Niccolò Fabi (born 16 May 1968) is an Italian singer-songwriter. He rose to national fame after competing in the Newcomers' section of the

Sanremo Music Festival 1997 The Sanremo Music Festival 1997 (), officially the 47th Italian Song Festival (), was the 47th annual Sanremo Music Festival, held at the Teatro Ariston in Sanremo in late February 1997 and broadcast by (RAI). The show was presented by Mike Bongi ...

, receiving the

Mia Martini Domenica Rita Adriana Bertè (; 20 September 1947 – 12 May 1995), known professionally as Mia Martini (), was an Italian singer, songwriter and musician.James Christopher MongerMia Martini allmusic.com

Early life

Niccolò Fabi was born in Rome on 16 May 1968. His father, Claudio Fabi, was a record producer mainly active in the 1970s, when he was the artistic director of

Lucio Battisti Lucio Battisti (5 March 1943 – 9 September 1998) was an 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 from 1969 ...

's label Numero Uno, producing artists including the

Premiata Forneria Marconi Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM) (translation: ''Award-winning Marconi Bakery'') is an Italian progressive rock band founded in 1970 which continues to the present day. They were the first Italian group to have success internationally. The group ...

and

Alberto Fortis Alberto Fortis (9 or 11 November 1741 – 21 October 1803) was an Italian writer, naturalist and cartographer, citizen of Republic of Venice. Life His real name was Giovanni Battista Fortis (his religious name was ''Alberto'') and he was born i ...

. When he was 5 years old, he started studying piano and classical music. In 1981, he started playing drums. He later entered a band performing songs by artists such as

Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (abbreviated as EW&F or EWF) is an American band formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1969. Their music spans multiple genres, including jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin and Afro-pop. They are among the best-selling ba ...

, and he also became the drummer of the Fall Out, a

Police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

cover band. He started writing songs at the age of 14. In 1986, Fabi also worked as a stage assistant during a tour by Alberto Fortis, tuning his guitars. In 1994, Fabi graduated in

Philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

Music career

1996–1997: breakthrough

Fabi released his first single, "Dica", in 1996. Thanks to the success of the song, the following year he took part in the

Sanremo Music Festival The Sanremo Music Festival ( ), officially the Italian Song Festival (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria, organized and broadcast by (RAI). It is the longest-running ...

, competing in the Newcomers' section with the song "Capelli". The song received the Mia Martini Critics' Award in its category. Shortly after the competition, Fabi released his debut album, ''Il giardiniere'', which sold more than 100,000 copies in Italy. Thanks to the success of his first album, in April 1998 Fabi received a nomination for Revelation of the Year at the Premio Italiano della Musica, sponsored by the Italian radio network

Radio DeeJay Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connected t ...

and the music magazine ''Musica!''.

1998: second studio album

In 1998, Fabi competed once again in the

, performing the song "Lasciarsi un giorno a Roma" in the "Big Artists" section. The song was chosen as the lead single from Fabi's second studio set, released by

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

on 10 April 1998. The album also includes "Vento d'estate", a duet with

Max Gazzè Massimiliano "Max" Gazzè (born 6 July 1967) is an Italian singer-songwriter and musician. He is known for his high-pitched voice. He is also a member of the trio Fabi Silvestri Gazzè with Niccolò Fabi and Daniele Silvestri. Biography M ...

, which was performed won the music competition ''

Un disco per l'estate Un disco per l'estate (translation "A Record for the Summer") was an Italian Summer festival held from 1964 to 2003. It was organized and sponsored by the Italian record industry association, AFI, and by RAI, except for the editions between 1995 ...

''. As of February 1999, the album had sold 80,000 copies in Italy.

2000–2001: ''Sereno ad ovest'' and Spanish-language debut

In 2000, Fabi released his third studio album, preceded by the single "Se fossi Marco". The single was also performed during the itinerant music competition

Festivalbar The Festivalbar () was an Italian singing competition that took place in the most important Italian squares during summer, such as the Piazza del Duomo, Catania or Piazza Bra, Verona. The first edition took place in 1964 and was broadcast by ...

, held throughout Italy during the summer of 2000 on broadcast by

Italia 1 Italia 1 (Italian pronunciation ) is an Italian free-to-air television channel on the Mediaset network, owned by MFE - MediaForEurope. It is aimed at both a young adult and adult audience. Italia 1 was launched on 3 January 1982 and, was or ...

. In 2001, Fabi also released his first album for the Hispanic maret. The self-titled set is a compilation album composed of tracks from ''Il giardiniere'' and ''Niccolò Fabi'', including five Spanish language adaptation of his best-known hits.

2003–2005: ''La cura del tempo''

In January 2003, Fabi released the single "È non è", preceding his third studio album, ''La cura del tempo''. The album also includes "Offeso", a duet with

Fiorella Mannoia Fiorella Mannoia (; born 4 April 1954) is an Italian singer, songwriter and actress. Biography The Beginning Fiorella Mannoia's father Luigi was an Italian film stuntman, and Fiorella, her brother Maurizio and sister Patrizia began work in ...

. Italian jazz musician Stefano di Battista also appears playing sax on the tracks "Il negozio di antiquariato" and "Ora e qui". In 2004, he took part in the music festival O'Scià, organized by

Claudio Baglioni Claudio Baglioni (; born 16 May 1951) is an Italian Pop music, pop singer-songwriter and musician. His career has been going on for over 50 years. Considered one of the most successful pop rock singer-songwriters in the history of Italian mu ...

Lampedusa Lampedusa ( , , ; ; ) is the largest island of the Italian Pelagie Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. The ''comune'' of Lampedusa e Linosa is part of the Sicilian province of Agrigento which also includes the smaller islands of Linosa and Lamp ...

in order to bring attention to the illegal immigration phenomenon affecting the southernmost Italian island. Two years later, Fabi recorded a duet with

Edoardo Bennato Edoardo Bennato (born 23 July 1946) is an Italian singer-songwriter. He is the brother of the singer-songwriter Eugenio Bennato. He is considered one of the greatest artists in Italian rock, a genre that he has often combined with Blues rock, ...

. The song, "Non è amore", was included in Bennato's album ''La fantastica storia del pifferaio magico''.

2006–2007: ''Novo Mesto'' and compilation albums

Niccolò Fabi's fifth studio album was released in February 2006. Titled ''Novo Mesto'', it was named after the Slovenian city in which it was recorded. The album was preceded by the single "Costruire", released on 23 December 2005. In 2012, the song won the Lunezia Award in the section "Elite Award". In order to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Fabi's debut single, his first compilation album, ''Dischi volanti 96-06'', was released in November 2006. The standard edition of the album is composed of two CDs, but a deluxe edition with an additional DVD was also released. The only new song of the album, "Milioni di giorni", was released as a single. It was also chosen as one of the ten finalists of the Premio Amnesty Italia Voices for Freedom in 2007, a prize recognizing songs with lyrics focusing on social themes. In 2007, Fabi also released his second album for the Spanish market. Titled ''Dentro'', it included both Italian-language tracks taken from his previous works and Spanish-language adaptations of previously released songs. During the same year, he also appeared on the album '' Adelantando'' by Spanish band

Jarabe de Palo Jarabe de Palo (literally "Wooden Stick Syrup" or, by virtue of the Spanish expression "dar un jarabe de palo", i.e. a "hell of a beating") was a Spanish rock band founded in 1996. The group was led by singer, songwriter and guitarist Pau Doné ...

, performing the Italian version of the song "Me gusta como eres", titled "Mi piace come sei".

2008–2009: ''Violenza 124'' and ''Solo un uomo''

In 2008, Fabi produced the project ''Violenza 124'', featuring Italian artists with different musical styles and backgrounds. The involved artists, beside Fabi himself, are

Subsonica Subsonica are an Italian band formed in Turin in 1996. Their eponymous debut album was released in the spring of 1997. The band gained significant success in 2000 by playing at the Sanremo Music Festival. The first two singles from the album ''M ...

's keyboardist Boosta, pop-rock singer-songwriter Roberto Angelini, strings group Gnu Quartet,

post-rock Post-rock is a subgenre of experimental rock that emphasizes Texture (music), texture, atmosphere, and non-traditional song structures over conventional rock techniques. Post-rock artists often combine rock instrumentation and rock stylings wit ...

band Mokadelic and the duo composed of Olivia Salvadori and Franco Mussida, two artists mixing opera with electronic music. Each one of them was asked to independently develop the same basic idea on the theme of violence, and Fabi later mixed the produced results in a 36-minutes-long song which was released both as a freely available track on the Web and as a double CD, also including the original contributions of the involved artists as separate tracks. In 2009, he was among the 56 artists composing the supergroup

Artisti Uniti per l'Abruzzo "Domani 21/04.09" is a charity single released by the Supergroup (music), supergroup Artisti Uniti per l'Abruzzo in 2009. The project supported the victims of the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake. The song is a cover of Mauro Pagani's "Domani", included i ...

. The band recorded the song " Domani 21/04.09", a cover of

Mauro Pagani Mauro Pagani (born 5 February 1946) is an Italian people, Italian musician and singer. Pagani was born in Chiari, Lombardy, Chiari, Lombardy. A multi-instrumentalist, he made his debut in the music world in 1970 in music, 1970 as violinist and f ...

's "Domani" released as a charity single to raise funds in support of the victims of the

2009 L'Aquila earthquake An earthquake occurred in the region of Abruzzo, in central Italy, at 03:32 Central European Time#Central European Summer Time, CEST (01:32 Coordinated Universal Time, UTC) on 6 April 2009. It was rated 5.8 or 5.9 on the Richter scale and 6.3 on ...

. After splitting with

, which released all his previous albums, Fabi signed a new contract with

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum ...

, which released Fabi's sixth studio album, ''Solo un uomo'', in May 2010. The single with the same title was released to Italian radio stations on 17 April 2009. Fabi later revealed he submitted the song for the

Sanremo Music Festival 2009 The Sanremo Music Festival 2009 (), officially the 59th Italian Song Festival (), was the 59th annual Sanremo Music Festival, held at the Teatro Ariston in Sanremo between 17 and 21 February 2009, and broadcast by (RAI). It was hosted by Paolo Bo ...

, it was rejected by the jury during the internal selection.

''Parole di Lulù'' and ''Ecco''

In July 2010, Fabi's daughter, Olivia, died from a meningococcal meningitis. After canceling his scheduled tour, Fabi decided to organize a mega-concert in her memory, involving several Italian singers and friends, including

Elisa The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (, ) is a commonly used analytical biochemistry assay, first described by Eva Engvall and Peter Perlmann in 1971. The assay is a solid-phase type of enzyme immunoassay (EIA) to detect the presence of ...

Jovanotti Lorenzo Cherubini (; born 27 September 1966), known professionally as Jovanotti (), is an Italian singer-songwriter, rapper, and disc jockey. The name Jovanotti derives from ''giovanotti'', the plural form of the Italian word ''giovanotto'' (" ...

Giuliano Sangiorgi Giuliano Sangiorgi (born 24 January 1979) is an Italian singer, songwriter and composer, forming part of the rock band Negramaro. Career Solo career Giuliano is not only the writer and singer for Negramaro, but he is also a songwriter and c ...

Daniele Silvestri Daniele Silvestri (born 18 August 1968) is an Italian singer-songwriter and musician. Career Silvestri debuted in 1994, releasing his eponymous album. The set received a Targa Tenco for Best Debut Album. In 1995, he competed in the Newcomers ...

, Samuele Bersani and

. All the proceedings from the concert were donated to build a

children's hospital A children's hospital (CH) is a hospital that offers its services exclusively to infants, children, adolescents, and young adults from birth up to until age 18, and through age 21 and older in the United States. In certain special cases, the ...

in Angola. The concert was also released as a DVD, which also contributed raising funds for the same purpose. The DVD, titled ''Parole per Lulù'', also included the track "Parole parole", recorded in studio with Mina and released as a single. In 2011, Fabi penned the song "Lontano da tutto", performed by Serena Abrami during the 61st Sanremo Music Festival, and the track "Nel primo sguardo", performed by

Laura Pausini Laura Pausini (; born 16 May 1974) is an Italian Pop music, pop singer. She rose to fame in 1993, winning the newcomer artists' section of the Sanremo Music Festival 1993, 43rd Sanremo Music Festival with the song "La solitudine", which becam ...

as a duet with her sister Silvia and included in the album '' Inedito''. Niccolò Fabi's seventh studio album, ''Ecco'', was released on 9 October 2012. The album, featuring guest appearances by artists including trumpeter Roy Paci and singer-songwriter Roberto Angelini, was preceded by the single "Una buona idea". ''Ecco'' debuted at number 3 on the

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

, becoming his first top ten album.

Fabi-Silvestri-Gazzè and ''Una somma di piccole cose''

In 2014 Fabi started together with

and

the musical project Fabi-Silvestri-Gazzè. The trio released a studio album (''Il padrone della festa''), a live album (''l padrone della festa – Live'') and made an extensive tour in Italy and Europe. In April 2016 Fabi released his eighth studio album, ''Una somma di piccole cose''. The album peaked at the first place on the Italian hit parade.

Personal life

Fabi lives with his partner Shirin Amini, an Italian painter of Iranian origins. In 2008, Shirin gave birth to the couple's first daughter, Olivia. Nicknamed Lulubella, she died on 4 July 2010 from a meningococcal meningitis. After canceling the scheduled summer tour, Fabi confirmed his daughter's death through his Facebook account. The couple's second child, Kim, was born on 17 September 2012.

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Awards and nominations

Notes

External links

Niccolò Fabi
at

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fabi, Niccolo 1968 births Living people 20th-century Italian male singers 21st-century Italian male singers Italian pop singers Singers from Rome Italian male singer-songwriters 20th-century Italian singer-songwriters 21st-century Italian singer-songwriters