Gianna Nannini (born June 14, 1956) is an Italian female singer-songwriter and rock musician.
Her first hit was in 1979 with the single "America" and the album California, which became a success in several European countries. The rise to fame in Italy started in 1984 with the release of her sixth album, Puzzle. This album peaked in the top 10 at the Italian, German, Austrian and Swiss hit-parades. She sang for the videoclip Fotoromanza (directed by Michelangelo Antonioni), won several musical awards and started a European tour, including a participation at the Montreux Jazz Festival. In 1986, her hit "Bello e impossibile" was a huge success and brought her more awards in Italy, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Her 1987 compilation Maschi e Altri sold over a million copies.
She graduated in philosophy from the University of Siena in 1994. The following year she took part in a protest organized by Greenpeace at the French embassy in Rome against the decision of the French government to pursue nuclear experiments at Mururoa.
The album Grazie was released in February 2006, and peaked at number one of the Italian hit-parade with the single Sei nell'anima. During the summer of 2006, she toured all over Italy as promotion for the album. "IO", another track from the album, also became a big hit.
She was also featured on Einstürzende Neubauten member Alexander Hacke's solo album Sanctuary, on the track "Per Sempre Butterfly".
An acoustic version of her song Meravigliosa Creatura (from Perle) has been used in a 2008 advertisement spot for the Fiat Bravo directed by Matthias Zentner. The song and the spot have achieved such a success to take Perle to the Italian top 50 in sales, and Fiat would later include a Gianna Nannini song Aria in another Fiat Bravo ad.
She also sang the song "Aria" with the Macedonian singer Toše Proeski.
Arts & Culture
