Virginio Simonelli

Virginio Simonelli (; born January 31, 1985), simply known as Virginio, is an Italian pop singer.

He made his debut in 2006 in the Sanremo Festival's New Proposals category with the song ''Davvero''. In 2011 he won the tenth edition of the Italian singing competition ''Amici di Maria De Filippi'' in the singers-songwriters category. He sold 30,000 copies of his records.

Biography

As a child Virginio showed a natural predisposition to music. As a teenager he learned to play the piano, to sing and to compose his first songs, also experimenting with dancing and acting. After graduating from the Gobetti High School of his hometown, Fondi, he moved to Milan. There, he enrolled in the Nuova Accademia Delle Belle Arti (New Academy of Fine Arts), where he graduated in Graphic Design And Art Direction, getting in touch with producers Paolo Agosta (his professor) and Ivo Grasso, with whom he began collaborating.

First steps in music: '' Sanremo Nuove Proposte '' and the first album '' Virginio ''

In 2006 he took part in the 56th Sanremo Music Festival in the category ''New Proposals'' with a song written by him, ''Davvero'' that anticipated his first album ''Virginio'', produced by Ivo Grasso and Fabrizio Grenghi. The album contains ten tracks and the lyrics were written by the singer along with Paolo Agosta, who also composed the music. The second single ''Instabile'' was released in May and the third one ''Novembre'' in October.

In 2010 he made his first experience as an author, writing with Paola & Chiara the tracks ''Milleluci'' and ''Adesso Stop!'', of which he also composed the music, contained in their album ''Milleluci''.

Winner of "Amici di Maria De Filippi" and the EP "Finalmente"

In September 2010 Virginio passed the selections of the tenth edition of ''Amici di Maria De Filippi''. During the contest Virginio presented '' Ad Occhi Chiusi'', ''Non Ha Importanza'' and ''Dolcenotte'' and won the competition in March 2011.

On March 8, 2011, he published his second studio album ''Finalmente'' promoted by the singles ''Ad occhi chiusi'' and ''Sale''.
The album sold over 30,000 copies and it was certified gold and therefore awarded at the Wind Music Awards.

"Ovunque" and second experience in ''Amici''

On March 26, 2012, Virginio published his third album "Ovunque", featuring the singles ''Alice'' and ''La Dipendenza'' and a song, ''Catch Me'', that Gary Barlow, leader of Take That, gave to Virginio, who translated it into Italian with the title ''Tu Mi Senti''.

From March 31, 2012 Virginio attended the eleventh edition of ''Amici'' in a special contest, called ''Big'', where former contestants of previous editions of the show challenged each other, but Virginio was eliminated during the 3rd episode.

Collaborations with Laura Pausini and other singers

Beside being a singer-songwriter, Virginio is also a well-known author. In 2012, he was the author of Francesca Michielin's "Riflessi di Me", in 2013 he wrote for and with Laura Pausini the international hits "Dove Resto Solo Io" and "Limpido", the first single featuring Kylie Minogue of her '' 20 – The Greatest Hits ''.
In 2014, Virginio wrote for Chiara Galiazzo "Qualcosa Resta Sempre".
In 2015, again with Laura Pausini, he wrote "Como Yo Sabría", the first single of Maverick, finalist of the third edition of The Voice Spain, in the team led by the Emilian singer. In 2015 Virginio also wrote for Raf "Qualcosa Resta Sempre" and in 2016 "Weird" for Lorenzo Fragola. In 2017 he worked again with Chiara Galiazzo, writing "Chiaroscuro".

The new album

At the same time Virginio continues working on his fourth album. During a trip in the United States, between New York City and San Francisco, he met authors Dimitri Ehrlich (Moby and Westlife) and Andy Marvel ( Celine Dion, Diana King and Jessica Simpson). Together they wrote his new single, ''Hercules'', published on October 2, 2015. On the same day, the video of the song was published on Virginio's VEVO.

Discography

Albums

*2006 – ''Virginio'' (March 3, 2006)
*2011 – ''Finalmente'' (March 8, 2011) (ITA #4; Gold – 30,000+ copies)
*2012 – ''Ovunque'' (March 26, 2012) (ITA #12)

Compilation

*2011 – ''Amici 10'' (with other contestants of ''Amici'')

Singles

*2006 – ''Davvero''
*2006 – ''Instabile''
*2006 – ''Novembre''
*2011 – ''Ad occhi chiusi''
*2011 – ''Sale''
*2012 – ''Alice (Elis)''
*2012 – ''La Dipendenza''
*2015 – ''Hercules''
*2018 – ''Semplifica''
*2018 – ''Rischiamo tutto''

Videos

* 2006: ''Davvero''
* 2006: '' Instabile ''
* 2011: ''Ad occhi chiusi ''
* 2011: ''Sale ''
* 2012: ''Alice (Elis)''
* 2012: ''La Dipendenza''
*2015: ''Hercules''

Tours

*2011
**''Finalmente Tour''
*2012
**''Ovunque Tour''
*2017
**''Acoustic Live Tour''

Other tours

*2011
**''Nokia Amici in Tour''
**''Sete di Radio Tour''
**''Radio Bruno estate tour''
**''Radionorba Battiti Live''
**''Company Contatto''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simonelli, Virginio
1985 births
Living people
Singing talent show winners
People from the Province of Latina
Italian pop singers
21st-century Italian male singers