Francesco Gabbani (born 9 September 1982) is an Italian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He rose to fame after winning the newcomers' section of the

Sanremo Music Festival 2016 The Sanremo Music Festival 2016 (''66° Festival della Canzone Italiana di Sanremo 2016'') was the 66th annual Sanremo Music Festival, a television song contest held at the Teatro Ariston in Sanremo, Liguria, Italy between 9 and 13 February 2016 ...

with the song "

Amen Amen ( he, אָמֵן, ; grc, ἀμήν, ; syc, ܐܡܝܢ, ; ar, آمين, ) is an Abrahamic declaration of affirmation which is first found in the Hebrew Bible, and subsequently found in the New Testament. It is used in Jewish, Christian, and ...

". The next year, he went on to win the main section of the

Sanremo Music Festival 2017 The Sanremo Music Festival 2017 ( it, 67° Festival della Canzone Italiana di Sanremo 2017) was the 67th annual Sanremo Music Festival, a television song contest held at the Teatro Ariston in Sanremo, Liguria, Italy between 7 and 11 February 2017, ...

with the song " Occidentali's Karma", and represented

Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 Italy participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Occidentali's Karma", written by Francesco Gabbani, Filippo Gabbani, Luca Chiaravalli and Fabio Ilacqua. The song was performed by Francesco Gabbani. Italian broadcaster RAI, R ...

finishing in 6th place.

Life and career

2009–2014: Early beginnings and ''Greitist Iz''

In 2009, Gabbani featured on Mira Leon's single "Filodoro". He released his debut singles "Estate" and "Maledetto amore" in 2011. In 2013, Gabbani released "I dischi non-si suonano" and "Clandestino" as singles from his debut studio album. He released his debut album, '' Greitist Iz'', on 27 May 2014. The album peaked at number 59 on the

Italian Albums Chart The Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI) is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy. It was established in 1992, when major corporate labels left the previously exist ...

2015–2016: ''Eternamente ora''

He was then signed to BMG Rights Management in 2015. The following year, he was announced as a competitor in the newcomers section of the

with the song "

", which went on to win the competition. The song also won the Mia Martini Critics Award. The song was released as the lead single from his second studio album on 27 November 2015, and was certified platinum by the

Federation of the Italian Music Industry The Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI) is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy. It was established in 1992, when major corporate labels left the previously exist ...

. The song peaked at number 14 on the

Italian Singles Chart The Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI) is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy. It was established in 1992, when major corporate labels left the previously exist ...

. He released his second studio album '' Eternamente ora'' on 12 February 2016, peaking at number 18 on the

. On 6 May 2016, he released "Eternamente ora" as the second single from the album. "In equilibrio" was released as the third and final single from the album on 12 September 2016. In 2016, Gabbani composed the soundtrack of Italian comedy film '' Poveri ma ricchi'', directed by

Fausto Brizzi Fausto Brizzi (born 15 November 1968, in Rome) is an Italian screenwriter, producer and film director. Biography Fausto Brizzi got a Degree in directing at the "Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia" in July 1994. After several theatrical ex ...

. The song "Foglie al gelo" was released in December 2016 as a single from the film's soundtrack album.

2017–2018: ''Magellano'' and Eurovision Song Contest

Gabbani returned to 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 annua ...

the following year, winning in the "Big Artists" section with the song " Occidentali's Karma". As a result, he also became the first performer to win both sections of the Sanremo Music Festival in two consecutive years. After his win at Sanremo 2017, it was revealed by

RAI RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...

that Gabbani had accepted the offer to represent Italy in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2017 The Eurovision Song Contest 2017 was the 62nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Kyiv, Ukraine, following the country's victory at the with the song "1944" by Jamala. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and ...

, in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyi ...

, Ukraine, with the song " Occidentali's Karma". As Italy is a member of the " Big Five", he automatically qualified to the final, held on 13 May 2017. Throughout the Eurovision season, he was considered a huge favourite to win the contest, however he only placed 6th with 334 points. In April 2017, Gabbani announced on Facebook that he would be releasing his third studio album, '' Magellano'', on 28 April 2017. The album includes his Eurovision song " Occidentali's Karma". To promote the album, Gabbani embarked on a tour. He held several shows across Italy from 19 June to 9 September 2017. The album has peaked at number one on the

2019–present: ''Viceversa''

On 4 May 2019, Gabbani released "È un'altra cosa", the first single from his fourth studio album, '' Viceversa''. He participated at the

Sanremo Music Festival 2020 The Sanremo Music Festival 2020 ( it, 70º Festival della Canzone Italiana di Sanremo 2020) was the 70th edition of the annual Sanremo Music Festival, a television song contest held in the Teatro Ariston of Sanremo and organised and broadcast by ...

with the song " Viceversa", where he placed second. The single reached number two on the Italian Singles Chart and was certified platinum by the Federation of the Italian Music Industry.

Discography

* '' Greitist Iz'' (2014) * '' Eternamente ora'' (2016) * '' Magellano'' (2017) * '' Viceversa'' (2020) * ''Volevamo solo essere felici'' (2022)

Awards and nominations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gabbani, Francesco 1982 births Italian male singer-songwriters Italian singer-songwriters Italian pop singers Living people People from Carrara Sanremo Music Festival winners of the newcomers section 21st-century Italian singers Sanremo Music Festival winners Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Italy Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2017