Italian albums chart and spawned several more hits, including “Morirò da re,” “Torna a casa,” and “L’altra dimensione.” The band had a massive breakthrough in 2021, as just after they had released their second album, Teatro d'Ira, Vol. 1, they entered the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest, winning with the track “Zitti e buoni.” The song was included on Teatro d'Ira, Vol. 1, helping the record hit the top of the charts in Italy, Finland, Lithuania, and Sweden. It also helped break the group internationally, cracking the Top 50 in the U.K. and reaching number seven on Billboard’s World Albums chart. In 2021, Måneskin delivered the song “Mammamia” as the first single released off their third album. Another track, “Supermodel,” appeared in 2022. Released in January 2023, Rush! featured production by the group’s longtime collaborator Fabrizio Ferraguzzo, as well Captain Cuts, Max Martin, and others. That year, they earned a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. A dance-rock-infused non-album single, “HONEY (ARE U COMING?),” arrived in September 2023. ~ Matt Collar & Liam Martin