Cristina Scuccia (born 19 August 1988) is an Italian singer. She won the 2014 season of ''

The Voice of Italy ''The Voice of Italy'' is a reality singing competition and Italian version of the international syndication ''The Voice'' based on the reality singing competition launched in the Netherlands, created by Dutch television producer John de Mol. Th ...

'' as part of Team

J-Ax Alessandro Aleotti (; born 5 August 1972), known as J-Ax (), is an Italian rapper, formerly in the rap group Articolo 31 with his DJ Vito Luca Perrini (DJ Jad). He is the brother of Weedo (also known as Grido from boyband Gemelli DiVersi). On 6 ...

, resulting in a record deal with

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a ...

. In 2013, she won a Christian music competition as part of the Good News Festival.

Early life

Cristina Scuccia was born in Vittoria in 1988. She became a

novice A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession A profession is a field of work that has ...

in 2009 and worked for two years with poor children in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

before formally joining the Ursuline order. In the years from 2009 to 2011, Sister Cristina improved her artistic skills at the "Star Rose Academy" in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, created and directed by Maximo De Marco. Her singing teacher was the singer-songwriter

Franco Simone Francesco Luigi Simone (born 21 July 1949) is an Italian singer-songwriter, composer and television host, known as "il poeta con la chitarra" ("the poet with the guitar") for the poetical value of his lyrics. Background Born in Acquarica del C ...

. Her television debut was in June 2012, on the program "Dizionario dei sentimenti" by

, on Gold Tv in

Career

2014–present

''The Voice of Italy''

In 2014, Scuccia applied to ''

'' singing competition, singing for her audition " No One" by

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

. The performance received more than 104 million views on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

. She was very popular with the audience and all four judges—

Raffaella Carrà Raffaella Maria Roberta Pelloni (18 June 1943 – 5 July 2021), better known as Raffaella Carrà (), was an Italian singer, dancer, television presenter, actress and model. She was well known in Europe and Latin America as a result of her many ...

, Noemi, and

Piero Pelù Pietro "Piero" Pelù (born 10 February 1962) is an Italian singer and songwriter, best known for his work with the Italian band Litfiba. He was born in Florence. In July 1999, Pelù quit Litfiba. In 2000, he released his first solo album ''Né ...

—turned their chairs in the blind audition. Cristina chose to be part of Team J-Ax. Throughout the contest, she wore a simple

crucifix A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (Lati ...

around her neck, black shoes and ankle-length black

religious habit A religious habit is a distinctive set of religious clothing worn by members of a religious order. Traditionally some plain garb recognizable as a religious habit has also been worn by those leading the religious eremitic and anchoritic life, ...

. In the final, she won the trophy with 62% of the Italian votes against runner-up Giacomo Voli. After winning, she thanked God and recited the

Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...

to the show organizers and audience. ;Performances *Blind audition (19 March 2014): " No One" by

. All four chairs turned. *Battle round (16 April 2014): "

Girls Just Want to Have Fun "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" is a song written, recorded and performed by American musician Robert Hazard, who released it as a Single (music), single in 1979. It is best known for the version of American singer Cyndi Lauper, who covered the s ...

" by

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achi ...

. Advanced against Luna Palumbo of Team J-Ax. *Knock out round (24 April 2014): "

Hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ...

" by

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...

. Advanced against Benedetta Giovagnini of Team J-Ax. *Live show 1 (7 May 2014): " Flashdance... What a Feeling" by

Irene Cara Irene Cara Escalera (March 18, 1959 – November 25, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and actress of Black, Puerto Rican and Cuban descent. Cara rose to prominence for her role as Coco Hernandez in the 1980 musical film '' Fame'', and f ...

. Saved by public vote. *Live show 2 (14 May 2014): "Uno su mille" by

Gianni Morandi Gianni Morandi (; born 11 December 1944) is an Italian pop singer, actor and entertainer. Early life Gian Luigi Morandi was born in a little village called Monghidoro on the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines. His father Renato was active within the I ...

. Saved by public vote. *Live show 3 (21 May 2014): "

Livin' on a Prayer "Livin' on a Prayer" is a song by the American rock band Bon Jovi, and is the band's second chart-topping single from their third album '' Slippery When Wet''. Written by Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and Desmond Child, the single, released in ...

" by

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald (American musician), Hugh McD ...

. Saved by public vote. *Semi-final (28 May 2014): "

(I've Had) The Time of My Life "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" is a 1987 song composed by Franke Previte, John DeNicola, and Donald Markowitz. It was recorded by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, and used as the theme song for the 1987 film ''Dirty Dancing''. The song has won ...

" by

Bill Medley William Thomas Medley (born September 19, 1940) is an American singer and songwriter, best known as one half of The Righteous Brothers. He is noted for his bass-baritone voice, exemplified in songs such as "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'". Med ...

and

Jennifer Warnes Jennifer Jean Warnes (born March 3, 1947) is an American singer and songwriter. She has performed as a vocalist on a number of film soundtracks. She has won two Grammy Awards, in 1983 for the Joe Cocker duet "Up Where We Belong" and in 1987 fo ...

. 45/100 from coach and 70.18/100 from voting public. Advanced to final. Dylan Magon from Team J-Ax eliminated. *Final (5 June 2014) singing: **Phase one (Final 4): ***"Beautiful That Way" by

Achinoam Nini Achinoam Nini ( he, אחינועם ניני, Aẖinóʿam Nini; born ), also known professionally as Noa (), is an Israeli singer-songwriter, percussionist, poet, composer, and human rights activist working internationally. She is accompanied by ...

. ***"Gli anni" by

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in duet with coach J-Ax. ***"Lungo la riva" (new song). Advanced with Giacomo Voli and Tommaso Pini. Giorgia Pino eliminated. **Phase 2 (Final 3): ***" No One" by

. Advanced to Final 2 with Giacomo Voli. Tommaso Pini eliminated. **Phase 3 (Final 2) ***" Flashdance... What a Feeling" from

. Won ''The Voice'' title with 62.30% of the vote. Finalist Giacomo Voli runner up for season.

Album and video

On 20 October 2014, the music video for Scuccia's version of Madonna's " Like a Virgin" was released on

Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...

platform. It is the lead single from her debut album ''Sister Cristina'' which was released on 11 November 2014. The album contains her interpretations of a number of songs as well as two previously unreleased songs. On 18 December 2014, she released her second music video " Blessed Be Your Name".

Acting career

In 2015, Scuccia was cast as Sister Mary Robert in the Italian production of the ''

Sister Act ''Sister Act'' is a 1992 American comedy film directed by Emile Ardolino and written by Paul Rudnick (as Joseph Howard). It stars Whoopi Goldberg as a lounge singer forced to join a convent after being placed in a witness protection program. It ...

'' musical.

Personal life

On 20 November 2022, she was a guest on the Italian program '' Verissimo'' by

Silvia Toffanin Silvia Toffanin (born 26 October 1979) is an Italian television host, and former fashion model Education In 2007, Toffanin earned a degree in Foreign Languages and Literature from Catholic University of Milan. Career In 1997, Toffanin was a ...

, in which she announced that she had given up her perpetual vows to be able to devote herself full-time to a musical career.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scuccia, Cristina 1988 births 21st-century Italian Roman Catholic religious sisters and nuns English-language singers from Italy Living people Italian expatriates in Brazil The Voice (franchise) winners People from Comiso Universal Music Group artists Italian pop singers Italian rock singers 21st-century Italian singers 21st-century Italian women singers Musicians from the Province of Ragusa 21st-century Italian actresses Participants in Italian reality television series People from Vittoria, Sicily