Maneskin on the Power of Taking a Political Stand: Q&A

It’s a sweaty Sunday afternoon in Palm Springs, Calif., but the members of Måneskin look immaculate as we greet them in the press tent at Coachella. In just seven hours, they’ll be hitting the Mojave Stage for a theatrical and exhilarating set.

The band, which consists of friends and lead singer Damiano David, bassist Victoria DeAngelis, guitarist Thomas Raggi and drummer Ethan Torchio, formed in Italy and skyrocketed to fame after winning the Eurovision Song Contest in 2021.

The band’s cover of Frankie Valli’s “Beggin'” took their fame to new heights in the U.S. and beyond when the song went viral on TikTok.

Below, PopCrush catches up with the members of Måneskin to talk about their first Coachella, the influence TikTok has on music today, the power of taking a stand and their upcoming album and tour.

This is your first Coachella! What has your experience been like, and who are you most excited to check out?

Victoria: We came last week, and we saw the set list last week so…

Damiano: Who do you want to see again?

Victoria: The Weeknd. He’s sick. I think we’re very excited. And this week compared to the first one we have way less pressure. Of course, we were a bit nervous, but now I think we can just fully enjoy it, and have fun!

Tell us about your cover of “Beggin’.” What was your process when it came to rewriting it? So many people have done it before, but you guys still knocked it out of the park and made it your own.

Damiano: Basically, we were 16 at the time and we had no original songs, and we had to choose songs to cover. We all liked the Madcon version. We all basically jammed on it, and what felt more natural and what we liked the most, we put in the song. It was very natural and childish, and we’re really proud of how it’s going.

It went viral on TikTok, and now “I WANNA BE YOUR SLAVE” is going viral. How do you think TikTok is influencing the state of music today?

Victoria: I think it has some good sides and bad sides, of course. Generally, I think it’s a great opportunity for upcoming artists to have people discover their music. Maybe in the past, it would be more on the radio. The songs that got played on the radio went viral, and people got to know [them]. Right now it can happen on TikTok, but it’s not someone else’s decision. It’s not the owner of the radio’s decision. It’s the people’s decision. Everyone can choose which song they like.

Damiano: Youngsters get to discover old, great songs they knew never existed, and maybe our parents were crazy about. It’s just cool and very democratic, as Victoria said.

Thomas: It’s like a new television, especially for the youngest people that discover new stuff, new music.

Victoria: Yeah, a couple of months ago Fleetwood Mac went crazy viral … But now so many young people that never heard of them before tried to discover their music, and that’s amazing.

Tell us about your new music, and your tour, which sold out in minutes. Congratulations!

Damiano: We’ve been here in LA working for three months on our new album. Now we’re kind of done. We have many good songs and we can’t wait to put it out.

Can you give us a sneak peek?

Victoria: It’s the toughest question, every time, to describe your own music! I think we just experimented a lot, there’s much verity in the album and stuff we’ve never done before.

Damiano: It’s new!

You also wrote “Dancing on Gasoline” for Ukraine. How important is it for you to take a stand on social and moral issues?

Damiano: I think as celebrities with many, many followers we have the chance not to directly change things, but to make people think about things, and build their own opinions and do something! If we are 5, 6, 7 million all aiming for the same goal It’s going to be easier. And we have the power to reach so many people, so I feel like we have the responsibility of taking a stand in social topics and giving our opinion. Being unbiased is too old-fashioned.

Victoria: I think also it came really natural to us. We were writing music and this whole situation happened and it affected us a lot. We just wanted to give a sign of support to our Ukrainian fans and everyone who is in that situation, and stand up for something we think is right.

Let’s talk about your success with Eurovision. Do you have any advice for future contestants?

Victoria: Just be yourselves! We just went there with the most unconventional song, and it went pretty well. Just do what you love and people will enjoy it.

Thomas: Search and do something different from the rest, something original and special!

Any final thoughts for your fans or about your upcoming tour and album?

Damiano: We’re just really happy and satisfied on what we did, and we can’t wait to put out some new music and go on tour and do everything that music brings us!