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 (), officially the 66th Italian Song Festival (), was the 66th annual Sanremo Music Festival, a television song contest held at the Teatro Ariston in Sanremo, Liguria, between 9 and 13 February 2016, organised and ...

with the song "

Amen Amen (, ; , ; , ; , ) 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 Islamic practices as a concluding word, or as a respons ...

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

Sanremo Music Festival 2017 The Sanremo Music Festival 2017 (), officially the 67th Italian Song Festival (), was the 67th annual Sanremo Music Festival, a television song contest held at the Teatro Ariston in Sanremo, Liguria, between 7 and 11 February 2017, organised and ...

with the song "

Occidentali's Karma "Occidentali's Karma" () is a song performed by Italian singer Francesco Gabbani. The song was released as a digital download on 10 February 2017 through BMG Rights Management as the lead single from his third studio album '' Magellano'' (2017) ...

". He also represented Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017, where he finished 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) 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 ...

2015–2016: ''Eternamente ora''

He was then signed to

BMG Rights Management BMG Rights Management GmbH (also known simply as BMG) is an international music company based in Berlin, Germany. It combines the activities of a music publisher and a record label. BMG was formed in October 2008 after Bertelsmann sold its st ...

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 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 Federation of the Italian Music Industry 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 ...

. The song peaked at number 14 on the

Italian Singles 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 ...

. He released his second studio album ''

Eternamente ora Eternamente may refer to: *"Eternamente", art song by Angelo Mascheroni (1855-1905) * ''Eternamente'' (album), album by Mexican pop singer, Ana Gabriel 2000 *''Eternamente'', classical album by Angela Gheorghiu 2017 *''Eternamente'', album by the ...

'' 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 ''Poveri ma ricchi'' () is a 2016 Italian comedy film directed by Fausto Brizzi. The film is a loose remake of the 2011 French film ''Les Tuche''. A sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game tha ...

'', 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 (), 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 ...

the following year, winning in the "Big Artists" section with the song "

". 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 (), commercially styled as since 2000 and known until 1954 as (RAI), is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many terrestrial and subscription television channels a ...

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) an ...

, in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

, Ukraine, with the song "

". 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 "

". 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

2019–2020: ''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 (), officially the 70th Italian Song Festival (), was the 70th edition of the annual Sanremo Music Festival, a television song contest held at the Teatro Ariston of Sanremo and organised and broadcast by (RAI). Th ...

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.

2021–2023: ''Volevamo solo essere felici''

On 3 September 2021, Gabbani released "La rete", serving as the lead single of his upcoming fifth studio album. In March of the following year, the album's title, ''Volevamo solo essere felici'', was announced, and on 11 March, the title track was released as a single.

2024–present: Sanremo Music Festival and ''X Factor'' judge

In December 2024, Gabbani was announced as one of the participants in the

Sanremo Music Festival 2025 The Sanremo Music Festival 2025 (), officially the 75th Italian Song Festival (), was the 75th edition of the annual Sanremo Music Festival, a television song contest held at the in Sanremo, organised and broadcast by (RAI). It was held betwe ...

. He placed 8th with the song " Viva la vita". In 2025, Gabbani will become a mentor on the nineteenth season of '' X Factor Italy''.

Discography

* '' Greitist Iz'' (2014) * ''

'' (2016) * '' Magellano'' (2017) * '' Viceversa'' (2020) * ''Volevamo solo essere felici'' (2022) * ''Dalla tua parte'' (2025)

Awards and nominations

References

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