Ermal Meta

Ermal Meta
Ermal Meta performing in 2010, as a member of the band La Fame di Camilla
Background information
Born	(1981-04-20) 20 April 1981 (age 36) Fier, Albania
Genres	Pop
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	2006–present

Ermal Meta (born 20 April 1981) is an Italian-Albanian singer-songwriter. He was a member of Italian bands Ameba4 and La Fame di Camilla, both of which competed in the Newcomers' section of the Sanremo Music Festival. After becoming a songwriter for several Italian artists, he launched his solo career, releasing two studio albums: Umano (2016) and Vietato morire (2017). The latter peaked at number one in Italy, and was preceded by the single with the same title, which placed third in the main competition of the Sanremo Music Festival 2017, also receiving the "Mia Martini" Critics' Prize.

Born in Fier, Albania, Meta moved to Bari, Southern Italy, at the age of 13, together with his family. Meta debuted as a guitarist of Italian band Ameba4, which competed in the Newcomers' section of the Sanremo Music Festival 2006 with the song "Rido... forse mi sbaglio", included in their self-titled album, which was released in February 2006.

In 2007 Meta became the frontman, lead singer and main sogwriter of the band La Fame di Camilla. Their debut album, simply titled La Fame di Camilla, was released by Universal Music in 2009. The band later released the albums Buio e luce, including the title-track which competed in the Newcomers' section of the Sanremo Music Festival 2010, and L'attesa (2012). The band split in 2013.

After writing songs for several Italian artists, including Marco Mengoni, Emma, Chiara, Annalisa, Patty Pravo and Lorenzo Fragola, Meta started his solo career. In July 2013, he appeared as a featured artist on Patty Pravo's single "Non mi interessa". In 2014, he contributed the soundtrack of Italian television series Braccialetti rossi, performing the song "Tutto si muove". In 2016, he competed in the 66th Sanremo Music Festival, perfomring the song "Odio le favole", which placed third in the Newcomers' section. "Odio le favole" was included in his debut solo album, Umano. He returned to the contest in 2017, competing in the Big Artists section for the first time, with the song "Vietato morire". During the third night of the contest, he performed a cover of Domenico Modugno's "Amara terra mia", receiving the award for the Best Cover Performance. Meta placed third overall in the competition, and received the "Mia Martini" Critics' Prize. His second studio album, Vietato morire, was released on 10 February 2017. The album also includes a duet with Italian singer-songwriter Elisa.