Early life Biagio Antonacci was born in Milan and was raised in one of its
suburbs (
Rozzano). Despite learning how to play the drums at a young age, he had to study to obtain a diploma in surveying. He participated in the 38th
Sanremo Music Festival in 1988 with the song
Voglio vivere in un attimo. He was first signed to a record company in 1989, with his debut album
Sono cose che capitano which went unnoticed except for the song
Fiore. His second album,
Adagio Biagio, was released two years later. He slowly rose to recognition due to his two songs
Danza sul mio petto and
Però ti amo receiving
airtime on the radio. He has two sons with
Marianna Morandi, daughter of the Italian singer and actor
Gianni Morandi.
Success Despite the interest raised from his first two albums, he did not break into the music scene. He was aware that if his third album did not satisfy the expectations of the record company, he would be gambling with his career. In 1992 he released a single from his third album,
Liberatemi with which he travelled around Italy participating in the
Festivalbar and with which he finally obtained the recognition he deserved. The album
Liberatemi, produced by
Mauro Malavasi, sold 150,000 copies and ratified the importance of Biagio Antonacci in the world of
Italian music. In spite of these commitments, he dedicated his time to another of his passions,
football; and became the leader of homegrown singers that aim to benefit charities. In one of these occasions Don
Pierino Gelmini and various enterprises collaborated with him on a project for young dropouts to return. In 1993 he participated in the
Sanremo Music Festival with the song
Non so più a chi credere; in the same year he toured around all of Italy and gained public acknowledgement. 1999 he had a hit single with
Viktor Lazlo in Belgium, "It's a Message for You" for her album
Amour(s), which peaked at No. 7 on the Belgian single charts and remained there for 17 weeks. On 1 September 2005 in Hollywood, Biagio Antonacci received the
World Music Award for "Best-Selling Male Italian Artist" for over a million copies of his two-part album
Convivendo sold by early November. ==Discography==