Every Batman needs his Robin and even if the latter has always been a secondary role, playing the sidekick, not only in comedy, is no small feat. There are many examples of musical couples or of show business in general, but one for all is the now historic duo formed by Bonolis and Laurenti. The former certainly needs no introduction, but Luca (Laurenti) has also been able to establish himself over time by creating a character suitable both in a couple and solo. This is a rare case of perfect balance in an artistic couple where the roles are well blended and each one reinforces the other without diminishing its role.
It is not always easy, however, to take and give the right space in the artistic pair and often the one who comes second is overshadowed by the fame of the first. In music there are several examples, such as Cesare Cremonini and Ballo. They, together with other musicians, were LunaPop, a pop group of the early 2000s, and Ballo was perhaps the one of all who most embodied the essence of the group, with his clean-cut face, his iconic dreadlocks and that smile that made everything carefree, but today many find it hard to remember the name.
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Moving out of Italy but still in the field of music, let us recall Wham, the historic group composed of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. For a long time there was a perfect balance in this musical pair. There could not be Andrew without George, but over time he became the one with the strongest personality and tried to take off solo, leaving behind the other half of the duo, which, as often happens, was overshadowed in a short time.
A more unusual duo this time around is that of Michele Zocca and Blanco. They are not the classic duo to be seen together on stage, but if Blanco is at the top of the charts and does not make a single mistake, it is mainly thanks to his “Michelangelo che gli ha messo le ali” as he says in one of his songs referring to Zocca. It is he who makes his talent available to him by providing him with foundations and producing his music, with immense professionalism but perhaps deliberately deciding to remain in the shadows. We could give so many examples, from Simon and Garfunkel, an artistic couple that has split and reunited several times, to Simon's declarations confessing the lack of harmony between the two to 883, the duo composed of Max Pezzali and Claudio Repetto. The two, friends since their school days, then went their separate ways and Repetto gave up being part of the duo despite the group's success.
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But what drives someone to become second best or at least one step behind? It is certainly not a lack of talent, but often the dynamics of show business tend to shine a spotlight on one rather than the other. Needless to say, if the couple is made up of two women, there is an immediate outcry for competition, a competition of glitter and sequins that almost always has nothing to do with the talent of the leading actresses: Cuccarini and Parisi tell us something! But being the sidekick or the runner-up is perhaps not always something that is decided at the table, often it is a formula tried once and nourished by the success received, other times what seemed like a two-way street turns out to be a funnel road where the strongest wins. A difficult task that of the Robin on duty, not only when the lights are on but especially when, ruthlessly, someone emphasises the secondary role of the artist.
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Being the sidekick, standing half a step behind or being the musician accompanying the voice is often a subtle game of foil that falls to not the more impactful of the two but certainly to the one who delicately provides the other with the crossed hands where to put a foot down and jump over the barricade, where success awaits, many times and ruthlessly, only one of the two.
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