Although there are still five months until the Sanremo Music Festival, the most significant music competition and the most-watched television event in the Italian musical scene, the countdown to the festival commences several months in advance in Italy. And with each announcement or leaked bit of news, public anticipation grows, especially in an edition packed with new features, as the one scheduled for February 16th through 20th appears to be. This time, things began immediately, on the closing evening of last year's edition, with the introduction of Stefano De Martino as the new presenter and creative director, succeeding veteran Carlo Conti. The most recent information involves the new Official Regulations, which were issued by Rai, Italy's public broadcaster. This year, in addition to the customary recitals of new music, the Festival will feature two special evenings. In addition to the Third Evening, which will feature covers performed by Italian and international guests, the Performance Evening will take place on Friday, February 19. This is where international fans should pay special attention. On this occasion, for the first time, artists will present their songs through formats different from those used during the other Festival evenings, subject to the judgement of the public and a new International Jury of experts. This evening's winner will represent Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2027. This is a major change from previous years, when the Festival winner was guaranteed a spot at Eurovision, with the runner-up taking over if a withdrawal occurred. In addition to multiple adjustments in the calculation and weighting of the votes that the various juries will give to the singers, there is another paragraph that is particularly interesting. The regulations specifically declare that competing songs must be only expressions of human creativity, prohibiting the use of artificial intelligence systems to replace or alter the creative contributions of composers and performers. Autotune, however, remains permitted, ensuring that artists from the rap and trap scenes are not excluded.