Olly | |
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.png) Olly in February 2025 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Federico Olivieri (2001-05-05)5 May 2001 (age 24) Genoa, Italy |
| Genres | |
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| Instrument |
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| Years active | 2016–present |
| Labels |
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Federico Olivieri (born 5 May 2001), known professionally asOlly, is an Italian singer and songwriter. Olivieri first achieved national recognition after being selected as one of the six winners ofSanremo Giovani 2022 with the song "L'anima balla", afterwards competing in theSanremo Music Festival 2023 with the song "Polvere". He later won theSanremo Music Festival 2025 with the song "Balorda nostalgia".
Olivieri was born inGenoa to a lawyer father and a judge mother.[1] His family later settled in the Foce district.[2] He playedrugby in his youth.[3] During his early musical studies, he enrolled at theGenoa Conservatory, where he studied music and singing. He later moved toMilan and graduated from theUniversity of Milan with a degree in business and management in 2022.[1][4]
Olly's musical career began in 2016, when he formed the music collective Madmut Branco, with which he released his first musical project,Piacere Mixtape.[5] In 2017, he released his first solo project, an EP titledNamaste, in collaboration with Matsby.[6] That year, he was also featured on fellow Genoese musicianAlfa's single "Chiara Ferragni".[2] The following year, he released his second EP,CRY4U, and his first single, "Bla-Bla Car".[7]
In 2021, he posted a cover ofArisa's song "La notte" onInstagram.[8] The video proved to be successful, and the song was later released as a single, titled "La notte (RMX)", in collaboration with Arisa herself.[6] In the spring of the same year, he obtained his first record deal with the Aleph Records label, distributed byEpic Records forSony Music.[9] In July 2021, he was named "Artist of the Month" byMTV New Generation.[10]
In September 2022, he opened forBlanco at the latter's concert in Genoa.[6] Later that year, he was one of 12 acts selected to compete inSanremo Giovani, a televised competition aimed at selecting six newcomers as contestants of theSanremo Music Festival 2023.[4] His song, "L'anima balla", was a finalist, and he advanced to the main festival competition.[7] His entry, "Polvere", finished in 24th place.[11][12] Following the festival, he released his first studio album,Gira, il mondo gira.[13]
In October 2024, he released his second studio album,Tutta vita, which achievedFIMI platinum status.[14][15] That December, he was announced as one of the participants in theSanremo Music Festival 2025 with the song "Balorda nostalgia".[16] He ultimately won the festival.[17] Despite this victory, he declined to participate in theEurovision Song Contest 2025, citing conflicts with his tour schedule.[18]
In 2023, the singer apologised forhomophobia followingsocial media circulation of a video of afreestyle rap he performed in 2019, at the age of eighteen, in which he used a derogatory term toward homosexuals as an insult andconflated homosexuality with HIV/AIDS.[19][20]
The singer has been criticized for promotingviolence against women through his lyrics.[13] Following themurder of Giulia Cecchettin, Olly changed the lyrics of his song "Mai e poi mai" during a concert held at Fabrique Milano where the words "I'll marry her or I'll kill her" and "I sure won't leave her to be with you" were replaced with "I'll marry her or I'll let her go" and "For me she can do as she pleases".[13] In an interview withCorriere della Sera, Olly explained:
I wrote that song when I was 17, after my first love, a crazy story. I had idealized that relationship so much. And that rhyme there was hyperbole, an extreme metaphor. Even at the time, those who worked with me told me that it was too much, but I always stuck to the moment of writing. [...] I felt uncomfortable singing that rhyme and I thought of ten different phrases to replace it with. Then, while live, my brain went blank, and that new rhyme just came to me. There were those who accused me of bending to censorship or seeking popular consent. I would never change the lyrics because I have respect for the person who wrote them. But I had the emotional maturity to think it was wrong to sing that song that way.[13]
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ITA [21] | SWI [22] | |||
| Gira, il mondo gira (withJuli) | 13 | — | ||
| Tutta vita (with Juli) |
| 1 | 40 |
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| "—" denotes album that did not chart or were not released. | ||||
| Title | EP details |
|---|---|
| Namaste (with Matsby) |
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| CRY4U (with Yanomi) |
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| Io sono (with Yanomi) |
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| Il mondo gira (with Juli) |
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| Title | Mixtape details |
|---|---|
| Piacere Mixtape[a] |
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| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album or EP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ITA [21] | SWI [22] | ||||
| "Bla-Bla Car" (with Yanomi) | 2018 | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Bevi" (with Eames) | 2019 | — | — | ||
| "Best Seller" (featuringAlfa) | — | — | |||
| "Il primo amore" (with Yanomi) | — | — | |||
| "Dimmi quando" (with Yanomi) | — | — | |||
| "Non mi va" (with Yanomi) | 2020 | — | — | ||
| "Mai e poi mai" (with Yanomi) | — | — | Io sono | ||
| "Winston Blue" (with Yanomi) | — | — | |||
| "Non mi va" (with Yanomi) | 2021 | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Non ho paura" (with Oliver Green e Juli) | — | — | |||
| "Lego" (with Juli) | — | — | |||
| "La notte (RMX)" (withArisa) | — | — | |||
| "Hai fatto bene" (with Juli) | — | — | |||
| "Scuba Diving" (with Juli) | 2022 | — | — | ||
| "Un'altra volta" (with Juli) | — | — | Il mondo gira | ||
| "Siamo noi" (with Oliver Green, Juli and Axos) | — | — | Non-album singles | ||
| "Fidati di me" (with Juli) | — | — | |||
| "Fammi morire" (with Juli) | — | — | Il mondo gira | ||
| "L'anima balla" (with Juli) | — | — | |||
| "Polvere" | 2023 | 14 | — |
| Gira, il mondo gira |
| "La notte vola (RMX)" (with Juli andLorella Cuccarini) | — | — |
| ||
| "Tutto con te" (with Juli) | — | — | |||
| "A squarciagola" (with Juli) | 77 | — |
| Tutta vita | |
| "Devastante" (with Juli) | 2024 | 6 | — |
| |
| "Ho voglia di te" (with Juli andEmma) | 20 | — |
| Non-album single | |
| "Per due come noi" (withAngelina Mango and Juli) | 1 | — |
| Tutta vita | |
| "Quei ricordi là" (with Juli) | 15 | — |
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| "Balorda nostalgia" (with Juli) | 2025 | 1 | 6 |
| |
| "Depresso fortunato" (with Juli) | 8 | — |
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| "Questa domenica" (with Juli) | 1 | — |
| ||
| "—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released. | |||||
| Title | Year | Album or EP |
|---|---|---|
| "Chiara Ferragni" (Alfa featuring Olly and Matsby) | 2017 | Non-album singles |
| "Amigos (Remix)" (Vagae featuring Olly and CLVB) | 2018 | |
| "La chiave" (Jacopo Bagorda featuring Olly) | 2019 | |
| "Black Room Posse" (Eames and FJLO featuring Olly) | IV | |
| "Diverso" (Matsby and Joe Viegas featuring Olly and Yanomi) | Non-album single | |
| "Bevo tutta la notte" (Alfa featuring Drast and Olly) | 2021 | Nord |
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album or EP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ITA [21] | ||||
| "Menomale che c'è il mare" (with Juli) | 2023 | 40 |
| Gira, il mondo gira |
| "Bianca" (with Juli) | 80 | |||
| "È festa" (with Juli) | 2024 | 59 | Tutta vita | |
| "I cantieri del Giappone" (with Juli) | 57 |
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| "Noi che" (with Juli) | 60 | |||
| "A noi non serve far l'amore" (with Juli) | 66 | |||
| "Sopra la stessa barca" (with Juli featuringEnrico Nigiotti) | 62 | |||
| "Scarabocchi" (with Juli) | 6 |
| ||
| "Così così" (with Juli) | 2025 | 4 | Tutta vita (sempre) | |
| "Il brivido della vita" (with Juli) | 7 | |||
| "Come noi non c'è nessuno" (with Juli) | 24 | |||
| "Occhi color mare" (with Juli) | 11 | |||
| "Buon trasloco" (with Juli) | 6 |
| Awards and achievements | ||
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| Preceded by | Sanremo Music Festival Winner 2025 | Succeeded by TBD |
| National | |
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| Artists | |
