You've reacted exactly as I've did when heard it for the first time (San Remo last year). I've watched every San Remo Competion in last 50 years and I've predicted the winner song in 90% of the cases. For the rest 10%, the song I would have bet on came among the first 3. Italians have "an ear" for music, the Italian languagge itself is very "musical", the word "catchy" tanslated in Italian is "orecchiabile" meaning "entering into the ear", so - if you have the ear - you can't miss the winner in this contest. When Maneskin won, I've told to my son: well, we don't need to watch the contest any more, we can easily go to bed. Last year was also an easy prediction, Marco Mengoni's performance of Due Vite was so dominating... but I remember the heartbraking feeling when we've heard this song "Cenere"(/Ashes): "this is so straziante (hearthbreaking), if there was no Marco Menconi, this one would have win". You have the "Italian ear", boy!
