Francesca Calearo (born 16 January 2002), known professionally as Madame, is an Italian singer, songwriter and rapper.
Madame | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Francesca Calearo |
Born | Vicenza, Italy | 16 January 2002
Origin | Creazzo, Italy |
Genres | |
Occupations |
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Years active | 2018–present |
Labels | Sugar |
After signing a recording contract with Sugar Music at age 16, she gained popularity in August 2019, when her single "Sciccherie" was shared by Cristiano Ronaldo on his Instagram profile. Between 2019 and 2020, she released several singles as lead artist and collaborations with, among others, Marracash, Negramaro, DRD, Ghali, Ensi and producer Chris Nolan. In March 2021 she competed in the 71st Sanremo Music Festival. Her entry "Voce", which earned her one of the most streams artist in Amazon Music Italy in 2021 alongside Cos Mass, Mahmood and Alessandra Amoroso as well as the single "Il mio amico" recorded with Fabri Fibra, were included in her debut album Madame, released on 19 March 2021.
Biography
editFrancesca Calearo was born in Vicenza on 16 January 2002 and grew up in the town of Creazzo.[1][2] As a child, she developed an interest in music thanks to her father, an amateur musician with an interest in Italian singer-songwriters.[3][4] Being influenced by artists like Ludovico Einaudi, Calearo started taking piano lessons in middle school, and later continued to study music as an autodidact.[5] She studied Human Sciences at the liceo Don Giuseppe Fogazzaro in Vicenza.[6] She chose the pseudonym "Madame" after trying a random generator for drag queen names, which yielded the result "Madame Wild" for Calearo.[7] She found it represented the idea of "elegance and sophistication" she wanted to pursue, as well as her will to be "a Woman with capital W".[3]
Madame's debut single, "Anna", was produced by rapper Eiemgei and released in September 2018 by Arcade Army Records.[8][9] At the age of 16, she signed a recording contract with Sugar Music, whom released her second single "Sciccherie" on 14 December 2018.[10][11][3] The song received airplay from Italian radio networks including Radio DeeJay.[12] In August 2019, Cristiano Ronaldo posted an Instagram story on his account with a video of himself listeing to "Sciccherie" on his home's terrace. Ronaldo's story attracted media attention to the song, leading several outlets to talk about Madame's music for the first time.[6][13][14][15]
The singles "17", "La promessa dell'anno", "Baby", "Sentimi" and "Clito" were also released between 2019 and 2020.[16][17][18][19][20] In late 2019, Madame appeared on the album Persona by Italian rapper Marracash, performing as a featured artist in the track named after her pseudonym.[21] In the summer of 2020, producer DRD released the single "Defuera", with vocals by Ghali, Marracash and Madame.[22] She also recorded the song "Non è vero niente" with Italian rock band Negramaro, which was included in their album Contatto in late 2020.[23]
According to D: La repubblica delle donne (lit. 'D: The republic of women'), a magazine attached to the newspaper la Repubblica, in 2020 Madame was among the fifty candidates for the title of "Italian Woman of the Year".[24]
Madame made her first appearance on Italian television on 3 December 2020, when she opened the semi-final of the fourteenth season of The X Factor on Sky TV, singing her song "Baby" in a duet with contestant Blind.[25] The following week, on 10 December, she was again a guest of the show, performing "Non è vero niente" with Negramaro.[26]
In March 2021, Madame competed in the 71st Sanremo Music Festival, performing the song "Voce".[27] She became the first female rapper to compete in the contest's main section, and the youngest singer among the established artists competing in the 2021 contest.[7][28] During the festival she came out as bisexual.[29] Her entry "Voce" was included in her self-titled debut album, released on 19 March 2021.[30] The album was preceded by the single "Il mio amico", featuring Italian rapper Fabri Fibra and released in January 2021.[31] The album and the song "Voce" were respectively awarded a Targa Tenco for Best Debut Album and Best Song.[32] Two new songs, entitled "Marea" and "Tu mi hai capito", were released as singles on 4 July and 3 September 2021 respectively, and later added to the digital version of her debut album.[33][34]
Madame participated in the Sanremo Music Festival 2023 with the song "Il bene nel male".[35][36] At the festival, she also performed a duet with Izi of Fabrizio De André's "Via del Campo".[37] Madame co-authored with Angelina Mango and Dardust "La noia", Mango's winning entry in the Sanremo Music Festival 2024.
Musical style
editAmong her influences, Madame cites singer-songwriter Fabrizio De André, trap music and, despite not having southern Italian origins, Sicilian neomelodic music.[38][9] Instrumental music also played an important role in her artistic development, with artists such as Ludovico Einaudi and Van Halen.[9]
In 2019, her musical style was described by la Repubblica as "urban, a very wide container in which trap and rap can merge, together with several other contemporary sounds".[6] Claudio Cabona wrote for Rockol.it that Madame's lyrical style is sometimes "visceral", and "sometimes very explicit, without being banal".[39] He added that all her songs are characterized by very particular voice sounds.[39] On Klamour, Gabriele Zangarini compared her voice in "Sciccherie" to La Rappresentante di Lista, describing it as "sometimes enraged, then whispered, often theatrical".[8]
Discography
edit- Studio albums
Television programs
editYear | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2020 | X Factor | Musical guest | Season 14, episodes 6 and 7 |
2021 | Sanremo Music Festival 2021 | Contestant | 8th place, Best Lyrics Award |
Le Iene | Guest host | Season 25 | |
2023 | Sanremo Music Festival 2023 | Contestant | 7th place |
References
edit- ^ Nicky Abrami (18 December 2020). "Madame, per la prima volta al Festival di Sanremo con il brano Voce". Metropolitan Magazine (in Italian). Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ Francesco Verni (14 July 2020). "Madame, la rap queen di Vicenza". Corriere del Veneto (in Italian). Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ a b c Gianluca Pace (7 February 2019). "Madame, Sciccherie oltre i cliché. L'intervista" (in Italian). BlitzQuotidiano.it. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ "Rapper e Beatmaker". Boh Magazine.
- ^ Paolo Giordano (6 August 2019). "Arriva la Madame pop. La liceale di Vicenza che Ronaldo ha lanciato". Il Giornale (in Italian). Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ a b c "Madame, la rapper italiana che piace a Cristiano Ronaldo". la Repubblica (in Italian). 6 August 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ a b Ilaria Arpino (4 January 2021). "Chi è Madame, la prima rapper donna in gara tra i campioni del Festival di Sanremo" (in Italian). Radio Zeta. RTL 102.5 Hit Radio S.r.l. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ a b Gabriele Zangarini (9 August 2019). "Madame: chi è la cantante rap di Anna e Sciccherie" (in Italian). Klamour.it. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ a b c "Chi è Madame, la ragazza di Anna". Rebel Mag. 15 September 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ Antonio Sartori (2 February 2019). "Intervista a Madame, la nuova stella della musica urban italiana" (in Italian). InsideMusic.it. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ "Madame: 17 anni di puro stile" (in Italian). radiobicocca.it. 5 July 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
- ^ "Cristiano Ronaldo ascolta Sciccherie di Madame: la reazione della giovane cantante" (in Italian). Radio DeeJay. 6 August 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
- ^ "Ci voleva Cristiano Ronaldo per far parlare di Madame?". Rebel Mag (in Italian). 7 August 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ "Ronaldo ascolta il brano di Madame, giovane talento italiano". La Stampa (in Italian). 4 August 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ Filippo Bordignon (6 August 2019). "CR7 stregato dalla vicentina Madame". Il Giornale di Vicenza (in Italian). Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ Giuseppe Falbo (11 July 2019). "17 di Madame: nuovo singolo" (in Italian). InsideMusic.it. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ "Madame, ascolta La Promessa dell'anno il suo nuovo singolo" (in Italian). Newsic.it. 8 October 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ "Madame: Baby è il nuovo singolo della cantante e rapper, classe 2002" (in Italian). Radio Italia Solo Musica Italiana. 28 February 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ Edoardo Bettoja (24 April 2020). "Madame, Sentimi è il nuovo singolo prodotto dai Crookers" (in Italian). AllMusicItalia.it. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ Claudio Cabona (6 November 2020). "Madame, un click sul Clito per fare i conti con la vita". Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ "Marracash, il suo nuovo album Persona è già disco di platino". Il Mattino (in Italian). 29 November 2019.
- ^ "Guarda il video di Defuera, il primo singolo di DRD con Ghali, Marracash e Madame". Rolling Stone (in Italian). 18 July 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ "Negramaro, tra i brani del prossimo album Non è vero niente con Madame" (in Italian). tg24.sky.it. 22 October 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
- ^ "Madame è tra le candidate di D la Repubblica per l'iniziativa volta a proclamare la donna dell'anno 2020" (in Italian). rapologia.it. 21 October 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ "Madame: scopri chi è davvero la super ospite di X Factor 2020" (in Italian). donnaglamour.it. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
- ^ "I Negramaro ospiti della Finale accompagnati da Madame" (in Italian). xfactor.sky.it. 11 December 2020. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
- ^ "Sanremo: Irama, Fulminacci, Madame tra i Big" (in Italian). ansa.it. 17 December 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
- ^ "Madame: è lei la più giovane sul palco di Sanremo 2021" (in Italian). MSN News. 18 December 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ Silvia Fumarola (4 March 2021). "Sanremo 2021, Madame: "Il pudore è solo chiusura mentale I piedi nudi? Per comodità"" [Sanremo 2021, Madame: "Modesty is only narrow-mindedness. Barefoot? Only for comfort"]. la Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- ^ Federica Pirchio (18 March 2021). "L'album d'esordio, 'Madame': bisogna sentirsi liberi di essere sé stessi senza vergogna". Sky TG24 (in Italian). Retrieved 19 March 2021.
- ^ "Madame, il nuovo singolo è Il mio amico con Fabri Fibra" (in Italian). Sky Italia. 13 January 2021.
- ^ "Targhe Tenco 2021, premi a Madame e Samuele Bersani: i vincitori" (in Italian). Rockol.it. 13 July 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- ^ Giulia Ciavarelli (4 June 2021). "Madame torna con il nuovo singolo Marea". TV Sorrisi e Canzoni (in Italian). Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- ^ "Madame unisce la sua musica a quella di Sfera Ebbasta per il nuovo singolo, 'Tu l'hai capito'". All Music Italia. 31 August 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
- ^ Granger, Anthony (4 December 2022). "Italy: Festival di Sanremo 2023 Participants Revealed". Eurovoix. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
- ^ Granger, Anthony (17 December 2022). "Italy: Sanremo Giovani 2022 Qualifiers & Sanremo Song Titles Revealed". Eurovoix. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
- ^ "Madame e Izi cantano "Via del Campo" di Fabrizio De André". 2 October 2023.
- ^ "Madame: chi è la cantante di Sciccherie, Baby e molte altre" (in Italian). MTV Italy. 20 July 2020.
- ^ a b Claudio Cabona (14 January 2021). "Madame, Il mio amico con Fabri Fibra: l'ascolto di Rockol" (in Italian). Rockol.it. Retrieved 16 January 2021.