Marina Rei

Born on June 5, 1969, in Rome as Marina Restuccia, the Italian vocalist and skilled percussionist Marina Rei grew up with a father, drummer Vincenzo "Enzo" Restuccia, who performed in Ennio Morricone's orchestra, and a mother, violist Anna Giordano. Immersed in music from an early age, she began performing in Rome's club circuit at 18 while also appearing as a backing vocalist and dancer on various television programs. Between 1991 and 1995, recording as Jamie Dee, she issued multiple singles along with the dance-focused albums Different Moods (1991) and Don't Be Shy (1994), both of which achieved solid sales, particularly in Japan. In 1994 she shifted to performing in Italian and adopted the name Marina Rei.

After joining Virgin, she launched the next stage of her career in 1995 with the single "Sola," followed by "Noi" and the acid-jazz- and soul-inflected album Marina Rei. Reissued the next year to incorporate the Sanremo Music Festival entry "Al di Là di Questi Anni," the record ultimately surpassed 100,000 copies sold. Marina returned to Sanremo the following year with "Dentro Me," featured on her second album, Donna; its popularity exceeded that of the debut, driven by extensive radio exposure for the single "Primavera," her Italian adaptation of the Real Thing's "You to Me Are Everything." The same year also saw the Spanish release of an anthology titled Donna that compiled material from her first two albums plus several previously unreleased tracks.

Animebelle arrived in 1998, fronted by the hit single "T'Innamorerò." In 1999 she again appeared at Sanremo with "Un Inverno da Baciare," later added as a bonus track to subsequent editions of Animebelle; the song climbed to the top of the Italian singles chart and reflected a growing attraction to electronic textures and production. That direction resurfaced, now fused with pronounced rock energy, on 2000's Inaspettatamente, which featured the successful single "I Miei Complimenti." An artistic and personal partnership with musician and producer Daniele Sinigallia resulted in L'Incantevole Abitudine, issued by BMG in 2002. Sinigallia subsequently produced 2005's Colpisci, which included a guest vocal from Marlene Kuntz's Cristiano Godano on the title track. In 2004 Marina contributed the song "And I Close My Eyes..." to the soundtrack of Alessandro Colizzi's film Fino a Farti Male. Following the 2007 release of her debut live album, also titled Al di Là di Questi Anni, she embarked on a tour alongside Paola Turci and Max Gazzè.