Blanco | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Riccardo Fabbriconi |
Born | Brescia, Lombardy, Italy | 10 February 2003
Genres | |
Occupation(s) |
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Years active | 2020–present |
Labels |
Riccardo Fabbriconi (born 10 February 2003), known professionally as Blanco, is an Italian singer, rapper and songwriter. [2] He rose to prominence in 2021 with the hits " La canzone nostra" and " Mi fai impazzire", which topped the Italian Singles Chart. He later released his debut album Blu celeste, driven by the singles " Notti in bianco", " Paraocchi" and the title track. In 2022, he won the 72nd Sanremo Music Festival alongside Mahmood with the song " Brividi", with which the duo represented Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022, finishing in sixth place.
Riccardo Fabbriconi was born in Brescia [3] on 10 February 2003, to a father from Rome and a mother from Lombardy, and raised in Calvagese della Riviera, a small town on Lake Garda. He spent most of his childhood between his hometown, Brescia and Desenzano del Garda, where he attended school. [4] During childhood, his father introduced him to artists such as Lucio Battisti, Lucio Dalla and Pino Daniele, and he also enjoyed most pop radio; growing up, he was involved in the Italian hip hop scene. [5]
In June 2020, he released on SoundCloud his EP Quarantine Paranoid, thanks to which he was noticed and signed by Universal and Island Records. [6] He subsequently released his debut single "Belladonna (Adieu)", [7] followed by his second single " Notti in bianco", [8] which became a sleeper hit in the summer of 2021, peaking at number two on FIMI's singles chart. [9] On 8 January 2021, Blanco, Mace and Salmo released the collaborative single " La canzone nostra". [10] It became Blanco's first single to peak at number one on FIMI's singles chart [11] and was certified quintuple platinum, having sold 350,000 copies. [12]
On 26 February 2021, Blanco released his single " Paraocchi", [13] which also reached the top ten of FIMI's singles chart. [14] On 18 June 2021, he released the hit single " Mi fai impazzire" in collaboration with Sfera Ebbasta; [15] it peaked at number one on FIMI's singles chart for eight consecutive weeks [16] and was certified sextuple platinum, having sold 420,000 copies. [12]
On 10 September 2021, Blanco released his debut studio album Blu celeste, containing nine original tracks produced by Michelangelo, as well as the previously published singles "Notti in bianco", " Ladro di fiori" and "Paraocchi". [17] The album, which debuted atop FIMI's album chart, was certified as a gold record a week after its release, having sold 250,000 album-equivalent units, and as a platinum record the following week. [12] Simultaneously, the lead single of the same name debuted at number one on FIMI's singles chart and Blanco's songs occupied the entire top ten; furthermore, all twelve tracks included in the album appeared concomitantly on the chart. [18] In November 2021, the track " Finché non mi seppelliscono" was selected as a radio single. [19]
In December 2021, RAI announced that Mahmood and Blanco would be participating together in the Sanremo Music Festival 2022 with the song " Brividi". [20] They won the competition with over fifty percent of the vote and subsequently confirmed their participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 as Italy's representatives. [21] Critics commented how for the first time in the history of the festival a performance put on the same level homosexual and heterosexual love. [22] "Brividi" recorded over 3.3 million streams in 24 hours, becoming the most-streamed song in a single day on Spotify in Italy. [23] It debuted at number one on FIMI's singles chart [24] and peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Global 200. [25]
On 3 April 2022, Blanco embarked on the Blu celeste Tour, consisting of two legs and 27 shows, which concluded on 17 September 2022 in Milan. [26] Blanco was chosen by the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI) to introduce Pope Francis's meeting at Piazza San Pietro on 18 April 2022. He performed " Blu celeste" accompanied by Michelangelo. [27] The choice was criticized by the bishop of Ventimiglia, Monsignor Antonio Suetta , who thought the message expressed through Blanco's performance was "not suitable to a Catholic context"; however, a representative of the CEI, Don Michele Falabretti, replied to the concerns and restated the decision to invite Blanco to the event. [28] In May 2022, Blanco and Mahmood participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 held in Turin and finished in sixth place. In June 2022, he released " Nostalgia", his first single after Sanremo and the Eurovision, which peaked at number two on FIMI's singles chart and was certified triple platinum by FIMI. [29]
Blanco released " L'isola delle rose", the first single from his second studio album, Innamorato, on 27 January 2023. Blanco performed the song as a guest during the first night of the Sanremo Music Festival 2023, but in-ear monitoring issues made him unable to hear himself while he was singing. [30] He then proceeded to cause damage to the rose garden set on stage, for which he was booed by the audience at the end of his performance. [31] He later apologized. [32] Innamorato was released on 14 April 2023. [33]
Blanco was originally described as a rapper and trapper, [34] although he always rejected any labels, saying that "music should always and exclusively be listened without giving too many definitions". [35] After the release of his debut album, critics found pop, punk, rock and funk influences in Blanco's music. [36] [37] Rolling Stone Italia defined him as "genreless". [34] Claudio Cabona of Rockol commented on how Blanco is capable of mixing rap with a "nihilistic punk attitude". [38] La Repubblica described him as "the new face of the post-trap". [39] While talking about his way of delivering his lyrics, heavily inspired by his personal experiences, [40] [34] Blanco said: "I don't sing, I shout with the heart". [34] Among his inspirations, Blanco named several Italian singer-songwriters including Adriano Celentano, Domenico Modugno, Luigi Tenco, Franco Battiato and Gino Paoli. [34] [41]
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | |
---|---|---|---|---|
ITA [42] |
SWI [43] | |||
Blu celeste | 1 | 11 | ||
Innamorato |
|
1 | 6 |
|
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ITA [45] |
LTU [46] |
LUX [47] |
SPA [48] |
SWI [49] | ||||
"Belladonna (Adieu)" | 2020 | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
" Notti in bianco" | 2 | — | — | — | — |
|
Blu celeste | |
" Ladro di fiori" | 16 | — | — | — | — |
| ||
"
La canzone nostra" (with Mace and Salmo) |
2021 | 1 | — | — | — | — |
|
Obe |
" Paraocchi" | 3 | — | — | — | — |
|
Blu celeste | |
"
Mi fai impazzire" (with Sfera Ebbasta) |
1 | — | — | — | 56 |
|
Non-album single | |
" Blu celeste" | 1 | — | — | — | — |
|
Blu celeste | |
" Finché non mi seppelliscono" | 3 | — | — | — | — |
| ||
"
Brividi" (with Mahmood) |
2022 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 95 | 1 |
|
Non-album singles |
" Nostalgia" | 2 | — | — | — | — |
| ||
" L'isola delle rose" | 2023 | 5 | — | — | — | 42 |
|
Innamorato |
"
Un briciolo di allegria" (with Mina) |
1 | — | — | — | — |
| ||
" Bruciasse il cielo" | 5 | — | — | — | — |
|
Innamorato (re-release) | |
"—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released. |
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
ITA [45] |
SWI [49] | ||||
"
Bon ton" (Drillionaire featuring Lazza, Blanco, Sfera Ebbasta and Michelangelo) |
2023 | 1 | 87 |
|
10 |
"Adrenalina" ( Baby Gang featuring Blanco and Marracash) |
2024 | 13 | — | L'angelo del male |
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album |
---|---|---|---|---|
ITA [45] | ||||
"Tutti muoiono" ( Madame featuring Blanco) |
2021 | 28 | Madame | |
"Dio perdonami" (Blanco & Drast) |
48 | Red Bull 64 Bars: The Album | ||
"Nemesi" ( Marracash featuring Blanco) |
4 |
|
Noi, loro, gli altri |
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album |
---|---|---|---|---|
ITA [45] | ||||
"Sai cosa c'è" | 2021 | 4 |
|
Blu celeste |
"Lucciole" | 5 |
| ||
"Mezz'ora di sole" | 6 |
| ||
"Figli di puttana" | 8 |
| ||
"Pornografia (Bianco paradiso)" | 10 |
| ||
"Afrodite" | 15 |
| ||
"David" | 19 |
| ||
"Anima tormentata" | 2023 | 27 | Innamorato | |
"Ancora, ancora, ancora" | 33 | |||
"Lacrime di piombo" | 10 |
| ||
"Innamorato" | 16 |
| ||
"Scusa" | 32 | |||
"Fotocopia" | 34 | |||
"Giulia" | 23 | |||
"La mia famiglia" | 53 | |||
"Raggi del sole" | 47 | |||
"Vada come vada" | 48 |
Year | Title | Director | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
2020 | "Notti in bianco" | Simone Peluso | [50] |
"Ladro di fiori" | |||
2021 | "La canzone nostra" (with Mace and Salmo) |
YouNuts! | [51] |
"Paraocchi" | Simone Peluso | [50] | |
"Mi fai impazzire" (with Sfera Ebbasta) |
Andrea Folino | [52] | |
"Afrodite" | Simone Peluso | [50] | |
"David" | |||
"Pornografia (Bianco Paradiso)" | |||
"Finché non mi seppelliscono" | |||
"Lucciole" | |||
"Sai cosa c'è" | |||
"Blu celeste" | |||
"Figli di puttana" | |||
"Mezz'ora di sole" | |||
2022 | "Brividi" (with Mahmood) |
Attilio Cusani | [53] |
"Nostalgia" | Simone Peluso | [54] | |
2023 | "L'isola delle rose" | [55] | |
"Un briciolo di allegria" | [56] | ||
"Bruciasse il cielo" | [57] |
Year | Award ceremony | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2021 | SEAT Music Awards | Single Award | " Notti in bianco" | Won | [58] |
" La canzone nostra" | Won | ||||
" Mi fai impazzire" | Won | ||||
2022 | Sanremo Music Festival | Big Artists | " Brividi" | 1st Place | [21] |
Eurovision Song Contest | — | 6th Place | [21] |
Il suo stile, una caratteristica miscela di pop, rap e trap, lo rende un artista peculiare molto amato dalla Gen Z