Has there been a more improbable pop phenomenon in recent years than the rise of Rome-based quartet Måneskin? Whatever your musical predictions for 2021 were, they definitely didn’t include an international breakthrough by the runners-up of the Italian X Factor. They were unexpectedly propelled to global stardom by victory in the Eurovision song contest and a viral surge in the popularity of their cover of the Four Seasons’ 1967 hit Beggin’. Måneskin’s version takes its cues not from the original, but a 21st-century version by Norwegian hip-hop duo Madcon. Initially, Måneskin’s success seemed to be the type that came with the inbuilt tang of short-lived novelty; instead things just seemed to escalate: a support slot on the Rolling Stones’ US tour; a collaboration with Iggy Pop; an appearance on the soundtrack of Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis biopic; more than 6.5bn streams. At the end of summer 2022, a point by which observers might reasonably have assumed Måneskin’s 15 minutes would long be over, they were instead in a position to sack-off an appearance at the Reading and Leeds festival because they had a better offer: an appearance at the MTV VMAs, at which they walked off with the best alternative video award.
