Francesca Michielin facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Francesca Michielin
Michielin at a press conference during the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 in Stockholm
Background information
Born	(1995-02-25) 25 February 1995 (age 30) Bassano del Grappa, Veneto, Italy
Genres	Pop rock
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals piano bass
Years active	2011–present
Labels	Sony (2012–present)

Francesca Michielin (born on February 25, 1995) is a talented Italian singer and songwriter. She became famous after winning the fifth season of the Italian TV show X Factor. Since then, she has released five studio albums and many popular songs. Four of her songs reached number one on the Italian music charts. She has sold over 1.3 million copies of her music in Italy.

Her first song, "Distratto", immediately went to the top of the Italian Singles Charts. This made her the first female X Factor winner to achieve this. Francesca's first album, Riflessi di me, came out in October 2012. Before that, she released the song "Sola". In 2013 and 2014, she worked with Italian rapper Fedez on two popular songs: "Cigno nero" and "Magnifico". Later, she released more albums like di20 (2015) and 2640 (2018). She also had hit singles such as "L'amore esiste" (2015), "Nessun grado di separazione" (2016), "Vulcano" (2017), and "Io non abito al mare" (2017). In 2020, Francesca released her fourth album, Feat (stato di natura), with the main song "Cheyenne". Her latest album, Cani sciolti, was released in 2023.

Francesca has competed three times in the Sanremo Music Festival, a very important Italian music competition. She came in second place in 2016 with "Nessun grado di separazione" and again in 2021 with "Chiamami per nome", which she performed with Fedez. In 2016, she also represented Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest. She has been nominated for several awards, including the MTV Europe Music Award for Best Italian Act and Italian film awards like David di Donatello for her song "Nei tuoi occhi".

Francesca has also written and produced songs for other Italian artists. These include Måneskin, Giorgia, Elisa, and Fabri Fibra. In 2022, Francesca wrote her first book, Il cuore è un organo. She also hosted a TV show called Effetto serra and new seasons of X Factor.

Early Life and Music Journey

Francesca Michielin was born in Bassano del Grappa, Italy. Her parents are Vanna Moro and Tiziano Michielin. She has an older brother named Filippo. Francesca started playing the piano when she was nine years old. Later, she learned to play the electric bass. When she was fourteen, she began singing in her hometown's gospel choir.

Thanks to her brother, Francesca became interested in rock music. She was inspired by artists like Bon Iver and Adele. After listening to Adele's first album, 19, Francesca started writing her own songs on the piano. In high school, she was also part of a three-person punk rock girl band called Monkey Nuts, where she played bass.

Before she became famous, Francesca was a student. She continued her studies by taking exams as an external student so she could focus on her music. In 2014, she earned her high school diploma. In March 2022, she graduated with honors in jazz singing from a music conservatory.

Music Career Highlights

Starting with X Factor and First Album (2011–2012)

Elisa Toffoli helped write songs for Francesca's first album, Riflessi di me.

When Francesca was sixteen, she was asked to sing at a gospel concert. A sound technician was impressed by her voice and encouraged her to audition for X Factor in 2011. She sang "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin and was chosen by her mentor, Simona Ventura. During the show, she performed songs by artists like Adele and Stevie Wonder.

On December 29, 2011, Francesca performed her first original song, "Distratto". This song was written by Elisa and Roberto Casalino. On January 5, 2012, Francesca was announced as the winner of X Factor. She won a recording contract with Sony Music.

Her first song, "Distratto", was released digitally on January 6, 2012. It quickly reached number one on the Italian Singles Chart. The song later sold over 60,000 copies and was certified double platinum. "Distratto" was also part of her first EP (Extended Play) called Distratto, released on January 24, 2012. This EP included new versions of songs she sang on X Factor. In February 2012, Francesca was a guest at the Sanremo Music Festival 2012, performing with Chiara Civello.

Francesca's second song, "Sola", came out on August 31, 2012. This song was released before her first full album, Riflessi di me. The album featured collaborations with producer Andrea Rigonat and singer-songwriters Elisa and Roberto Casalino. Francesca helped write three songs on the album, including the title track. The album also included the songs "Tutto quello che ho" and "Se cadrai".

Collaborations and Movie Music (2013–2014)

In March 2013, Francesca was featured on the song "Cigno nero" by Italian rapper Fedez. Francesca helped write this song, which was part of Fedez's album Sig. Brainwash − L'arte di accontentare. It became a popular single.

In 2014, Francesca performed in a play called La ragazza con l'orecchino di perla. The music for the show was written by Franco Battiato. On March 28, 2014, Francesca released a new song called "Amazing". This song was entirely in English and was part of the soundtrack for the Italian version of The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

Later in 2014, Francesca appeared on Fedez's song "Magnifico" from his album Pop-Hoolista. This song became a huge hit, reaching the top of the Italian singles chart and selling very well.

Sanremo, Eurovision, and di20 (2015–2016)

Michielin performing "No Degree of Separation" during rehearsals for the Eurovision Song Contest 2016

In April 2014, Francesca confirmed she was working on new music. Her song "L'amore esiste" was released on March 6, 2015. This song was a success and was part of her second album, di20. "L'amore esiste" was followed by "Battito di ciglia" (July 2015) and "Lontano" (September 2015). To celebrate the release of di20, Francesca performed a special concert in Milan in October 2015.

In January 2016, Francesca started her first concert tour called "Nice to Meet You". A live EP (Extended Play) from this tour was released digitally. In February 2016, she competed in the Sanremo Music Festival 2016 with her song "Nessun grado di separazione". She came in second place. The winning band, Stadio, decided not to go to the Eurovision Song Contest 2016. So, RAI (Italian TV) chose Francesca to represent Italy.

Francesca performed a new version of her song, "No Degree of Separation", at Eurovision. It included an English chorus. She placed 16th out of 26 countries in the final. "Nessun grado di separazione" reached number one on the Italian singles chart. It was also included in di20are, a new version of her second album.

In June 2016, "Un cuore in due" was released as the fifth song from the album. The music video for it came out later that month. In September 2016, "Almeno tu" was released as the final song from the album. It was also featured in the movie Piuma.

New Sounds with 2640 (2017–2018)

In January 2017, Francesca announced she was working on her third album, which was later named 2640. She recorded this album in Los Angeles with producer Michele Canova. The first song from the album, "Vulcano", was released on July 21, 2017. Its music video was filmed in Berlin. The song became very popular in Italy.

Francesca Michielin performing in 2018

On October 1, 2017, Francesca performed "Vulcano" on a TV show and announced that 2640 would be released on January 12, 2018. The album was available for pre-order in December 2017, with the song "Tropicale" as a bonus.

"Io non abito al mare" was released as the second song from the album on November 17, 2017. Its music video was filmed at Cretto di Burri. The song talks about how hard it can be to communicate and the importance of showing tenderness. This song also became very popular in Italy.

"Bolivia" was released as the third song from the album on March 16, 2018. Francesca herself wrote the screenplay for its music video. In an interview, Francesca explained that the song is about people who try to escape their problems by going to faraway places, instead of looking within themselves.

"Tropicale" was released as the fourth song on June 15, 2018. In May 2018, Francesca also sang on the song "Fotografia" by Carl Brave, which also featured Fabri Fibra. On November 16, 2018, Francesca released a new song called "Femme". A special vinyl edition of 2640 was released in December 2018, including "Femme" and "Fotografia".

Francesca also created the music for a short film called A Cup of Coffee with Marylin. This film was shown at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival.

Collaborations and Feat (Stato di natura) (2019–2021)

Francesca started hinting at new music in November 2019. She then announced the song "Cheyenne" with Charlie Charles. This song was the first single from her fourth album, Feat (stato di natura), released on March 13, 2020. The album had 11 songs, all featuring other artists. The main idea of the album was the connection between city life and nature.

Before the album's release, new songs were premiered at special events. "Gange", featuring Italian rapper Shiva, was released after a concert in February 2020. "Riserva naturale", featuring Coma Cose, premiered during a Facebook live stream due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy. "Monolocale", featuring Fabri Fibra, debuted at an event broadcast on RaiPlay. The album reached number 7 in Italy. The song "Stato di natura", featuring Måneskin, was the second single. "Monolocale" was the third single.

In February 2020, Francesca performed a cover song with Levante at the Sanremo Music Festival 2020. She also participated in a charity event called Musica che unisce during the COVID-19 lockdowns. She performed "Cheyenne" from her hometown during the 2020 International Workers' Day concert.

On January 22, 2021, Francesca released "Cattive stelle" with Vasco Brondi, as an addition to her album Feat (stato di natura). In February 2021, she launched her podcast called Maschiacci – Per cosa lottano le donne oggi?, where she interviewed famous people about fighting gender stereotypes. In March 2021, she performed "Chiamami per nome" with Fedez at the Sanremo Music Festival 2021. They came in second place, and the song reached number one in Italy. This was their third time working together. Francesca also sang with Samuel on "Cinema" and recorded "Nei tuoi occhi" for the movie Marilyn's Eyes.

Hosting and Cani sciolti (2022–Present)

Michielin in 2025

Francesca was the orchestra conductor at the Sanremo Music Festival 2022 for Emma Marrone's performances. They also sang a cover of "...Baby One More Time" together. Soon after, Francesca graduated in Jazz Singing from a music conservatory. In mid-2021, she started working on Effetto serra, a TV show about sustainable living. Her first book, Il cuore è un organo, was published on March 15, 2022.

In March 2022, Francesca became a record producer for the song "Liberi" on Fabri Fibra's album Caos. She also sang on the track. Her songs "Bonsoir" and "Occhi grandi grandi" were released in July and September 2022.

In Fall 2022, Francesca returned to X Factor, this time as the host of the show's sixteenth season. She also started a series of live shows in Milan. A tour celebrating her first ten years in music, called "Bonsoir! – Michielin10", took place in Italian theaters from February to April 2023.

Francesca's fifth album, Cani sciolti, was released on February 24, 2023. In December 2024, it was announced that Francesca would participate in the Sanremo Music Festival 2025 with the song "Fango in paradiso". She finished in 21st place.

Discography

• Riflessi di me (2012)
• di20 (2015)
• 2640 (2018)
• Feat (stato di natura) (2020)
• Cani sciolti (2023)

Awards and nominations

Filmography