Mahmood and Blanco ‘s song “Brividi”, Italy’s entry in Eurovision 2022, has a strong message about universal love. It is the first time that two men sing a love ballad on the Eurovision stage.
Because Mahmood seems to address a man and Blanco a woman, the performance represents that love really is for everyone. However, when he performs, Blanco does not think about his own life. “I just think about what love can mean to every human being.” Mahmood adds: “Love is to be free in every case. The power of this song is this freedom. It does not matter what kind of love.”
Mahmood and Blanco speak about universal love at their Eurovision press conference:
In recent years, we have seen several Eurovision entries arguing for the rights of certain minority groups. Those entries highlighted and emphasized being different from “the others” (and that being different was a positive thing).
However, through this Italian entry, for the first time there is no “others” anymore, and no “being different”. As Mahmood said: It truly does not matter anymore.