Per sempre (Nina Zilli song)

"Per sempre" (Italian pronunciation: [per ˈsɛmpre]; English: "Forever") is a song by Italian singer Nina Zilli, released in 2012 as the lead single from her second studio album, L'amore è femmina.

"Per sempre"
Single by Nina Zilli
from the album L'amore è femmina
Released	15 February 2012
Genre	Pop
Length	3:25
Label	Universal Music Italy
Songwriter(s)	Roberto Casalino Nina Zilli
Producer(s)	Michele Canova Nina Zilli
Nina Zilli singles chronology
"Bacio d'a(d)dio" (2010) "Per sempre" (2012) "L'amore è femmina" (2012)
Music video
"Per sempre" on YouTube

The song competed in the "Big Artists" section of the Sanremo Music Festival 2012, placing seventh in a field of fourteen entries.^[1] During the contest, Zilli was also chosen by a specific jury to represent Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012. After being confirmed as the Italian entry to the contest, it was announced that the song was replaced by "L'amore è femmina", also performed by Nina Zilli.^[2]

The song peaked at number five on the Italian Singles Chart and it was certified platinum for domestic downloads exceeding 30,000 units.^[3]

Background

The song was composed by Zilli herself, together with popular Italian songwriter Roberto Casalino.^[4][5] It is a traditional ballad, inspired by the style of 1960s' popular Italian female singers such as Mina,^[6] who also influenced Zilli's look on stage during the Sanremo Music Festival.^[7]

The lyrics of the song refer to the end of a lovestory, with Zilli setting aside her pride while promising eternal love and asking her ex-partner to come back to her.^[8]

Sanremo Music Festival

On 15 January 2012, during the TV programme L'arena, Gianni Morandi announced the complete list of songs competing in the "Big Artists" section of the Sanremo Music Festival 2012, also including Nina Zilli's "Per sempre".^[9] Zilli performed the song for the first time on 14 February 2012, during the first night of the festival.^[10] Following a technical problem occurred in the voting process, all the songs were admitted to the second night of the show.^[10] The song was performed again the following day, being admitted to the semi-final, which was held on 17 February 2012.^[11] During the fourth night, Zilli sang the track in a duet with Giuliano Palma,^[12] gaining access to the final, during which she placed seventh in the overall ranking.^[1] During all Zilli's performances, the Sanremo Festival Orchestra was conducted by Beppe Vessicchio.^[13]

On the last night of the show, Ell & Nikki, winners of the Eurovision Song Contest 2011, also announced that Zilli was chosen by a specific jury to represent Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012.^[14][15] On 3 March 2012, Zilli confirmed the song as the Italian entry to the contest, also announcing that it will be re-recorded in a half-English version.^[16][17] However, on 13 March 2012, it was announced that Zilli would instead sing "L'amore è femmina" at Eurovision.^[2]

Music video

The music video for the song was directed by Duccio Forzano.^[18]

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for "Per sempre"

Chart (2012)	Peak position
Italy (FIMI)^[19]	5

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for "Per sempre"

Chart (2012)	Rank
Italy (FIMI)^[20]	52

References

1. "Sanremo 2012 - Classifica Finale Artisti" (PDF) (in Italian). RAI. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
2. "Italy changes their song to L'Amore È Femmina". Eurovision.tv. 13 March 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
3. "Italian single certifications" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Select "Tutti gli anni" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
4. Antonio Mustara (15 January 2012). . TV Sorrisi e Canzoni (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
5. "Nina Zilli, bagno di fan in attesa dell'Eurofestival". la Repubblica (in Italian). 21 February 2012.
6. Paolo Panzeri (5 March 2012). "Recensione - Nina Zilli - L'amore è femmina" (in Italian). Rockol.it. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
7. "Sanremo 2012: Nina Zilli e Per sempre" (in Italian). Excite.it. 15 February 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
8. Sergio Cadeddu (18 February 2012). "Nina Zilli - Per sempre" (in Italian). Musicsite.it. Archived from the original on 4 September 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
9. "Sanremo, ecco i nomi dei Big, il Festival al tempo della crisi". la Repubblica (in Italian). 15 January 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
10. Matteo Cruccu (14 February 2012). "Celentano "bombarda" l'Ariston (e la Chiesa). E si ferma la gara per un guasto tecnico". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved 29 February 2012.
11. . La Stampa (in Italian). 16 February 2012. Archived from the original on 18 February 2012. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
12. Matteo Cruccu (18 February 2012). "Giovani, vince il quindicenne Casillo. Eliminati Matia Bazar e Chiara Civello". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved 8 March 2012.
13. Barbara Pasqua (13 February 2012). "Sanremo 2012, odissea nello spazio: ecco le anticipazioni del Festival nelle prove di oggi" (in Italian). Rivieranews.it.
14. (in Italian). Newsic.it. Archived from the original on 14 February 2016. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
15. "Italy: Nina Zilli to Baku!". Eurovision.tv. 19 February 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
16. Adrián Valiente Magán (3 March 2012). . ESCDaily.com. Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
17. "Italy confirms Sanremo song for Nina Zilli". 5 March 2012. Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
18. (in Italian). Italianissima.net. 27 February 2012. Archived from the original on 7 July 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
19. "Nina Zilli – Per sempre". Top Digital Download.
20. "Classifica annuale 2012 (dal 02.01.2012 al 30.12.2012)" (in Italian). FIMI. Retrieved June 10, 2022.