Francesco Renga

Before embarking on his solo career, singer/songwriter Francesco Renga spent 13 years with the band Timoria, whose first incarnation had formed when the members were still in high school. After releasing seven albums with them, Renga decided he wanted to strike out alone, releasing his solo debut -- self-titled and on Universal, the label that also housed Timoria -- in 2001, that same year entering one of its songs, "Raccontami," into the San Remo Festival, where he won the critics' newcomer award (alongside Roberto Angelini), thanks in part to his stirring live performance. The next year Tracce came out, followed by Camere con Viste in 2004. In 2005 Renga once again appeared at San Remo, this time to even more favorable results: his song, "Angelo," took first place at the entire festival, prompting a re-release of Camere con Viste with the bonus inclusion of the winning composition. In June 2007, Renga issued a single, "Cambio Direzione," in anticipation of the upcoming full-length, Ferro e Cartone, set to appear in October of the same year.by Marisa Brown