Piedmont rock duo Santi Francesi won the 16th edition of the Italian X-Factor on Thursday night.
The act, who forged their name from their surnames ― Alessandro De Santis and Mario Francese ― beat out competition from the other three finalists, Palermo's Beatrice Quinta, Alba-born Linda Riverditi, and Milanese rock quartet Tropea.
"We still haven't processed what happened last night,” the boys said in a celebratory post on their official Instagram.
“We thank everyone, each and every one of you. It was incredible.”
De Santis and Francese have won a 300,000 euro record deal with Sony, also announcing the release of their debut EP in the post:
“Monday sees the release of our EP 'In fieri', and in January, will will embark on our first club tour! We can’t wait,” the caption reads.
Global glam rock super stars Maneskin came second in the 11th edition of Italy’s X-Factor in 2017, before achieving global fame with their consecutive Sanremo Song Festival and Eurovision wins.
The reality show is in fact where the band's global chart topper 'Beggin', a cover of a track originally released by Madcon in 2007, was first performed live.
