"If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again" is an adage that certainly applies to this year’s entrant from San Marino. 2014 will see Valentina Monetta return to the Eurovision stage for a third consecutive year. She first came to the attention of fans in the 2012 edition of the contest, but has enjoyed a lengthy musical career prior to her Eurovision debut. She took her first tentaive steps back in 1995, when she fronted the group Tiberio. She then went on to be involved in a number of musical projects, putting her self taught piano skills to good use. Valentina took part in the Italian edition of the TV singing competition Popstars. Besides singing pop, she is also an extremely accomplished jazz performer.
But it wasn’t until seven years later, in 2008, that she would have her first brush with Eurovision. She submitted the entry Se non ci sei tu, but wasn’t selected by broadcaster SMRTV. It would take her a further four years to make her Eurovision dream come true in 2012, but since them has more than made up for any previous dissappointment she may have felt. In 2012, she took the Ralph Siegel penned The Facebook Song (Uh-oh, uh-oh) to Baku, but prior to participation was forced to change the title in compliance with EBU guidelines. The Social Network Song (Uh-oh, uh-oh) ended up in fourteenth place in its semi, their best placing up until then. The following year, SMRTV decided to stick with the same Siegel/Monetta formula and so Crisalide (Vola) came to represent them at the 2013 contest. A huge fan favourite with the song, Valentina yet again failed to make the grand final, but bettered her 2012 result by ending in eleventh place. Her first album La storia di Valentina Monetta appeared shortly after the contest.
Her second album Sensibilità (Sensibility) was released on the 4th of April. A lead single, L’amore verrà has already been released, back in October last year with a follow up single A Kiss appearing later that year. Her Eurovision entry Maybe is the third single to be lifted from the album.
