L'Italiano

"L'Italiano" (pronounced [litaˈljaːno]; Italian for "The Italian") is a pop song by Italian singer Toto Cutugno, released in 1983. It was his biggest international hit and is his best-known composition. Its popularity declined during the 1990s and was re-discovered when Cutugno performed it live at a charity concert in Rome commemorating Italy's victory at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, creating a new wave of popularity for the song.[1]

This article is about the song. For the newspaper, see L'Italiano (newspaper). For the magazine, see L'Italiano (magazine).
"L'Italiano"
Single by Toto Cutugno
from the album L'italiano
ReleasedMarch 5th 1983
Recorded1983
GenrePop
Songwriter(s)Toto Cutugno
Cristiano Minellono

Background

Cutugno composed the song following a concert in Toronto, which inspired him to write a song dedicated to Italian emigrants.[2] The lyrics were written by his close collaborator of the time Cristiano Minellono, who got the initial inspiration for it from the title of a Canale 5 program of the time, Buongiorno Italia.[2]

Initially titled "Con quegli occhi di italiano" ('With those Italian eyes'), the song was originally intended for Adriano Celentano, who turned it down.[2][3] Cutugno then thought of having the popular impersonator Gigi Sabani sing it in a Celentano's impersonation, but when Sanremo Music Festival organizer of the time Gianni Ravera listened to it, he convinced Cutugno in performing it by himself.[3] "L'Italiano" entered the competition at the 33rd edition of the festival, ranking fifth.[4] It eventually won the side competition "Cantanti e vincenti", and placed second in the critics' award classification, behind Matia Bazar's "Vacanze romane" and preceding Amedeo Minghi's "1950".[4]

Recordings

In 1983, Finnish singer Kari Tapio recorded a cover titled "Olen suomalainen" ("I am a Finn"), which became a hit in Finland.

Also in 1983, a Dutch version titled "Als ik maar bij jou ben" ("As long as I'm with you") was a moderate hit for palingsound group Canyon from Volendam.

In 1984, Doron Mazar, an Israeli singer and Gassan Abbas,an Israeli-Arabian actor recorded a cover to this song, titled "Ani Hozer HaBayta" ("I am returning home").[5]

In 1998, the Hungarian band "Happy Gang" made a cover titled "Sokáig voltam távol" ("I've been away for long") on their album "Te+én" ("You+me")

This song was copied by Indian music duo Sanjeev-Darshan for the movie "Mann".[6]

In 2011, the song was released on the famous party band The Gypsy Queens eponymous album The Gypsy Queens. The song became a successful cover for the band when they released a video clip of the song (produced by Didier Casnati) featuring Italian actress Caterina Murino, and reached several million views on YouTube in only a couple of weeks.

Brazilian singer José Augusto recorded the song in Portuguese as "Faz de Conta".

French singer Hervé Vilard recorded the song in French as "Méditerranéenne".

Austrian-Italian singer Patrizio Buanne recorded his version in album "The Italian" in 2005.

Vietnamese singer Đàm Vĩnh Hưng recorded his version in Vietnamese as "Say Tình" in 2001

The Sicilians recorded a cover mixed by Dj Serg featuring Angelo Venuto and released on their album Un amore in 2004.[7] It was played on Top 40 Radio stations as well.

In 2021 the couple Jonathan Cilia Faro and Annalisa Minetti record a cover of the song for the compilation Pro Latino 146 (DMC, DMCPL146).

Charts
Chart (1983) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[8] 11
France (IFOP)[9] 1
Italy (Musica e dischi)[10] 2
Portugal (AFP)[11] 1
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[12] 1
West Germany (Official German Charts)[13] 23


Chart (2023) Peak
position
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[12] 67

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Italy (FIMI)[14]
Since 2009 		Gold 50,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. San Remo Song Festival 1983 Archived 2016-03-05 at the Wayback Machine (in Italian)
  2. Italiano, Paola (22 August 2023). ""L'italiano", quel rifiuto di Celentano e la fama eterna di Toto Cutugno". La Stampa (in Italian). Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  3. "Toto Cutugno, la canzone L'Italiano scritta per Celentano ma Adriano la rifiutò: «Non la canterò mai»". Il Messaggero (in Italian). 22 August 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  4. Parrella, Andrea (3 February 2020). "La storia di L'italiano, il classico di Toto Cutugno a Sanremo 1983". Fanpage.it (in Italian). Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  5. "מילים לשיר אני חוזר הביתה - דורון מזר". שירונט.
  6. Srinivasan, Karthik (25 September 2018). "How 6 Out Of 8 Songs In A 90s Aamir Khan Film Were Lifted From World Music". Film Companion. Archived from the original on 1 April 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  7. "Un Amore One Love". Amazon.
  8. "Toto Cutugno – L'italiano" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  9. "InfoDisc : Les Chansons (Auteur, Compositeur, Classements, Ventes, Certifications, Les Tops, Les N° 1...)". www.infodisc.fr.
  10. "Cronologia di: L'italiano di Toto Cutugno". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  11. "TOP 20 TMP Portugal - number one in the 80's airplay charts". www.laurentpons.com.
  12. "Toto Cutugno – L'italiano". Swiss Singles Chart.
  13. "Offiziellecharts.de – Toto Cutugno – L'italiano" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  14. "Italian single certifications – Toto Cutugno – L'italiano" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
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