Namasté! Alè! On February 19 Francesco Gabbani spoke to Radio Nostalgia stating he was willing to keep his entry in his native language. Now it’s official: “Occidentali’s Karma” will remain 100% in Italian at Eurovision 2017. (Well, besides “Chanel”, “singing in the rain”, “namaste” and a few other foreign flourishes).

He made the announcement on Rai 1’s Friday primetime show “Standing Ovation”, hosted by Antonella Clerici, where he performed his his song, which remains #1 on the Italian FIMI Singles Chart for the second week in a row.

“It’s a great responsibility,” he said of representing Italy at Eurovision in Kyiv. “Another beautiful opportunity, an adventure I’m going to live with a lot of spontaneity. Actually, it’s what I always try to do. I hope to uphold the reputation of Italian music, so I will present the song in its original version, in Italian”.

Ahead of the news, all y’all wiwireaders out there had no doubt this was the right path to take.

Just a few days ago we asked you to vote in our poll to decide if Francesco should sing “Occidentali’s Karma” 100% in Italian, half Italian-half English or 100% in English.

The tribe didn’t just speak — it shouted! With a landslide of 84.29% of all votes cast, YOU stated that Sanremo 2017’s winner needs to bring the gorilla on stage in his fabulous Italian language. So it seems Italy has made the right choice! Amen!

WHAT LANGUAGE SHOULD FRANCESCO CHOOSE FOR EUROVISION (POLL RESULTS)

Italian 84.29% (1,722 votes) Half Italian-Half English 14.59% (298 votes) English 1.12% (23 votes)

Total Votes: 2,043

Are you happy with Italy’s decision? Could this choice lead to a third victory for the country? Let us know below!

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