Tormentoni: Italian Songs of the Summer 2023

Every Italian can count on three things when it comes to the summer: sweltering heat, Ferragosto celebrations, and the latest Italian songs taking hold of the airwaves, the tormentoni.

Italian Songs

The tormentoni are Italian songs that possess you, they make you obsessed with it more and more each time you hear the song; you will play it once, then immediately play it again. Consequently, the song spreads rapidly, soon to be played on every playlist, nightclub, and beach, again and again and again (ancora, ancora). From the root tormentare, tormentone, or in the plural, tormentoni means “obsession, preoccupation” – of course this is the figurative meaning, the literal meaning of tormentare, is to torture.

Italians, ever dramatic, decided that the Italian songs that catch on in the summer, like an earworm, are played so much, that it becomes torture, torment, to hear one song for what feels like ad infinitum. As such, the song tortures the listener, who would no sooner seek silence if it meant a reprieve from the constant playtime, the song tormenting like a demon in between one’s ears.

Nostalgia of Italian Songs

But as the summer passes, people return to their lives, and the Italian songs of the summer fade into memory. That is until the next summer expands on the horizon, leaving one to reminisce about tormentoni past. Songs have a distinctive capability of linking feelings of the past, to be relived in the present when a particular song plays. For one half of our team, hearing “La canzone del capitano” by DJ Francesco instantly transports her to summer ’03 in Sperlonga, a time when memories were made that rise in the soul with the new summer sun.

While the tormentoni may be torture in the present, when viewed from a vantage point in the future, the tormentoni of any particular summer will be your calling card for your visits of nostalgia. Adam Olivo, writing about tormentoni for Italy Segreta said it best:

“But however annoying tormentoni might be in summer, after temperatures slink back down and tans fade, we crave these songs that evoke memories of lapping waves, melting gelato, barefoot dancing, sizzling sunshine, and carefree nights of summers past.”

Tormentoni bring you pain, pleasure, then memories, and yearning, which elicits a different sort of pain and pleasure – that is to remember days gone by with sweet memory, but to also know those days are gone forever, only to be recalled in the deepest stores of our hearts. But, tormentoni, with its wild possession and obsession, can take you back, and make you feel like you once did on those hot summer Italian nights, if only for a song.

We present five tormentoni for the summer of 2023. These are based on our own connection to the song, and per ranking on the Hot 100 Italia billboard charts and the Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana.

1. Italodisco – The Kolors

A fresh, pop song with a thumping base and catchy hooks honoring the days of Italodisco, this song has spent many hours on repeat all over Italy. With callouts to FestivalBar and Ibiza, Italodisco brings everyone to the dance floor, and its theme is certainly a nod to a tormentone, as the lyrics present someone stuck in their mind, which always makes it play, Italodisco.

Best line:  Questa non è Ibiza, Festivalbar con la cassa dritta, ti sto cercando, ma è nebbia fitta, ti giuro se ti penso la mia testa suona, suona Italodisco. / This isn’t Ibiza, FestivalBar with a straight kick, I’m looking for you but its a thick fog, I swear if I think of you my head plays, plays Italodisco.

2. Disco Paradise – Annalisa, Articolo 31, and Fedez

A power collaboration between Annalisa, Articolo 31, and Fedez, this is a fun song with plenty of cultural references, and more than a few suggestive lyrics. With the usual infectious collaboration between Fedez and J-AX, the song is an instant tormentoni, carried by Annalisa’s “uoh-oh-oh-oh-oh” throughout.

Best line: Alza il finestrino che stoniamo Battisti, mi ritorni in mente (uoh-oh-oh-oh-oh) / Roll up the window we’re out of tune with Battisti, you come back to my mind.

3. bellissimissima <3 – Alfa

If pressed to describe the feel of this song, it certainly feels like sunshine in a bottle. When this song plays, we would have no trouble envisioning a seat by the beach, with a cold drink in hand. Despite the heavy content of the ups and downs of a relationship, this song feels very light, and definitely worth a listen to as we head into the final days of summer.

Best line: Sei così bella, anzi bellissimissima, Lascio un punto e una virgola quando scrivo di te. / You are beautiful, really beautiful. I leave a period and comma when I write about you.

4. Fragole – Achille Lauro & Rose Villain

Another collaboration, this time between Achille Lauro and Rose Villain, this song’s reggae vibes has us heading straight outside for a day in the sun. Another song dealing with the complexities of relationships, the contagious beats and happy feelings betray the lyrics of the song, but have us wanting more fragole, panna e champagne.

Best line: Bambolina, domani torno da te, con una nuova bugia. / Baby, tomorrow I’ll return to you, with a new lie.

5. Vetri Neri – Ava, Anna, Capo Plaza

An eclectic blend of hip pop and pop beats, this song samples another popular summer song, Mr. Saxobeat by Alexandra Stan – giving an extra kick of nostalgia. The song has an underlying mellow feel but can still get a crowd pumping with its beats, and especially when the saxophone comes in for a solo, and is perfect for the ride home after a hot summer night. Best line: Cerco di scordarti, ma so che non riuscirò, Baby, baby, sarai per sempre il mio primo love / I try to forget you, but I know I won’t, baby, baby, you’ll always be my first love.