On 13 December 2015 , during Massimo Giletti 's TV show '' L'arena '' , Carlo Conti announced the list of performers and songs selected to compete in the 66th Sanremo Music Festival , which included Francesca Michielin 's " Nessun grado di separazione " . Michielin performed the song for the first time at the Teatro Ariston in Sanremo during the second evening of the show , on 10 February 2016 . The song placed second in the competition , behind Stadio 's " Un giorno mi dirai " . The band was then eligible to represent Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 , but they declined , stating they would be on a previously planned tour in May 2016 . Their decision led RAI to select Michielin as the Italian entry for the 61st edition of the European competition . On 14 March 2016 , a bilingual version of " Nessun grado di separazione " , titled " No Degree of Separation " , was announced as Michielin 's entry for the contest . This version is entirely in Italian , except for the last chorus , which was adapted in English by American songwriter Norma Jean Martine ; the track also has a different arrangement . Michielin performed this version for the first time on 22 March 2016 , during the Web show '' Webnotte '' , streamed live by '' la Repubblica '' 's website . Since Italy is part of the " Big 5 " , Michielin automatically qualified to compete in the final on 14 May 2016 , where she placed 16th with 124 points
Eurovision Song Contest 2016
Eurovision Song Contest 2016
Nessun grado di separazione