Raphael Gualazzi

Best-known for re-introducing Italy to the Eurovision Song Contest stage, singer/pianist Raphael Gualazzi is also one of his country's most accomplished jazz-blues musicians. Born in the walled city of Urbino in 1981, his authentic sound is a result of his pianoforte studies at the Rossini Conservatory in Pesaro, his subsequent research of early-1900s ragtime blues and New Orleans jazz, and a love of more contemporary acts like Jamiroquai, Stevie Wonder, and Ben Harper. In 2005, he released his debut album, Love Outside the Window, and produced a Piano Jazz compilation for Wagram Music three years later, but it was his 2009 cover version of Fleetwood Mac's "Don't Stop" which introduced him to a wider audience thanks to its use on a TV ad campaign for energy company ENI. After signing a deal with Sugar Records, he participated in the 2011 Sanremo Festival, where he won the Giovani (New Generation) award and was chosen by a six-member jury to represent his country at Eurovision with his self-penned bilingual song, "Follia D'amore." The track, Italy's first entry since 1997, finished second behind Azerbaijan with an impressive 189 points, and became the break-out single for his sophomore effort, Reality and Fantasy, which also included collaborations with French DJ Gilles Peterson, Italian trumpeter Fabrizio Bosso, and British soul singer Rox. ~ Jon O'Brien, Rovi