Ermal Meta (, ; born 20 April 1981) is an Albanian-born Italian singer and songwriter. Meta rose to prominence as one of the lead singers of Ameba 4 and . After becoming a songwriter for several Italian artists, he launched his solo career, releasing two studio albums: ''Umano'' (2016) and ''Vietato morire'' (2017). The latter peaked at number one in Italy, and was preceded by the single with the same title, which placed third in the main competition of the Sanremo Music Festival 2017, also 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 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 ...

alongside

Fabrizio Moro Fabrizio Mobrici (born 9 April 1975), known by his stage name Fabrizio Moro (), is an Italian singer-songwriter. He released his debut album in 2000 and he achieved commercial success in 2007, after winning the Newcomers' Section of the Sanremo M ...

with " Non mi avete fatto niente", and went on to represent

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018.

Life

Born in

Fier Fier (; sq-definite, Fieri, Latin: ''Fierum'') is the seventh most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Fier County and Fier Municipality. It is situated on the bank of Gjanica River in the Myzeqe Plain between the Seman in ...

, Albania, Meta and his family moved to

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

in southern Italy at the age of 13. He debuted as a guitarist of Italian band Ameba4, which competed in the Newcomers' section of the Sanremo Music Festival 2006 with the song "Rido... forse mi sbaglio", included in their self-titled album, which was released in February 2006.

Career

In 2007, Meta became the frontman, lead singer and main songwriter of the band La Fame di Camilla. Their debut album, simply titled ''La Fame di Camilla'', was released by

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 ...

in 2009. The band later released the albums ''Buio e luce'', including the title-track which competed in the Newcomers' section of the Sanremo Music Festival 2010, and ''L'attesa'' (2012). The band split in 2013. After writing songs for several Italian artists, including Marco Mengoni, Emma, Chiara, Annalisa,

Patty Pravo Nicoletta Strambelli (born 9 April 1948), known professionally as Patty Pravo, is an Italian singer. She debuted in 1966 and remained most successful commercially for the rest of the 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Having suffered a decline in p ...

and Lorenzo Fragola, Meta started his solo career. In July 2013, he appeared as a featured artist on Patty Pravo's single "Non mi interessa". In 2014, he contributed the soundtrack of Italian television series '' Braccialetti rossi'', performing the song "Tutto si muove". In 2016, he competed in the 66th Sanremo Music Festival, performing the song "Odio le favole", which placed third in the Newcomers' section. "Odio le favole" was included in his debut solo album, ''Umano''. He returned to the contest in

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, competing in the Big Artists section for the first time, with the song "Vietato morire". During the third night of the contest, he performed a cover of

Domenico Modugno Domenico Modugno (; 9 January 1928 – 6 August 1994) was an Italian singer, actor and, later in life, a member of the Italian Parliament. He is known for his 1958 international hit song " Nel blu dipinto di blu", for which he received the fir ...

's "Amara terra mia", receiving the award for the Best Cover Performance. Meta placed third overall in the competition, and received the "Mia Martini" Critics' Prize. His second studio album, ''Vietato morire'', was released on 10 February 2017. The album also includes a duet with Italian singer-songwriter

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 ...

. In March 2017, Meta was chosen as a judge on the 16th series of Italian talent show ''

Amici di Maria De Filippi ''Amici di Maria De Filippi'' known simply as ''Amici'' and known until 2003 as ''Saranno famosi'' is an Italian talent show. Created by Maria De Filippi, the show began in 2001 and has since aired annually. The show is produced by Fascino P.G.T ...

''. On 11 February 2018, Meta, along with

, won the Big Artists section of the Sanremo Music Festival 2018 with the song Non mi avete fatto niente, and as such, represented

at the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal. In 2020, he released the single Finirà bene. In 2021, he competed in the Big Artists section of the Sanremo Music Festival 2021 with the song Un milione di cose da dirti. He placed third in the competition.

Discography

*''Umano'' (2016) *'' Vietato morire'' (2017) *''Non abbiamo armi'' (2018) *''Tribù urbana'' (2021) *''Buona fortuna'' (2024)

Awards

References

External links

* * *
Ermal Meta
on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Meta, Ermal 1981 births Living people People from Fier People from Bari 21st-century Italian guitarists Italian male guitarists Italian male singer-songwriters 21st-century Italian singer-songwriters Italian pop singers Italian rock singers Albanian emigrants to Italy Sanremo Music Festival winners 21st-century Italian male singers Eurovision Song Contest entrants