Malika Ayane (; born 31 January 1984) is an Italian pop singer.

Early life

Malika Ayane was 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 ...

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 ...

, on 31 January 1984, to a Moroccan father, Ahmed, and an Italian mother. She grew up in the Zone 2 of Milan, the most multi-ethnic area of the city. In 1995, she entered the White Voices Choir at the Teatro alla Scala in her hometown, where she sang for seven years. In the meanwhile, she started studying

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...

at the "Giuseppe Verdi" Conservatory in Milan, where she graduated in 2001.

Career

During the mid 2000s, Ayane recorded songs for some TV spots, including a cover of " Over the Rainbow" for the campaign of Italian food company Yomo in 2005, and the original track "Soul Waver", performed in 2007 for Swedish car manufacturer

Saab Saab or SAAB may refer to: Brands and enterprises * Saab Group, a Swedish aerospace and defence company, formerly known as SAAB, and later as Saab AB ** Datasaab, a former computer company, started as spin off from Saab AB * Saab Automobile, a fo ...

. In 2007, Ayane met Italian

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

and former singer

Caterina Caselli Caterina Caselli (born 10 April 1946) is an Italian record producer, music executive, singer and bass player. Biography Caselli was born in Modena but grew up in Sassuolo. She started her music career by playing bass in local clubs. In 1966 s ...

, which granted her a deal with independent label Sugar Music. As a result, "Soul Waver" was released as her debut single. The song was also re-released in an Italian-language version, "Sospesa", with singer-songwriter Pacifico. "Sospesa" will also feature in the movie

Letters to Juliet ''Letters to Juliet'' is a 2010 American romantic comedy-drama film starring Amanda Seyfried, Christopher Egan, Gael García Bernal, Vanessa Redgrave and Franco Nero. This was the final film of director Gary Winick before his death on February ...

, released in 2010. Malika Ayane's self-titled first studio album was released on 26 September 2008. The album also spawned the single "Feeling Better", which became a radio hit in 2008, while the track "Il giardino dei salici" was chosen by

Barilla ''Barilla'' refers to several species of salt-tolerant (halophyte) plants that, until the 19th century, were the primary source of soda ash and hence of sodium carbonate. The word "barilla" was also used directly to refer to the soda ash obtained ...

for a TV commercial. In December 2008, Ayane was chosen as one of the contestants of the Newcomers' section of the 59th Sanremo Music Festival. During the show, held in February 2009, she performed her entry "Come foglie", written by Negramaro's frontman

Giuliano Sangiorgi Giuliano Sangiorgi (born 24 January 1979 in Nardò, Lecce, Italy) is an Italian artist who has gained increasing fame as a singer, songwriter and composer, together with his rock band Negramaro. Career Giuliano is not only the writer and sing ...

. During the third night of the show, the song was also performed as a duet with singer-songwriter

Gino Paoli Gino Paoli (; born 23 September 1934 in Monfalcone) is an Italian singer-songwriter. He is a seminal figure who has written a number of songs widely regarded as classics in Italian popular music, including: " Il cielo in una stanza", "Che cos ...

. For

Valerio Scanu Valerio Scanu (born 10 April 1990, La Maddalena, Sardinia) is an Italian pop rock singer. In 2008 Scanu took part in the eighth edition of the Italian talent show ''Amici di Maria De Filippi'', in which he ended up in second place.

, contestant of the eighth season of the talent show "Amici di Maria De Filippi", she wrote the song "Dopo Di Me" that reached the ninth position in the Italian charts. Malika, in April 2009, took part in the song "Domani 21-04-09" with other Italian singers to obtain money to rebuild schools in Abruzzo, the region where the disastrous earthquake centred in L'Aquila and surrounding villages struck on 6 April. In 2010, she was a contestant in the 60th edition of the prestigious Italian song contest

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 ...

where she won the " Mia Martini" critics award for her song "Ricomincio da qui".

Discography

Albums

Singles

Featured singles

Other appearances

Music videos

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official website

Malika Ayane
at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayane, Malika 1984 births Living people Italian pop singers Italian people of Moroccan descent English-language singers from Italy Singers from Milan 21st-century Italian singers 21st-century Italian women singers