Today’s Popular Italian Music Performers

Jovanotti

JovanottiFor an Italian Enthusiast, it is disappointing to acknowledge how little attention Italian music performers receive in the United States.  Indeed, growing up in New Jersey among communities of Italian-Americans, the favorites were always Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.  However, both Sinatra and Martin were born in the United States.  What about Italian artists?  In Italy, American music is revered.  Why doesn’t the United States place similar attention on Italian music?  Whatever the case may be, that doesn’t mean that Italian Enthusiasts must follow.

A few years ago, for example, I saw Jovanotti in concert in Miami Beach, and while Jovanotti is considered to be a legend that usually sells out stadiums in Italy, the turnout at The Fillmore was poor. Of course Andrea Bocelli is an exception, as well as a few other Italian performers who also sing in Spanish; however, the large majority of Italian performers are essentially unknown in the United States.Andrea Bocelli

The purpose of this post is to introduce other Italian Enthusiasts to some of the most popular music performers in Italy today. Even if you do not understand the language, the beats and instrumentals can stand on their own to get you engaged. Also, listening to Italian music is also a great way to work on your Italian vocabulary and overall appreciation of Italian culture.

Below I’ve listed the names of some musicians (in no particular order), along with one of my favorite songs from each artist. The list is not complete, and does not give credit to all worthy and talented Italian musical artists, so please feel free to add some names and songs in the comment section below.  I encourage you all to check out some of the songs on YouTube or iTunes and let us know what you think!

FEDEZ (vorrei ma non posto)

JOVANOTTI (a te)

ALESSANDRA AMOROSO (amore puro)

EROS RAMAZZOTTI (l’aurora)

LAURA PAUSINI (vivimi)

MARCO MENGONI (guerriero)

TIZIANO FERRO (indietro)

FRANCESCO DE GREGORI (rimmel)

VASCO ROSSI (albachiara)

ZUCCHERO (senza una donna)

LUCIANO LIGABUE (tu sei lei)

FRANCESCO RENGA (guardami amore)

NEK (lascia che io sia)

BIAGIO ANTONACCI (non vivo più senza te)

ELISA (luce)

GIGI D’ALESSIO (tu che ne sai)

 

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Comments

  1. Well, I love so many Italian music artists! Anyway, my favorites are: Vasco Rossi (I love the most of his songs, especially the ones from the 80s, like “vivere una favola” and “domani si adesso no”). Then, I love LITFIBA (the songs “Lulu e Marlene”, “Fata Morgana” and “Regina di cuori” are my favorite ones!). I love ZUCCHERO FORNACIARI, I love LIGABUE (“cosa vuoi che sia”, “Radio Freccia”, “piccola stella senza cielo”, “eri bellissima”, “la ballerina del carillon” and my others).
    Ragarding the hip pop music, I adore GEMELLI DIVERSI (my favorite song is “cio’ che poteva essere”), I like very much SOTTOTONO, and also FABRI FIBRA. I love Nina Zilli (‘Luomo che amava le donne”, “Per le strade”, ‘50.000″), Giorgia, Alexia, Marina Rei, and many, many others great Italian singers!!! 🙂

  2. For me, the king is Paolo Conte; runner-up is Vinicio Capossela. If you like Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, and/or Randy Newman, these guys are certainly in the same league, and I would argue even better. Much of Conte’s best work isn’t on Spotify, but can be found on Youtube; here’s my playlist of favorite Conte songs: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeNi7gDLp6P9JFk5bD_cvR1f7VLEJudmD

  3. Ludovico Einaudi

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