Povia

Born in 1972 on Elba, an island off the Milanese coast, Giuseppe Povia first took up guitar at fourteen, mastering the instrument entirely on his own. A few years afterward he moved beyond replicating other performers’ songs by ear and began writing original material at age twenty. He joined the Academy of Sanremo in 1999; although his enrollment lasted only briefly, the stint produced a decisive encounter with producer Giancarlo Bigazzi. The two collaborated on the single “E Vero,” which served as Povia’s initial introduction to listeners throughout Italy. Addressing bulimia in the 2003 single “Mia Sorella,” Povia received the Nuove Tendenze della Canzone Popolare e d’Autore award and simultaneously gained recognition as a socially engaged songwriter. In the same spirit, his 2005 single “Avamposto 55” voiced explicit support for the children of Darfur and launched a drive to establish a hospital in the region. Proceeds from the 2006 album I Bambino Fanno “Oh” went to that project; the release surpassed 200,000 units and earned special honors from Sony BMG, Povia’s label. “I Bambino” was subsequently rendered in Spanish and adopted as an anthem for the worldwide “Let Children be Children” initiative. The 2006 single “No e il Momento” also performed strongly from the outset, enjoying wide rotation on both radio and video platforms.