Alessandro Mahmoud (, ; born 12 September 1992), known professionally as Mahmood, is an Italian singer-songwriter. He rose to prominence after competing on the sixth season of the Italian version of ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

''. He has won the

Sanremo Music Festival The Sanremo Music Festival, officially the Italian Song Festival () and commonly known as just (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria. It is the longest-running annual ...

twice, in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

with the song "

Soldi "Soldi" (; ) is a song recorded by Italian singer Mahmood. It was released on 6 February 2019, as the fifth single from his debut studio album, ''Gioventù bruciata'' (2019). Mahmood co-wrote the song with Dario "Dardust" Faini and Charlie Cha ...

" and in

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

alongside

Blanco Blanco (''white'' or ''blank'' in Spanish) or Los Blancos may refer to: People *Blanco (surname) Fictional characters *Blanco, a hobbit in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth * Blanco Webb, character in the BBC sitcom ''Porridge'' * El Blanco, albin ...

with the song " Brividi". His Sanremo victories allowed him to represent Italy at the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

in those respective years, finishing in second place in and in sixth place in as the host entrant. Mahmood has released two studio albums, '' Gioventù bruciata'' and '' Ghettolimpo'', both of which reached the top two of the Italian albums chart.

Early life

Born in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

to an

Egyptian Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...

father and a Sardinian mother from

Orosei Orosei ( sc, Orosèi) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Nuoro in the Italian region Sardinia, located about northeast of Cagliari and about east of Nuoro Nuoro ( or less correctly ; sc, Nùgoro ) is a city and ''comune'' ...

, Mahmood was raised around

Gratosoglio Gratosoglio (; lmo, label=Milanese, Grattasoeuj ) is a district (''quartiere'') of the city of Milan, Italy, part of the Zone 5 administrative division. It is located at southernmost end of the city, bordering on the ''comune'' of Rozzano Rozza ...

, a district of

. When he was five years old, his parents divorced and he was subsequently raised by his mother.

Career

2012–2018: ''X Factor'' and beginnings

In 2012, Mahmood auditioned for the sixth season of the Italian version of ''

''. He became part of the boys category mentored by

Simona Ventura Simona Ventura (born 1 April 1965) is an Italian television presenter. Television career Ventura was born in Bentivoglio. She started in TV on "Domani Sposi" with Giancarlo Magalli on Rai Uno. Her love for sport took her into sports reportin ...

. He was originally eliminated at Judges Houses, then returned as a wildcard, before eventually being eliminated in the third episode. After this experience, he worked in a bar and attended a music school, studying piano, solfeggio and music theory, where he also started writing songs. In 2013, he released his debut single "Fallin' Rain". In 2016, Mahmood participated in the Newcomers Section of

with the song "Dimentica". In 2017, he released the single "Pesos", with which he participates in the fifth edition of the Wind Summer Festival, winning the third episode of the Youth section. In 2017, he was also featured on

Fabri Fibra Fabrizio Tarducci (born 17 October 1976), better known as Fabri Fibra, is an Italian rapper. In his career he has sold more than 2.3 millions of certified copies. Biography Tarducci was born in Senigallia, Marche. He became interested in mus ...

's single "Luna". In September 2018, he released his debut

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

, '' Gioventù bruciata''. In November 2018,

Marco Mengoni Marco Mengoni (; born 25 December 1988) is an Italian pop singer-songwriter who rose to fame in 2009, after winning the third season of Italian talent show ''X Factor''. Since that he has sold over 2.8 million records in Italy, peaking the I ...

released his fifth album, ''Atlantico'', which features three tracks co-written by Mahmood, including the single "Hola (I Say)".

2018–2020: ''Gioventù bruciata'', Sanremo and Eurovision

In December 2018, Mahmood was one of 24 acts selected to compete in ''Sanremo Giovani'', a televised competition aimed at selecting two newcomers as contestants of the 69th Sanremo Music Festival. Mahmood was placed first in the second episode of the show, with his entry "Gioventù bruciata", also receiving the Critics' Award among acts performing in the second final. "

" was later announced as his entry for the Sanremo Music Festival 2019. Mahmood performed the song for the first time during the first live show of the 69th Sanremo Music Festival, which was held on 5 February 2019. Dario "Dardust" Faini, co-writer of the song, directed the Sanremo Orchestra during his performance. During the third live show, "Soldi" was the first performance of the night. On 8 February 2019, Mahmood performed the song in a new version, featuring rapper Gué Pequeno. During the first round of the final, "Soldi" placed 7th in the televote, but was the most voted by the experts jury, and the second most voted by the press jury. As a result, Mahmood gained a spot in the top three acts of the competition and after an additional performance, the song was declared the winner of the 69th Sanremo Music Festival. Mahmood also received the "Enzo Jannacci" Award for Best Performance. and the "Premio Baglioni d'oro" award for best song voted by the participating artists. On 22 February 2019, Mahmood reissued ''Gioventù bruciata'' as a full-length

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, which topped the Italian albums chart. In April 2019, Mahmood was featured on the single " Calipso" by

Charlie Charles Paolo Alberto Monachetti (born 24 March 1994), known professionally as Charlie Charles, is an Italian record producer and DJ from Milan. He started his career in 2015, releasing the collaborative album ''XDVR'' with rapper Sfera Ebbasta. In 2019, ...

and Dardust, which topped the Italian singles chart. In May 2019, he represented

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

at the

Eurovision Song Contest 2019 The Eurovision Song Contest 2019 was the 64th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Tel Aviv, Israel, following the country's victory at the 2018 contest with the song " Toy" by Netta. Organised by the European Broad ...

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. He performed "Soldi" in the grand final of the contest on 18 May, placing second in the final ranking. The song topped the charts in Greece, Israel, Italy and Lithuania and reached the top 10 in five more countries, eventually becoming the most-streamed Eurovision song ever on

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

, a record held until late January 2021 when it was surpassed by the 2019 Eurovision winner, "

Arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

" by

Duncan Laurence Duncan de Moor (; born 11 April 1994), known professionally as Duncan Laurence, is a Dutch singer and songwriter. He represented the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with his song "Arcade" and went on to win the competition, giv ...

. Mahmood performed at the closing ceremony of the

2019 Summer Universiade ) , Nations participating = 118 , Athletes participating = 5,971 , Events = 220 , Sports = 18 , Opening ceremony = 3 July , Closing ceremony = 14 July , Officially opened by = President Se ...

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

with three of his songs "Soldi", " Gioventù bruciata" and "Anni 90".

2020–present: ''Ghettolimpo'', return to Sanremo and Eurovision

On 11 June 2021, Mahmood released his second studio album, '' Ghettolimpo''. The album's release was preceded by five singles: " Rapide", "

Dorado Dorado () is a constellation in the southern sky. It was named in the late 16th century and is now one of the 88 modern constellations. Its name refers to the dolphinfish (''Coryphaena hippurus''), which is known as ''dorado'' in Spanish, altho ...

" (in collaboration with fellow Italian rapper

Sfera Ebbasta Gionata Boschetti (; (born 7 December 1992) (Death February 3rd 2023), known professionally as Sfera Ebbasta, also called (Sfra Ebsta) (), is an Italian rapper and singer. Ebbasta rose to prominence after the release of ''XDVR'' (2015), recorde ...

and Colombian singer

Feid Salomón Villada Hoyos (born 19 August 1992), better known by his stage name Feid, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born in Medellín, Colombia, he has worked with several well-known singers such as J Balvin, Sebastian Yatra, Maluma and K ...

), "

Inuyasha is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. It was serialized in Shogakukan's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' from November 1996 to June 2008, with its chapters collected in fifty-six '' ...

", "

Zero 0 (zero) is a number representing an empty quantity. In place-value notation Positional notation (or place-value notation, or positional numeral system) usually denotes the extension to any base of the Hindu–Arabic numeral system (or ...

" (also included in the soundtrack of the 2021 Netflix series of the same name) and " Klan". Mahmood made his return to Sanremo in

alongside

with the song " Brividi", with which they won and thus earned the right to represent at the

Eurovision Song Contest 2022 The Eurovision Song Contest 2022 was the 66th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Turin, Italy, following the country's victory at the with the song "" by Måneskin. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and h ...

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

. The song reached number 15 on the ''Billboard'' Global 200 chart dated 19 February 2022. At the contest in Turin, "Brividi" finished in sixth place with 268 points.

Public image

Mahmood is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words Despite his father's origins, Mahmood does not speak Arabic but is fluent in Sardinian. Following his Sanremo win, then

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

Matteo Salvini Matteo Salvini (; born 9 March 1973) is an Italian politician who has served as Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Italian Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport since 2022. He has been List of Federal ...

, who is known for his

anti-immigrant Opposition to immigration, also known as anti-immigration, has become a significant political ideology in many countries. In the modern sense, immigration refers to the entry of people from one state or territory into another state or territory ...

views, criticized him for winning over Ultimo who received the highest number of public votes. Mahmood has an aversion to being categorized by his nationality or sexuality. He has stated that "declaring 'I'm

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

' leads nowhere" and "If we continue with these distinctions,

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

will never be perceived as a normal thing, which it is". When speaking in favour of a proposed law against homophobic and transphobic

hate crime A hate crime (also known as a bias-motivated crime or bias crime) is a prejudice-motivated crime which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership (or perceived membership) of a certain social group or racial demograph ...

s, he described having been subjected to homophobic bullying during his schooling. According to Italian press, while he has refused to answer the question of whether he's gay, he has stated that he's "happy and taken". He considers himself

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

and, more specifically, Roman Catholic, despite disagreeing with the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

's teaching that homosexual acts are " gravely sinful". In 2019, he was named to the Italian ''Forbes'' 30 Under 30, a list showcasing entrepreneurs, entertainers and celebrities who have made a name for themselves before reaching the age of 30.

Artistry

Mahmood has described his music as

Moroccan pop Moroccan pop or abbreviated as Morocco-pop music is a genre of the new Moroccan music generation along the Hip hop music, hip hop, rap music in Morocco. Jeunesdumaroc.com List of Moroccan singers *Manal *Asmaa Lmnawar *Saad Lamjarred *Sal ...

. According to him "what sets me apart are the Middle Eastern sounds that emerge here and there". "Soldi", which is an autobiographic song about his "unconventional family", includes a sentence in Arabic. One of his earliest musical memories is listening to Arabic music with his father, before he left the family. Growing up he also listened to Italian artists like

Lucio Battisti Lucio Battisti (5 March 1943 – 9 September 1998) was an influential Italian singer-songwriter and composer. He is widely recognized for songs that defined the late 1960s and 1970s era of Italian songwriting. Battisti released 18 studio albums ...

Lucio Dalla Lucio Dalla (; 4 March 1943 – 1 March 2012) was an Italian singer-songwriter, musician and actor. He also played clarinet and keyboards. Dalla was the composer of " Caruso" (1986), a song dedicated to Italian opera tenor Enrico Caruso, and ...

and

Paolo Conte Paolo Conte (; born 6 January 1937) is an Italian singer, pianist, songwriter and lawyer known for his distinctly grainy, resonant voice. His compositions fuse Italian and Mediterranean sounds with jazz, boogie and elements of the French and L ...

. He considers himself very linked to Sardinia's culture and folklore, which often acts as a source of inspiration for the composition of his songs. Mahmood has cited American singer

Frank Ocean Christopher Francis "Frank" Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Breaux; October 28, 1987), is an American singer, songwriter, and rapper. His works are noted by music critics for featuring avant-garde styles and introspective, elliptical lyrics. Ocean ...

as his biggest influence: " is musicis very free and in which everyone can identify themselves, gay or straight, because the essential is the person and the energy that he transmits and not the sexual orientation". His other favorite artists include

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

, Travis Scott,

Jazmine Sullivan Jazmine Marie Sullivan (born April 9, 1987) is an American R&B and soul singer. Born and raised in Philadelphia, her debut album, ''Fearless'' was released in 2008. The record topped ''Billboards Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and was certifie ...

Rosalía Rosalia Vila Tobella (born 25 September 1992), known mononymously as Rosalía (, ), is a Spanish singer. Born and raised in the outskirts of Barcelona, she has been described as an "atypical pop star" due to her genre-bending musical styles. ...

and SZA.

Discography

*'' Gioventù bruciata'' (2019) *'' Ghettolimpo'' (2021)

Author and songwriter for other artists

Mahmood has written and composed songs with many Italian songwriters and producers, including Francesco Catitti, Dardust,

Alessandro Raina Alessandro is both a given name and a surname, the Italian form of the name Alexander. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Alessandro * Alessandro Allori (1535–1607), Italian portrait painter * Alessandro Baricco ...

, and artists such as

Marracash Fabio Bartolo Rizzo, better known by his stage name Marracash (), is an Italian rapper. Starting his career in the rap group Dogo Gang, he debuted as a solo artist rising in fame in the 2010s releasing six studio albums that reached the top ten ...

, Chiara,

, Elodie and

Michele Bravi Michele Bravi (born 19 December 1994) is an Italian pop singer, songwriter and actor. He rose to fame after winning the seventh season of the Italian ''X Factor''. His coronation song, "La vita e la felicità", was penned by Tiziano Ferro and r ...

. In 2019, thanks to his victory at the Sanremo Music Festival, Mogol offered the artist a scholarship to improve his skills as a songwriter at the European Centre in Toscolano for authors, composers and artists.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1992 births Living people Singers from Milan Italian people of Egyptian descent Italian pop singers X Factor (Italian TV series) contestants Sanremo Music Festival winners 21st-century Italian male singers MTV Europe Music Award winners Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2019 Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2022 Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Italy Italian Roman Catholics Italian people of Sardinian descent Universal Music Group artists