Francesca Michielin

Francesca Michielin
Birth name Francesca Michielin
Born 25 February 1995
Bassano del Grappa, province of Vicenza, Italy
Genres Pop
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter
Instruments
Years active 2011–present
Labels Sony Music (2012–present)
Associated acts
Website francescamichielin.it

Francesca Michielin (born 25 February 1995) is an Italian singer-songwriter. She rose to fame after winning the fifth series of the Italian talent show X Factor. Her first single, "Distratto", debuted atop the Italian FIMI Top Digital Downloads chart and was certified double platinum by the Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Michielin's debut studio album, Riflessi di me, was released in October 2012, preceded by the single "Sola".

She also appeared as a featured artist on Italian rapper Fedez's singles "Cigno nero" and "Magnifico", both of which achieved commercial success in Italy.

Early life

Michielin was born in Bassano del Grappa, to Vanna Moro[1] and Tiziano Michielin.[2] She has an older brother, Filippo.[2] Her first approach with playing music came studying piano, and she later started studying bass too.[3] At the age of fourteen, she started singing in her hometown's gospel choir.[4] Thanks to her brother, she developed an interest in rock music, and she later focused on artists like Bon Iver, Jeff Buckley and Damien Rice.[5]

Music career

X Factor (2011–2012)

Michielin auditioned for the fifth series of X Factor in 2011,[6] singing Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love".[5] Mentored by Simona Ventura, during the live shows she performed songs including Adele's "Someone Like You",[7] "Roadhouse Blues" by The Doors,[8] and "Higher Ground".[9]

On December 29, 2011, during the semi-final, Michielin sang for the first time the previously unreleased song "Distratto", written by Elisa and Roberto Casalino.[10] The following week in the finals on January 5, 2012, she was announced the winner, beating runner up vocal group I Moderni.[11] Michielin's prize was a recording contract with Sony Music, with a stated value of €300,000.[12]

After X Factor

Her debut single "Distratto" was released as a digital download EP on 6 January 2012.[13] On 12 January 2012, the song debuted at number one on the Italian Singles Chart,[14][15] and it was later certified double platinum by the Federation of the Italian Music Industry, for domestic downloads exceeding 60,000 units.[16] The song was included in Michielin's debut Extended Play, Distratto, physically released on 24 January 2012.[17] The EP includes re-recorded versions of some of the songs she performed during the live shows. On 17 February 2012, Michielin appeared as a guest during the fourth night of the 62nd Sanremo Music Festival, performing the song "Al posto del mondo" with contestant Chiara Civello.[18]

Michielin's second single, "Sola", was released on 31 August 2012. The single preceded her debut studio album, Riflessi di me, featuring collaborations with producer Andrea Rigonat and singer-songwriters Elisa and Roberto Casalino.[19] Michielin also contributed writing three songs on the album, including the title-track,[20] co-written with Elisa and Virginio Simonelli.[21] Riflessi di me later spawned the singles "Tutto quello che ho" and "Se cadrai". In March 2013, Michielin was featured on the song "Cigno nero" by Italian rapper Fedez. The song, co-written by Michielin herself, was included in Fedez's album Sig. Brainwash − L'arte di accontentare and was released as its second single.[22][23]

In 2014, Michielin took part in the theatrical performance La ragazza con l'orecchino di perla, with music written by Franco Battiato. The show was held at Teatro Comunale di Bologna on 19 and 20 January 2014.[24] On 28 March of the same year, Michielin released a new single, "Amazing".[25] The song, entirely composed in English, was written by Michielin with Fausto Cogliati and Negin Djafari for the Italian version of the soundtrack of The Amazing Spider-Man 2.[26][27]

In 2014, Michielin also returned working with Fedez, recording the track "Magnifico" for his album Pop-Hoolista.[28] After being released as the album's second single, the song reached the top spot of the Italian Top Digital chart, and it was certified triple platinum by the Federation of the Italian Music Industry.[29][30][31]

In April 2014, Michielin confirmed she was working on new material.[27] The single "L'amore esiste", produced by Michele Canova, was released on 6 March 2015, to precede her second studio album.[32]

Discography

Studio albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions
ITA
[33]
Riflessi di me
  • Released: 2 October 2012
  • Label: Sony Music
  • Format: CD, digital download
 4

Extended plays

Title EP details Peak chart positions
ITA
[33]
Distratto
  • Released: 24 January 2012
  • Label: Sony Music
  • Format: CD, digital download
 9

Singles

As lead singer

Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album or EP
ITA
[15]
"Distratto" 2012 1
  • FIMI: 2× Platinum[16]
 Distratto
"Sola" 13 Riflessi di me
"Tutto quello che ho" —
"Se cadrai" 2013 —
"Amazing" 2014 — The Amazing Spider-Man 2 - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Italian version)
"L'amore esiste" 2015 10 —

As featured artist

Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album or EP
ITA
[31]
"Cigno nero"
(Fedez feat. Francesca Michielin)		 2013 8
  • FIMI: 2× Platinum[30]
 Sig. Brainwash − L'arte di accontentare
"Magnifico"
(Fedez feat. Francesca Michielin)		 2014 1
  • FIMI: 3× Platinum[30]
 Pop-Hoolista

Album appearances

List of other album appearances
Contribution Year Album
"God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"[34] 2014 X Factor Christmas 2014
"Le nostre ali"[35]
(Don Joe feat. Francesca Michielin)		 2015 Ora o mai più

Music videos

Title Year Director(s)
"Distratto"[36] 2012 Stefano Sollima
"Sola"[37] Marco Salom
"Tutto quello che ho"[38]
"Se cadrai"[39] 2013
"Cigno nero"[40] N/A
"Amazing"[41] 2014 Gaetano Morbioli
"Magnifico"[42] Cosimo Alemà
"L'amore esiste"[43] 2015 Giacomo Triglia

Awards and nominations

Year Award Nomination Work Result
2012 Premio Videoclip Italiano Best Video by an Emerging Artist[44] "Distratto" Won
Rockol Awards Most Promising Italian Artist/Italian Revelation of the Year[45] Herself Won

References

  1. ↑ Gian Maria Collicelli (9 January 2012). "Francesca torna fra i banchi ma solo per un'ora. Poi diretta a Radio 105". Corriere del Veneto (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2012-01-13. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "X Factor, Francesca torna a casa". Il Secolo XIX (in Italian). 7 January 2012. Archived from the original on 2013-05-24. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  3. ↑ Stefano Rossi (8 January 2012). "X-Factor, Francesca? "Talento naturale"". Il Giornale di Vicenza (in Italian). Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  4. ↑ "Francesca - Il Profilo" (in Italian). X Factor (Italy). 10 November 2011. Archived from the original on 2013-06-09. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Andrea Laffranchi (7 January 2012). "Francesca, scuola e rock. "Così non mi brucerò"". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2012-04-30. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  6. ↑ "Francesca Michielin - Biografia" (in Italian). Rockol.it. Archived from the original on 2012-01-16. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  7. ↑ Eleonora Cazzaro (18 November 2011). "Francesca incanta "X Factor". "La rivelazione sei tu"". Corriere del Veneto (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2014-02-01. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  8. ↑ "Per X Factor semifinale a doppia eliminazione, Venditti ospite della serata" (in Italian). Adnkronos. 28 December 2011. Archived from the original on 2014-02-02. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  9. ↑ "Tv: X Factor, domani la sfida tra i magnifici 9" (in Italian). Adnkronos. 7 December 2011. Archived from the original on 2014-02-02. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  10. ↑ Gian Maria Collicelli (30 December 2011). "La sedicenne di Bassano conquista la finalissima". Corriere del Veneto (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2012-03-04. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  11. ↑ Carlo Moretti (6 January 2012). "X Factor, vince Francesca e tra Asia e Morgan scoppia la pax televisiva". la Repubblica. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  12. ↑ "X Factor 5: la storia del successo di Francesca Michelin" (in Italian). RSS Notizie. 7 January 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  13. ↑ "Distratto (X Factor 2011) - EP di Francesca Michielin" (in Italian). iTunes. Archived from the original on 2013-11-09. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  14. ↑ "Musica: classifiche, ancora in vetta 'L'amore e' una cosa semplice' di Tiziano Ferro" (in Italian). Adnkronos. 12 January 2012. Archived from the original on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Peak positions on the Italian FIMI Top Digital Download:
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 "Italian single certifications" (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Select Online in the field Sezione. The certification will load automatically
  17. ↑ "Distratto, il CD di Francesca Michielin" (in Italian). BOL.it. Archived from the original on 2012-10-26. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  18. ↑ Matteo Cruccu (18 February 2012). "Giovani, vince il quindicenne Casillo. Eliminati Matia Bazar e Chiara Civello". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2013-09-25. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
  19. ↑ "Francesca Michielin non canta più da Sola". TGCOM (in Italian). Mediaset. 30 August 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  20. ↑ "I riflessi di un talento: il disco della reginetta di X Factor". Il Giorno (in Italian). 1 October 2012. Archived from the original on 1 October 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
  21. ↑ "Esce l'album d'esordio di Francesca Michielin" (in Italian). Newsic.it. 1 October 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
  22. ↑ "Il Cigno nero di Fedez". Il Mattino (in Italian). Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  23. ↑ "Francesca Michielin duetta con Fedez in Cigno nero" (in Italian). Radio Italia Solo Musica Italiana. Archived from the original on 2013-03-08. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  24. ↑ "Franco Battiato canterà per la La ragazza con l'orecchino di perla" (in Italian). Radio Italia Solo Musica Italiana. Archived from the original on 29 December 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  25. ↑ Gianluca Guido (25 March 2014). "Francesca Michielin - Amazing (Radio Date: 28-03-2014)" (in Italian). Earone.it. Archived from the original on 14 April 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
  26. ↑ "Francesca Michielin canta Spiderman... Amazing" (in Italian). Sky Italia. 11 April 2014. Archived from the original on 14 April 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Mattia Marzi (14 April 2014). "Francesca Michielin su 'Amazing': 'E' un onore far parte di questo progetto'" (in Italian). Rockol.it. Archived from the original on 14 April 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
  28. ↑ Alessandro Alicandri. "Fedez è Pop-Hoolista: tutto sul nuovo album". Panorama (in Italian). Archived from the original on 23 October 2014. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  29. ↑ "Magnifico: torna il duetto Fedez-Michielin". Radio Italia Solo Musica Italiana. 28 October 2014. Archived from the original on 22 November 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 "Italian single certifications – Fedez feat. Francesca Michielin" (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Retrieved 9 January 2015. Select Online in the field Sezione. Enter Fedez feat. Francesca Michielin in the field Filtra. The certification will load automatically
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 Peak positions for Michielin's featured singles on the Italian Chart:
  32. ↑ "Nuovo album per Francesca Michielin". Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata. 5 March 2015. Archived from the original on 23 March 2015.
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 "Italian Charts - Francesca Michielin - Albums". Italiancharts.com / Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
  34. ↑ "X Factor Christmas 2014: festeggia Natale con noi!" (in Italian). Sky Italia. 25 November 2014. Archived from the original on 25 November 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  35. ↑ "Don Joe: il 5 maggio esce il disco da solista “Ora o mai più” con Emma, J-Ax, Emis Killa e tanti altri!" (in Italian). MTV Italy. 9 April 2015. Archived from the original on 10 April 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  36. ↑ "Argentero nel video di Francesca (X Factor)" (in Italian). Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata. 24 January 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-01-28. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  37. ↑ "Francesca Michielin è Sola su Sky Uno" (in Italian). Sky Italia. 29 August 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-11-08. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  38. ↑ "Musica: da venerdì in radio Tutto quello che ho, nuovo singolo di Michielin" (in Italian). Adnkronos. 14 November 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  39. ↑ "Francesca Michielin: video sulla neve per Se cadrai" (in Italian). Radio Italia Solo Musica Italiana. 22 February 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-03-10. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  40. ↑ "Fedez e Francesca Michielin insieme per Cigno nero: guarda il video ufficiale". TV Sorrisi e Canzoni (in Italian). 4 March 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-08-30. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
  41. ↑ "Francesca Michielin canta Amazing nel film The Amazing Spider-Man 2" (in Italian). Velvet Music. 31 March 2014. Archived from the original on 14 April 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
  42. ↑ Chiara Cioccariello (1 November 2014). "Fedez e Francesca Michielin: ‘Magnifico’, il video del nuovo singolo" (in Italian). Tribuna Italia. Archived from the original on 6 November 2014. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  43. ↑ "L'amore esiste nel video di Francesca Michielin" (in Italian). Radio Italia Solo Musica Italiana. 9 March 2015. Archived from the original on 9 March 2015. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  44. ↑ "PVI e Premio Videoclip Indipendente: ecco i vincitori. Oggi la premiazione" (in Italian). Rockol.it. 29 November 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-12-02. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
  45. ↑ "Musica, Rockol Awards, vincono Ramazzotti, Celentano e Green Day" (in Italian). Adnkronos. 11 January 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-02-17. Retrieved 11 January 2013.

External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Nathalie		 Italian X Factor
Winner
2012 		Succeeded by
Chiara