An electric atmosphere spreads from Naples, ready to host the X Factor final for the second time, to Sinnai, home of this season's standout talent. And amidst the excitement , 27-year-old eroCaddeo, just hours before the Piazza del Plebiscito show, plays the self-deprecating card.
Thrown into the trap of journalists gathered in Naples City Hall, he greets politely, hesitates, answers in a low voice, then lets himself go and bewitches the press room : "What do I hope for once I get out of here? To keep working so I can buy a sandwich and maybe pay the rent." And, as if for good luck, he plays a few notes of "No Potho Reposare" just for the microphones of Radiolina, whose Contest in 2021 started it all.
The anxiety is palpable for the final act of the Sky Original show produced by Fremantle, live tomorrow from 9 pm on Sky, streaming on NOW, and also free-to-air on TV8. All the judges are competing: eroCaddeo with his mentor Achille Lauro, Delia from Jake La Furia's team, the "underdog" Rob with Paola Iezzi, and PierC supported by Francesco Gabbani.
While the finalists (propelled thus far by over twenty million votes) truly love each other, as is evident from their hugs and unwavering support, the same cannot be said of the judges. There were disagreements and barbs in the final semifinal between Gabbani and Lauro, even an off-camera remark from the former Sanremo winner ("You have to keep me tonight"), with Jake calming him down by saying, "Lauro is a professional, I've been through this before..." At the pre-show press conference, however, they were having none of it: "We're friends, just artfully staged skirmishes."
Gabbani launches into a gag with the eroCaddeo placeholder, and Lauro also glosses over it and devotes himself wholeheartedly to the four talents: " If there's one thing we deserve," he says, "it's that we preserved their DNA. They were incredible, night after night. They must understand that these are four people who made it to the end among so many others. This is where the journey begins, a small step in their careers to build on. There's nothing you can do about it; in this field you have to work hard. Those who persevere win ."
With two super guests ( Laura Pausini and Jason Derulo ), three heats, dozens of dancers, and a thousand square meters of stage in one of Italy's most beautiful squares, it will be a great show that not even the rain will be able to ruin. In Sinnai, there will be two screenings, one at the Teatro Civico and the other at the Vab Sinnai, where Eva Federico, Damiano Caddeo's mother, volunteers . Meanwhile, she is preparing to leave with her firstborn, Morena, along with six other fellow citizens: "We'll be there with banners and flags."