Sanremo 2026: Ditonellapiaga and TonyPitony Triumph on the Festival's Fourth Night

The fourth night of the 76th Italian Song Festival in Sanremo, traditionally dedicated to duets and interpretations of classic songs, concluded with the victory of the duo Ditonellapiaga and TonyPitony. The performers received the award from Marco Bucci, and their performance became one of the most commented-on events on social media, alongside the performance of Sala Da Vinci, which dominates digital mention rankings. Artistic success goes hand in hand with solid viewership results – the broadcast was followed by an average of 10.79 million viewers with a market share of nearly 66 percent. However, it should be noted that this is a weaker result than in 2025, when the fourth evening gathered 3 million more people in front of their screens. The Sanremo Festival, held continuously since 1951 at the Ariston Theatre, is the most important musical event in Italy and served as the model for the Eurovision Song Contest.The festival atmosphere was heated by numerous controversies of a social and political nature. The kiss between artists Levante and Gaia resonated widely in the media, with its television broadcast raising suspicions of censorship. The event's director officially denied these allegations, explaining that the lack of footage was due to production dynamics, not deliberate action. Meanwhile, rapper Fedez expressed public dissatisfaction with restrictions stemming from the 'par condicio' principle, which prevented him from addressing the topic of a referendum on the festival stage. The artist questioned the point of the signed documents, pointing out that other people appearing in the program did not adhere to similar restrictions. On the organizational front, broadcaster RAI has launched an explanatory proceeding concerning Malika Ayane. The title of her competition song 'Animali Notturni' is identical to the name of a cosmetics line that the artist promotes on social media, which may violate rules regarding hidden advertising. Meanwhile, bookmakers and artificial intelligence algorithms point to Fedez, Masini, and Tommaso Paradiso as the main candidates for the final victory. The event's final is scheduled for Saturday evening, and emotions are heightened by the fact that the differences in popularity rankings among the leading performers are small. „Referendum a Sanremo 2026? Qui non si puo fare per par condicio, ho firmato. Altri ne hanno parlato? E allora che cao l'abbiamo firmato?” ('A referendum at Sanremo 2026? You can't do it here because of par condicio, I signed. Did others talk about it? So what the fk did we sign for?') — Fedez