Chanel Dilecta will represent Italy at the Junior Eurovision 2022

This year the Junior Eurovision Song Contest celebrates its 20th edition, and despite a few troubled years with rumors of cancellation of the music festival – due to its low interest among European countries and its low audience levels between 2009 and 2013 –, the contest returns for another year with the consolidated format. Next December, the Junior Eurovision will be held in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, after the victory in the last edition of the young Armenian Maléna and her song “Qami Qami”.

Italy repeats its participation in the festival, uninterruptedly since its debut in 2014, except in 2020, when it did not participate due to the health situation in Europe. The Italian television, RAI, has decided to choose its representative internally as it has been doing for the last few years. Chanel Dilecta, a 14-year-old artist, will represent the country at the EBU’s youth music festival.

Meet Chanel Dilecta

Chanel is a 360° interpreter, she has studied singing and ballet since she was 4 years old, as well as piano, modern dance, and scenic art. All of these disciplines come in handy when she competes in international competitions such as TMF (Tour Music Fest) 2021, the Italian Cup of Artists (2021), and The Coach Contest. In her spare time, Chanel designs jewelry and loves reading books, knitting, and enjoys solving Rubik’s cubes. She lives in the small town of Thiene, Italy, with her family and a toothless dog named Rambo. Her theme song BLA BLA BLA will be revealed next week.

Italy at Junior Eurovision

Italy debuted in Junior Eurovision in 2014, in the edition held in Marsa (Malta) after the victory the previous year of Gaia Cauchi and her song “The start”. But its participation in the contest comes from further back in time. Already in 2011, the EBU negotiated Italy’s participation in the junior event with RAI, after its return to the senior edition that same year, but could not confirm its participation due to lack of time. Finally, in 2014 the Italian country makes its debut, being the first country of the “Big Five” to return to the junior contest since 2006.

And the truth is that its debut could not have been better. The first Italian representative in the youth contest was the young Vincenzo Cantiello who sang the song “Tu primo grande amore“. Vincenzo, at the end of the night, gave Italy the victory in the Junior Eurovision, with 159 points. Italy debuted with great success at the festival.

Since then, Italy has regularly participated in the contest, maintaining good results – in fact, only in 2 editions has it dropped out of the “Top 10”: in the 2015 edition in Sofia (Bulgaria), with the duo formed by the young singers Chiara and Martina and the song “Viva”, finishing in 16th position; and in 2017 in Tiflis (Georgia) with the young Maria Iside Fiore and the song “Scelgo (My Choice)”, positioning herself at the end in 11th position -.

In the 2016 edition, held in Valletta (Malta), Fiamma Boccia and her song “Cara mamma” placed Italy in 3rd position; This has been the best result achieved by Italy since its debut.

In 2021, the young Italian singer Elisabetta Lizza and her song “Specchio (Mirror on the Wall)” left Italy in the “Top 10” – tenth place -, with 107 points, again placing her country in a great position.

JUNIOR EUROVISION SONG CONTEST 2022

The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2022 will be held in Yerevan, Armenia, next Sunday, December 11. With the slogan ‘Spin the Magic’, the Karen Demirchyan Complex will be responsible for hosting the show in which various artists aged between 9 and 14 years from different countries in Europe will fight to take the coveted crystal microphone, a trophy that accredits the victory in the children’s Eurofestival.

The organization of the show by the Armenian public television ARMTV comes after the victory of Malena and her “Qami Qami“ on the stage of Paris on December 19, awakening a collective euphoria throughout her homeland and making the whole country face with great enthusiasm and responsibility the challenge of organizing the festival, which promises to be more special than ever given that this 2022 celebrates its 20th anniversary. It will not be the first time that Armenia hosts an edition of Junior Eurovision, having had the opportunity to do so in 2011, also at the Karen Demirchyan Complex.

Finally, there are 16 European televisions that have confirmed their participation in the festival and will spin the magic (and its luck) in Yerevan, after the ambition and efforts of the organization to have the largest final number of participants, with the aim that this twentieth edition of the children’s contest is remembered as one of the most spectacular of its history. Little by little, we are getting to know more names of the selected artists. Who will be the winner this year?