Sanremo buzzed with emotion when Serena Brancale took the Ariston stage to perform “Qui con me,” a tender, aching ballad she wrote for her mother, Maria. The performance landed like a confession: intimate, impeccably sung and unmistakably honest. For viewers and critics alike, it confirmed Brancale’s rare gift for turning personal grief into a universally moving musical moment — and it has already made her one of the favourites in this year’s festival betting.
A song born of time and tenderness
Serena has been clear about the origin of the piece: she waited six years before she felt ready to find “the right words” to honour Maria, an Italo‑Venezuelan musician and teacher who passed away suddenly. That waiting has paid off. “Qui con me” reads like a letter set to music — a direct, conversational lyric addressed to a mother who is gone yet palpably present. The song’s strength lies in that duality: specific memories and small gestures that feel private, expressed in language that immediately resonates with anyone who has loved and lost.
Voice, phrasing and emotional architecture
Musically, the song is built on a restrained yet profound architecture that highlights Brancale’s vocal control and phrasing. She moves from intimate, near‑spoken lines to expansive melodic peaks without ever sounding forced. The arrangement allows space for breath and emotional colour: subtle jazz inflections, gentle harmonic shifts and a measured crescendo. The effect is cinematic but never indulgent — a rare balance that made the live performance both technically impressive and deeply affecting.
A sister at the helm: family as talisman
There’s a touching layer to the staging: Serena performed with her elder sister Nicole conducting the orchestra. Serena described Nicole as her good luck charm and insisted she could not imagine singing the song with anyone else on the conductor’s podium. That choice amplified the familial theme of the song — a literal embodiment of the piece’s emotional core — and gave the moment an added intimacy that the audience clearly felt.
Recognition for literary depth
“Qui con me” has already received formal acclaim: it was awarded the Lunezia prize for its literary and musical value. The jury praised the work for its “pathos and precise language,” noting how the song bridges the here and the beyond with poetic clarity. For Brancale, this recognition validates the song’s dual ambition: to move an audience while standing as a carefully crafted textual work.
Why this moment matters at Sanremo
Sanremo is often the theater of spectacle, but it’s also where a genuinely personal song can cut through the glitz. Brancale’s performance reminded viewers that authenticity and craft still carry weight. Her approach — patient, introspective and firmly rooted in songcraft — contrasts with the festival’s more extravagant offerings and underlines a simple truth: a well‑written song, committedly sung, can make a mass audience listen and feel.
What this means for Serena’s trajectory
Already mentioned among bookmakers’ favourites, she now stands at a potential turning point. Sanremo provides unparalleled exposure, but staying beyond the festival requires substance — and Brancale has substance. Her blend of jazz‑tinged phrasing, singer‑songwriter honesty and clear compositional skill positions her as an artist who can translate critical acclaim into a lasting career. The Lunezia trophy helps too: it signals to the industry that her work has literary and musical seriousness, not just immediate emotional appeal.
Lessons for listeners and creatives
Serena Brancale’s “Qui con me” is a reminder that festival stages remain places where quiet authenticity can outshine spectacle. The song’s directness, its care for language, and the emotional honesty of the delivery created a moment that will be replayed in conversations long after the festival lights dim. For those of us who watch Sanremo for both sensation and substance, it was one of the evening’s most sincere and memorable highlights.
