Cristina Scuccia (born 19 August 1988) is an Italian singer and former Roman Catholic nun. She won the 2014 season of ''

The Voice of Italy ''The Voice of Italy'' is a reality singing competition and Italian version of the international syndication '' The Voice'' based on the reality singing competition launched in the Netherlands, created by Dutch television producer John de Mol Jr ...

'' as part of Team

J-Ax Alessandro Aleotti (; born 5 August 1972), known professionally as J-Ax (), is an Italian rapper and singer-songwriter, part of the rap group Articolo 31 with his DJ Vito Luca Perrini (DJ Jad). He is the brother of Grido (formerly part of Ge ...

, resulting in a record deal with

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company that is a subsidiary of Comcast ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of N ...

. In 2013, she won a Christian music competition as part of the Good News Festival.

Early life

Cristina Scuccia was born in Vittoria in 1988. She became a

novice A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession with no prior experience. Religion Buddhism ...

in 2009 and worked for two years with poor children in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

before formally joining the Ursuline order. In the years from 2009 to 2011, Sister Cristina improved her artistic skills at the "Star Rose Academy" in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, created and directed by Maximo De Marco. Her singing teacher was the singer-songwriter

Franco Simone Francesco Luigi "Franco" Simone (born 21 July 1949) is an Italian singer-songwriter, composer and television host, known as ''il poeta con la chitarra'' ("the poet with the guitar") for the poetical value of his lyrics. Background Born in Acqu ...

. Her television debut was in June 2012, on the program "Dizionario dei sentimenti" by

, on Gold Tv in

Career

2014–present

''The Voice of Italy''

In 2014, Scuccia applied to ''

'' singing competition, singing for her audition " No One" by

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer and songwriter. A classically trained pianist, Keys began composing songs at the age of 12 and was signed by Columbia Records at 15. After d ...

. The performance received more than 104 million views on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

. She was very popular with the audience and all four judges—

Raffaella Carrà Raffaella Maria Roberta Pelloni (18 June 1943 – 5 July 2021), known professionally as Raffaella Carrà () and sometimes mononymously as Raffaella, was an Italian singer, dancer, actress, television presenter and model. She is often widely cons ...

, Noemi, and

Piero Pelù Pietro "Piero" Pelù (; born 10 February 1962) is an Italian singer-songwriter. One of the most popular artists of the Italian rock scene, he is known for being the lead singer and co-founder of the band Litfiba, as well as for his solo activi ...

—turned their chairs in the blind audition. Cristina chose to be part of Team J-Ax. Throughout the contest, she wore a simple

crucifix A crucifix (from the Latin meaning '(one) fixed to a cross') is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the (Latin for 'body'). The cru ...

around her neck, black shoes and ankle-length black

religious habit A religious habit is a distinctive set of clothing worn by members of a religious order. Traditionally, some plain garb recognizable as a religious habit has also been worn by those leading the religious Hermit, eremitic and Anchorite, anchorit ...

. In the final, she won the trophy with 62% of the Italian votes against runner-up Giacomo Voli. After winning, she thanked God and recited the

Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also known by its incipit Our Father (, ), is a central Christian prayer attributed to Jesus. It contains petitions to God focused on God’s holiness, will, and kingdom, as well as human needs, with variations across manusc ...

to the show organizers and audience. ;Performances *Blind audition (19 March 2014): " No One" by

. All four chairs turned. *Battle round (16 April 2014): "

Girls Just Want to Have Fun "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" is a single made famous in 1983 by the American singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper, written by Robert Hazard in 1979, with some of the lyrics changed by Lauper. It was released by Portrait Records as Lauper's debut s ...

" by

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper ( ; born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Known for her distinctive image, featuring a variety of hair colors and eccentric clothing, and for her powerful four-octave vocal range;Jerome, ...

. Advanced against Luna Palumbo of Team J-Ax. *Knock out round (24 April 2014): "

Hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. The original hero type of classical epics did such thin ...

" by

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey ( ; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Songbird Supreme" by ''Guinness World Records'', Carey is known for her five-octave voc ...

. Advanced against Benedetta Giovagnini of Team J-Ax. *Live show 1 (7 May 2014): " Flashdance... What a Feeling" by

Irene Cara Irene Cara Escalera (March 18, 1959 – November 25, 2022) was an American singer and actress who rose to prominence for her role as Coco Hernandez in the 1980 musical film '' Fame'', and for recording the film's title song " Fame", which reach ...

. Saved by public vote. *Live show 2 (14 May 2014): "Uno su mille" by

Gianni Morandi Gian Luigi "Gianni" Morandi (; born 11 December 1944) is an Italian pop singer, actor and entertainer. It is estimated that Morandi has sold about 50 million recordings. Early life Born in Monghidoro, Emilia-Romagna, the son of a cobbler, Mor ...

. Saved by public vote. *Live show 3 (21 May 2014): "

Livin' on a Prayer "Livin' on a Prayer" is a song by the American rock band Bon Jovi from their third studio album, '' Slippery When Wet''. Written by Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and Desmond Child, the single, released in late 1986, performed strongly on both ...

" by

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley ...

. Saved by public vote. *Semi-final (28 May 2014): "

(I've Had) The Time of My Life "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" is a 1987 song composed by Franke Previte, John DeNicola, and Donald Markowitz. It was recorded by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, and used as the theme song for the 1987 film ''Dirty Dancing''. The song has won ...

" by

Bill Medley William Thomas Medley (born September 19, 1940) is an American singer best known as one-half of the Righteous Brothers. He is noted for his bass-baritone voice, exemplified in songs such as "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'". Medley produced a n ...

and

Jennifer Warnes Jennifer Jean Warnes (born March 3, 1947) is an American singer and songwriter who has performed as a vocalist on a number of film soundtracks. She has won two Grammy Awards, in 1983 for the Joe Cocker duet " Up Where We Belong", and in 1987 fo ...

. 45/100 from coach and 70.18/100 from voting public. Advanced to final. Dylan Magon from Team J-Ax eliminated. *Final (5 June 2014) singing: **Phase one (Final 4): ***"Beautiful That Way" by

Achinoam Nini Achinoam Nini (; born ), known professionally as Noa (), is an Israeli singer-songwriter, percussionist, poet, composer, and human rights activist working internationally. She is accompanied by guitarist Gil Dor and often plays the conga drums a ...

. ***"Gli anni" by

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in duet with coach J-Ax. ***"Lungo la riva" (new song). Advanced with Giacomo Voli and Tommaso Pini. Giorgia Pino eliminated. **Phase 2 (Final 3): ***" No One" by

. Advanced to Final 2 with Giacomo Voli. Tommaso Pini eliminated. **Phase 3 (Final 2) ***" Flashdance... What a Feeling" from

. Won ''The Voice'' title with 62.30% of the vote. Finalist Giacomo Voli runner up for season.

Album and video

On 20 October 2014, the music video for Scuccia's version of Madonna's " Like a Virgin" was released on

Vevo Vevo LLC ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized in all caps until 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available ...

platform. It is the lead single from her debut album ''Sister Cristina'' which was released on 11 November 2014. The album contains her interpretations of a number of songs as well as two previously unreleased songs. On 18 December 2014, she released her second music video " Blessed Be Your Name".

Acting career

In 2015, Scuccia was cast as Sister Mary Robert in the Italian production of the ''

Sister Act ''Sister Act'' is a 1992 American musical crime comedy film directed by Emile Ardolino and written by Paul Rudnick (billed as Joseph Howard). It stars Whoopi Goldberg as a lounge singer forced to hide in a convent after being placed in a witn ...

'' musical.

Personal life

On 20 November 2022, she was a guest on the Italian program '' Verissimo'' by

Silvia Toffanin Silvia Toffanin (born 26 October 1979) is an Italian television host, and former fashion model Education In 2007, Toffanin earned a degree in Foreign Languages and Literature from Catholic University of Milan. Career In 1997, Toffanin was a ...

, in which she announced that she had given up her perpetual vows to be able to devote herself full-time to a musical career.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scuccia, Cristina 1988 births 21st-century Italian Roman Catholic religious sisters and nuns English-language singers from Italy Living people Italian expatriates in Brazil The Voice (franchise) winners People from Comiso Universal Music Group artists Italian pop singers Italian rock singers Italian women pop singers Italian women rock singers 21st-century Italian singers 21st-century Italian women singers Musicians from the Province of Ragusa 21st-century Italian actresses Participants in Italian reality television series People from Vittoria, Sicily