Paolo Meneguzzi

Although born in Lugano, Switzerland, Paolo Meneguzzi spent his childhood in Varese, a city in the Milan area. A household that placed strong emphasis on the arts sparked his early passion for music, leading him to receive his first guitar at age eight and make his initial television singing appearance two years afterward. He hoped to launch his career in his native country yet believed greater opportunities awaited in South America, prompting his 1996 appearance at Chile’s Viña del Mar Festival, where the song “Aria Ariò” secured the win. His first album, Por Amor, reached Chilean listeners the following year, with Paolo issued in 1998 and Emocion arriving in 1999. After joining the Ricordi roster, Meneguzzi delivered his Italian-language debut Un Sogno Nelle Mani in 2001, shortly following a seventh-place finish at the annual San Remo Festival. The 2003 album Lei E'—whose title track carried rumors of being inspired by his mother—surpassed 200,000 copies sold and was later reissued in revised form as Lei E' 2004, propelled largely by the single “Guardami Negli Occhi (Prego)” performed at San Remo. Maintaining a steady studio pace, he unveiled Favola in 2005 and Musica in 2007, each accompanied by corresponding San Remo appearances.