Alex Baroni

Italian vocalist Alex Baroni launched his professional path in the early 1990s as a sideman based in Milan, where he supported Eros Ramazzotti, Ivana Spagna, and Rossana Casale. While establishing himself in that role, he simultaneously prepared his first solo project, completing the album Fuorimetrica for release on the DDD label in 1994. RAI soon enlisted him as a backing singer, an engagement that began at the 1996 Sanremo Festival. He returned to the event the following year, this time competing as a featured artist; the performance track served as the lead single for his self-titled sophomore album. Baroni also supplied the singing voice for the title character on the Italian-dubbed edition of Walt Disney’s Hercules. In 1998 he performed at Poland’s Sopot Festival, generating enough enthusiasm to prompt a subsequent multi-country tour spanning Germany, Switzerland, and Poland that expanded his following abroad. The momentum carried into 1999 after he received the Oscar d’Giovani at the end of 1998. Recording commitments briefly halted the touring schedule when he contributed to a posthumous tribute honoring Ivan Graziani, delivering the well-known hit “E’ Stato un Viaggio.” The album Ultimamente appeared later that year yet encountered weak sales amid peak levels of media piracy. On 19 March 2002 Baroni suffered a traffic accident in a crowded Roman square and died three weeks later while still in a coma. Numerous tribute projects and dedications have since appeared in his memory, several of which reached the Italian charts and underscored the breadth of his popularity.