Music / Francesca Michielin

Francesca Michielin (born 25 February 1995) is an Italian singer-songwriter.

Michielin is perhaps best known for representing Italy in the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest, with the song "Nessun grado di separazione". ^note English: "No degree of separation"

Though she hadn't actually won that year's Sanremo Music Festival —finishing as runner-up to Stadio's "Un giorno mi dirai"— Michielin was ultimately chosen by RAI ^note Italy's Eurovision broadcaster to represent them when Stadio declined the invitation. "Nessun grado di separazione" ultimately placed sixteenth in the Eurovision final. She later competed at Sanremo a second time in 2021, with frequent collaborator Fedez on the song "Chiamami per nome", but once again finished as runner-up.

Prior to Eurovision, Michielin won the fifth season of Italy's X Factor in 2011, where she was mentored by Simona Ventura. Aged sixteen at the time, she was the youngest winner in that show's history. Her first studio album, Riflessi di me, was released in 2012.

In 2014, she contributed her first English composition, "Amazing", to the Italian soundtrack of The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

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Discography:

• Distratto EP ^note English: Distracted (2012)
• Riflessi di me ^note English: Reflections of me (2012)
• di20 ^note stylization of "diventi" ("you become" in English); also means "of twenty", which was Michielin's age at release (2015)
  • di20are ^note derived from "diventare", the present tense of "become" in Italian (2016)
• 2640 (2018)
• Feat (stato di natura) ^note English: Featuring (natural state) (2020)
  • Feat (fuori dagli spazi) ^note English: Featuring (out of space) (2021)

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Francesca Michielin's career provides examples of the following tropes:

• Always Second Best: Specifically at Sanremo, where she has finished in second place both times she has competed. Subverted on the first occasion, when she selected for Eurovision after the winner declined.
• Badass Adorable: At the age of sixteen, she auditioned for The X Factor with "Whole Lotta Love'' by Led Zeppelin.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Prior to finishing as runner-up at Sanremo in 2016, she performed at its 2012 edition with contestant Chiara Civello.
• Production Posse: Both of her collaborations with the rapper Fedez, "Magnifico" and "Cigno Nero", were commercial hits in Italy. Their 2021 Sanremo submission was also a hit on the Italian charts.
• One Degree of Separation: Invoked by her song "No degree of separation", which is about all the living beings in the world being connected to each other.
• Pun-Based Title: The title of her second studio album, di20, is both a stylization of the Italian word "diventi" ("you become" in English) as well as a reference to her age at the time of its release.
• The Runner-Up Takes It All: Despite placing second to Stadio at Sanremo, she was ultimately selected to represent Italy at Eurovision, where she ultimately placed sixteenth.
• Teen Idol: She won The X Factor when she was sixteen, making her the youngest winner in that show's history.

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