Alessandro Mahmoud (, ; born 12 September 1992), known professionally as Mahmood (), is an Italian singer and songwriter. He rose to prominence after competing on the sixth season of the Italian version of ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

''. He has won 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 ...

twice, in

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

with the song "

Soldi "Soldi" (; ) is a song recorded by Italian singer Mahmood. It was released on 6 February 2019, as the fifth single from his debut studio album, '' Gioventù bruciata'' (2019). Mahmood co-wrote the song with Dario "Dardust" Faini and Charlie ...

" and in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

alongside

Blanco Blanco (''white'' or ''blank'' in Spanish) or Los Blancos may refer to: People *Blanco (surname) Fictional characters *Blanco, a hobbit in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth *Blanco Webb, character in the BBC sitcom ''Porridge'' *Graboid#El Blanco, ...

with the song "

Brividi "" (; ) is a song by Italian singers Mahmood and Blanco, released by Island Records and Universal Music on 2 February 2022. It was the winner of the Italian Sanremo Music Festival 2022 and Italy's entry at . "" broke the record for the most str ...

". His Sanremo victories allowed him to represent Italy at the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

in those respective years, finishing in second place in and in sixth place in as the host entrant. Mahmood has released three studio albums, '' Gioventù bruciata'', '' Ghettolimpo'' and '' Nei letti degli altri''. Amazon Music Italy listed him as one of the most streamed artists in

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 ...

Early life

Born in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

to an

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

father and a Sardinian mother from

Orosei Orosei () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Nuoro in the Italy, Italian region Sardinia, located about northeast of Cagliari and about east of Nuoro. The town has 5000 inhabitants and at least 13 churches, including San Giaco ...

, Mahmood was raised around

Gratosoglio Gratosoglio (; ) is a district (''quartiere'') of the city of Milan, Italy, part of the Zone 5 administrative division. It is located at southernmost end of the city, bordering on the ''comune'' of Rozzano, and it is traversed by the Lambro river ...

, a district of

. When he was five years old, his parents divorced and he was subsequently raised by his mother.

Career

2012–2018: ''X Factor'' and beginnings

In 2012, Mahmood auditioned for the sixth season of the Italian version of ''

''. He became part of the boys category mentored by

Simona Ventura Simona Ventura (born 1 April 1965) is an Italian television presenter and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Italia 1988 and represented her country at Miss Universe 1988. She is the third woman to have presented the Sanremo Music Festiv ...

. He was originally eliminated at Judges Houses, then returned as a wildcard, before eventually being eliminated in the third episode. After this experience, he worked in a bar and attended a music school, studying piano, solfeggio and music theory, where he also started writing songs. In 2013, he released his debut single "Fallin' Rain". In 2016, Mahmood participated in the Newcomers Section of

with the song "Dimentica". In 2017, he released the single "Pesos", with which he participated in the fifth edition of the Wind Summer Festival, winning the third episode of the Youth section. In 2017, he was also featured on

Fabri Fibra Fabrizio Tarducci (born 17 October 1976), known professionally as Fabri Fibra, is an Italian rapper. In his career he has sold more than 2.3 million certified copies. Biography Tarducci was born in Senigallia, Italy. He became interested in m ...

's single "Luna". In September 2018, he released his debut

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

, '' Gioventù bruciata''. In November 2018,

Marco Mengoni Marco Mengoni (; born 25 December 1988) is an Italian singer-songwriter who rose to fame in 2009, after winning the third season of Italian talent show ''X Factor (Italian TV series), X Factor''. Since then he has sold over 2.8 million reco ...

released his fifth album, ''Atlantico'', which features three tracks co-written by Mahmood, including the single "Hola (I Say)".

2018–2020: ''Gioventù bruciata'', Sanremo and Eurovision

In December 2018, Mahmood was one of 24 acts selected to compete in ''Sanremo Giovani'', a televised competition aimed at selecting two newcomers as contestants of the 69th Sanremo Music Festival. Mahmood was placed first in the second episode of the show, with his entry "Gioventù bruciata", also receiving the Critics' Award among acts performing in the second final. "

" was later announced as his entry for the Sanremo Music Festival 2019. Mahmood performed the song for the first time during the first live show of the 69th Sanremo Music Festival, which was held on 5 February 2019. Dario "Dardust" Faini, co-writer of the song, directed the Sanremo Orchestra during his performance. During the third live show, "Soldi" was the first performance of the night. On 8 February 2019, Mahmood performed the song in a new version, featuring rapper Gué Pequeno. During the first round of the final, "Soldi" placed 7th in the televote, but was the most voted by the experts jury, and the second most voted by the press jury. As a result, Mahmood gained a spot in the top three acts of the competition and after an additional performance, the song was declared the winner of the 69th Sanremo Music Festival. Mahmood also received the "Enzo Jannacci" Award for Best Performance. and the "Premio Baglioni d'oro" award for best song voted by the participating artists. On 22 February 2019, Mahmood reissued ''Gioventù bruciata'' as a full-length

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

, which topped the Italian albums chart. In April 2019, Mahmood was featured on the single "

Calipso CALIPSO was a joint NASA (US) and CNES (France) environmental satellite, built in the Cannes Mandelieu Space Center, which was launched atop a Delta II rocket on April 28, 2006. Its name stands for Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Sa ...

" by

Charlie Charles Paolo Alberto Monachetti (born 24 March 1994), known professionally as Charlie Charles, is an Italian record producer and DJ. He started his career in 2015, releasing the collaborative album ''XDVR'' with rapper Sfera Ebbasta. In 2019, he co-wrot ...

and Dardust, which topped the Italian singles chart. In May 2019, he represented

at the

Eurovision Song Contest 2019 The Eurovision Song Contest 2019 was the 64th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Tel Aviv, Israel, following the country's victory at the with the song "Toy" by Netta. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union ...

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. He performed "Soldi" in the grand final of the contest on 18 May, placing second in the final ranking. The song topped the charts in Greece, Israel, Italy and Lithuania and reached the top 10 in five more countries, eventually becoming the most-streamed Eurovision song ever on

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

, a record held until late January 2021 when it was surpassed by the 2019 Eurovision winner, "

Arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated video, pinball, electro-mechanical, redemption, etc., game ** Arcade video game, a coin-operated video game ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade video game's hardware ** Arcad ...

" by

Duncan Laurence Duncan de Moor (; born 11 April 1994), known professionally as Duncan Laurence, is a Dutch singer and songwriter. He represented the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with his song " Arcade" and went on to win the competition, g ...

. Mahmood performed at the closing ceremony of the

2019 Summer Universiade The 2019 Summer Universiade (), officially known as the XXX Summer Universiade () and also known as Naples 2019, or Napoli 2019, was held in Naples, Italy, between 3 and 14 July 2019. It was initially scheduled for Brasília, Brazil in July 201 ...

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

with three of his songs "Soldi", " Gioventù bruciata" and "Anni 90".

2020–2023: ''Ghettolimpo'', return to Sanremo and Eurovision

On 11 June 2021, Mahmood released his second studio album, '' Ghettolimpo''. The album's release was preceded by five singles: " Rapide", "

Dorado Dorado (, ) is a constellation in the Southern Sky. It was named in the late 16th century and is now one of the 88 modern constellations. Its name refers to the mahi-mahi (''Coryphaena hippurus''), which is known as ''dorado'' ("golden") in Sp ...

" (in collaboration with fellow Italian rapper

Sfera Ebbasta Gionata Boschetti (; born 7 December 1992), known professionally as Sfera Ebbasta (), is an Italian rapper. He rose to prominence after the release of ''XDVR'' (2015), recorded with the collaboration of producer Charlie Charles and DEACC, which ...

and Colombian singer

Feid Salomón Villada Hoyos (born 19 August 1992), better known by his stage names Feid and Ferxxo, is a Music of Colombia, Colombian singer, songwriter, and record producer. Born in Medellín, Colombia, he has worked with several well-known singer ...

), " Inuyasha", "

Zero 0 (zero) is a number representing an empty quantity. Adding (or subtracting) 0 to any number leaves that number unchanged; in mathematical terminology, 0 is the additive identity of the integers, rational numbers, real numbers, and compl ...

" (also included in the soundtrack of the 2021 Netflix series of the same name) and " Klan". Mahmood made his return to Sanremo in

alongside

with the song "

", with which they won and thus earned the right to represent at the

Eurovision Song Contest 2022 The Eurovision Song Contest 2022 was the 66th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Turin, Italy, following the country's victory at the with the song "" by Måneskin. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and h ...

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

. The song reached number 15 on the ''Billboard'' Global 200 chart dated 19 February 2022. At the contest in Turin, "Brividi" finished in sixth place with 268 points. Being a popular Eurovision star, Mahmood was one of the guest artists invited to sing at the grand final interval act "Liverpool Songbook" of the ESC 2023, he sang

Imagine Imagine may refer to: * Imagination Music Albums * ''Imagine'' (Armin van Buuren album), 2008 * ''Imagine'' (Eva Cassidy album), 2002 * ''Imagine'' (Janice Vidal album), 2012 * ''Imagine'' (John Lennon album), 1971 ** ''Imagine: John Lennon' ...

by John Lennon.

2024–present: Third Sanremo and ''Nei letti degli altri''

He competed once again in Sanremo in

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

with the song " Tuta gold", the song immediately peaked number 1 in Italy and entered the Global top songs on Spotify. He co-hosted the fourth night of the 2025 festival alongside

Geppi Cucciari Maria Giuseppina "Geppi" Cucciari (born 18 August 1973) is an Italian stand-up comedian, actress, radio host and television presenter. Life and career Born in Cagliari, Cucciari spent her youth in Macomer, in the province of Nuoro. She studi ...

and

Carlo Conti Carlo Natale Marino Conti (born 13 March 1961), simply known as Carlo Conti, is an Italian television presenter. Life and career Born in Florence, Conti graduated in accountancy, then he was a bank teller from 1981 to 1986.. After some exper ...

Public image

Mahmood is a

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

of Alessandro's surname Mahmoud and the English expression ''my mood''. Mahmood speaks some Arabic, and is fluent in Sardinian. Following his Sanremo win, then

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

Matteo Salvini Matteo Salvini (; born 9 March 1973) is an Italian politician who has been serving as Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Italian Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport since 2022. He has been List of F ...

, who is known for his

anti-immigrant Opposition to immigration, also known as anti-immigration, is a political position that seeks to restrict immigration. In the modern sense, immigration refers to the entry of people from one state or territory into another state or territory in ...

views, criticized him for winning over Ultimo who received the highest number of public votes.

Personal life

Mahmood has an aversion to being categorized by his nationality and rumours of his sexuality. He has stated that "labelling ourselves creates distinctions" and that "there is no need to explain our own preferences, until homosexuality will be perceived as a normal thing, which it is". When speaking in favour of a proposed law against homophobic and transphobic

hate crime Hate crime (also known as bias crime) in criminal law involves a standard offence (such as an assault, murder) with an added element of bias against a victim (individual or group of individuals) because of their physical appearance or perceived ...

s, he described having been subjected to homophobic bullying during his schooling. According to Italian press, while he has refused to answer the question of his sexuality, he has stated that he is "happy and taken". He is

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, despite disagreeing with the Church's teaching that homosexual acts are " gravely sinful". In 2019, he was named to the Italian ''Forbes'' 30 Under 30, a list showcasing entrepreneurs, entertainers and celebrities who have made a name for themselves before reaching the age of 30.

Artistry

Mahmood has described his music as

Moroccan pop Moroccan pop or abbreviated as Morocco-pop music is a genre of the new Moroccan music generation along the hip hop, rap music in Morocco. Jeunesdumaroc.com List of Moroccan singers *Manal *Asma Lamnawar *Saad Lamjarred * Salma Rachid * Ibtis ...

. According to him "what sets me apart are the

Middle Eastern The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

sounds that emerge here and there". "Soldi", which is an autobiographic song about his "unconventional family", includes a sentence in Arabic. One of his earliest musical memories is listening to Arabic music with his father before he left the family. Growing up he also listened to Italian artists like

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 ...

Lucio Dalla Lucio Dalla (; 4 March 1943 – 1 March 2012) was an Italian singer-songwriter, musician and actor. He also played clarinet and keyboards. Dalla was the composer of "Caruso (song), Caruso" (1986), a song dedicated to Italian opera tenor Enri ...

and

Paolo Conte Paolo Conte (; born 6 January 1937) is an Italian singer, pianist, songwriter and lawyer, known for his distinctly grainy, resonant voice. His compositions fuse Italian and Mediterranean sounds with jazz, boogie and elements of the French and ...

. He considers himself very linked to Sardinia's culture and folklore, which often acts as a source of inspiration for the composition of his songs. Mahmood has cited American singer

Frank Ocean Frank Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Breaux; October 28, 1987) is an American singer and songwriter. He has been credited by several music journalism, music critics as a pioneer of the alternative R&B genre. Ocean has won two Grammy Awards and a B ...

as his biggest influence: " is musicis very free and in which everyone can identify themselves, gay or straight, because the essential is the person and the energy that he transmits and not the sexual orientation". His other favourite artists include

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

Travis Scott Jacques Bermon Webster III (born April 30, 1991), known professionally as Travis Scott (formerly stylized as Travi$ Scott), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Scott has had five number-one hits on the U.S. ''Bil ...

Jazmine Sullivan Jazmine Marie Sullivan (born April 9, 1987) is an American R&B singer and songwriter. She has won two Grammy Awards, a ''Billboard'' Women in Music Award, and two BET Awards over the course of her career. In 2022, ''Time'' placed her on their ...

Rosalía Rosalia Vila Tobella (born 25 September 1992), known mononymously as Rosalía (, ), is a Spanish Pop music, pop and flamenco singer. She has been described as an "atypical pop star" due to her genre-bending musical styles. After being enthral ...

and

SZA Solána Imani Rowe (born November 8, 1989), known professionally as SZA ( ), is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her diaristic lyrics and genre explorations, she has been credited as a prominent figure in influencing contemporary R& ...

Discography

Studio albums *'' Gioventù bruciata'' (2019) *'' Ghettolimpo'' (2021) *'' Nei letti degli altri'' (2024)

Filmography

Films

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1992 births Living people Singers from Milan Italian people of Egyptian descent Italian pop singers X Factor (Italian TV series) contestants Sanremo Music Festival winners 21st-century Italian male singers MTV Europe Music Award winners Italian Roman Catholics Italian people of Sardinian descent Universal Music Group artists Eurovision Song Contest entrants