Francesca Michielin

Francesca Michielin is an Italian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and television presenter. She rose to fame in 2011 after winning the fifth season of the Italian talent show X Factor. Over her career, she has released five studio albums and several successful singles, topping the Italian singles chart four times and selling over 1.3 million copies in Italy. In addition to her recording career, she has represented Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest, competed thrice in the Sanremo Music Festival, and hosted television programming.

Michielin was born on 25 February 1995 in Bassano del Grappa, Veneto, to Vanna Moro and Tiziano Michielin, and was raised alongside her older brother, Filippo. She began studying piano at nine years old and later learned electric bass, singing in a local gospel choir at fourteen. During high school, she formed a three-piece punk rock girl band named Monkey Nuts and began writing her own songs. After completing her maturity diploma at the Cavanis institute in Possagno in 2014, she graduated with honours in jazz singing from the Conservatory Agostino Steffani in Castelfranco Veneto in 2022.

In late 2011, Michielin competed on X Factor, mentored by Simona Ventura, and won the competition in January 2012. Her debut single, "Distratto," reached number one on the Italian Singles Chart and was certified double platinum. She released her debut EP, Distratto, in January 2012, followed by her first studio album, Riflessi di me, in October 2012. Between 2013 and 2014, Michielin expanded her presence through hit collaborations with rapper Fedez on the tracks "Cigno nero" and "Magnifico," as well as composing the English-language single "Amazing" for the Italian soundtrack of The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

Michielin released her second studio album, di20, in October 2015, preceded by the single "L'amore esiste." In February 2016, she placed second at the 66th Sanremo Music Festival with "Nessun grado di separazione." Selected to represent Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with a bilingual version titled "No Degree of Separation," she finished 16th in the final.

Her third studio album, 2640, was released in January 2018, featuring singles such as "Vulcano," "Io non abito al mare," and "Bolivia." During this period, she featured on Carl Brave's single "Fotografia" and composed the score for the short film A Cup of Coffee with Marylin. In March 2020, she published her fourth album, Feat (stato di natura), composed entirely of collaborative tracks.

In early 2021, Michielin launched her podcast Maschiacci – Per cosa lottano le donne oggi? and returned to Sanremo with Fedez, placing second with "Chiamami per nome." She later recorded "Nei tuoi occhi" for the film Marilyn's Eyes, earning nominations at the David di Donatello and Nastro d'Argento awards. In 2022, she published her debut novel Il cuore è un organo and hosted Effetto serra and new seasons of X Factor. She released her fifth album, Cani sciolti, in 2023, and finished 21st at Sanremo in 2025 with "Fango in paradiso."