Intimate, profound, captivating. With "E penso a te" by Lucio Battisti , eroCaddeo kicked off the X Factor live performances with a bang and, in just a few minutes, captivated the Teatro Repower in Assago, earning, with disarming ease, a spot on the second episode of the Sky Original talent show produced by Fremantle, broadcast live every Thursday on Sky and Now. The level this year is extremely high, and the singer from Sinnai makes it clear by honoring one of the cult songs of Italian singer-songwriter music.

Everyone celebrates love, but is there enough talk about the importance of breaking up? This is the question asked by judge Achille Lauro, who, like his three colleagues in this first episode, was responsible for choosing the cover for the twelve talents' debut: "Damiano is a gift to me," he says, introducing him with a certain pride. "It's one thing to sing well, and another to be as emotional as he is about to be."

And there it is: the scenery reduced to a minimum, a simple stool in the centre of the stage, Damiano in a T-shirt and dark jeans takes the stage in a crescendo of intensity , playing with his unmistakable timbre, letting himself go with high notes and vibratos, making an absolute masterpiece his own but without betraying it.

"I wanted to give you a negative review," commented Francesco Gabbani, "since you're not on my team, but unfortunately I can't." "It doesn't surprise me; I knew Caddeo had much more inside him than when he showed up to the auditions as a stand-up comedian. The arrangement was beautiful, too." "Impeccable performance," said Paola Iezzi. "My friend," concluded Lauro, "you are a great artist, thank you."

On social media, the excitement is sky-high: "Magnetic performance," "Stratospheric." "Absolute thrill," "Unique interpretation," "A voice that reaches deep into your soul and breaks you."

The rest of the first round already sparked discussion among the judges : Sicilian Rob performed Alanis Morissette's "You Oughta Know" but didn't quite take off. "Tellynonpiangere" was too far inside her comfort zone, so Gabbani chose Coez's "La musica non c'è" (Music Non C'E'). Viscardi's Neapolitan medley of "Yes I Know My Way" and Pino Daniele's "Chillo è nu buono Guaglione" wasn't entirely convincing, and the very young Layana perhaps overdid it by competing with a huge song: Mia Martini's "Gli uomini non cambiare" (Men Don't Change). Amanda (and judge Jake La Furia) paid the price, however, having lost some of her audition energy while singing Miley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball." She received the least votes, and faced a runoff, but she managed to beat Lauro's Copper Jitters, who failed to survive the numerous criticisms.

Giorgia is increasingly comfortable as a host, while the first of a long list of guests this season was Annalisa : with her bed on stage, she presented “Ma io sono fuoco”, the new album which, released on October 10th, immediately entered the charts of best-selling albums of the week at number 1.

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