Paolo Meneguzzi
Paolo Meneguzzi will represent Switzerland at the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest. 31-year old Meneguzzi is particularly known in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland and Italy.Ever since he was a child, Paolo Meneguzzi has had a passion for music, a passion which was also shared by his family: his grandfather, Franco, a multitalented artiste, gave him a guitar when he was young, so young in fact that he could barely hold it. From then on, the path to working as a professional singer has been marked by strong commitment but also by many trials and tribulations especially with his family, given that his father did not look kindly on the fact that Paolo gave up his job in a bank in order to turn his hobby into a risky enterprise. Thanks to his mother’s support, Paolo overcame these difficulties and stubbornly cultivated his passion. He then met his manager, Massimo Scolari, who thanks to the great success achieved in South America, managed to elevate Paolo to the level of those privileged few who are able to make a living from music, thereby allowing Paolo to fulfil his father’s expectations.
1996: He wins the famous Viña del Mar Festival in Chile with his song Arià Ariò.
2001: He took part in the Sanremo Festival in Italy in the "Young Musicians Section", where his Ed Io Non Ci Sto Più came seventh.
2002: His first Italian hit arrived the following year with his single In Nome Dell’Amore recorded at the Olympic studio and Metropolis studio in London. In just a few weeks this track raced up the charts staying at the top of the singles charts for over two months.
2003: His second single VeroFalso was released; it took just three weeks for it to reach the top five in the Music Control charts. In October of the same year his third single Lei è was released. The album of the same name, released in October went double platinum, selling more than 200’000 copies.
2004: He took part in the 54th Sanremo Festival with the song Guardami negli occhi (Prego) which came fourth. The track immediately charted at number one in the Music Control charts.
In June his new single Baciami was released; it was one of the songs with most airplay in Italy.
In autumn Paolo Meneguzzi debuted in France with In Nome Dell’Amore (Au Nom De L’amour), a duet with Ophélie, who won the French edition of Pop Idol. The track broke into the top 10 in France and after not much more than a month had already sold 100’000 copies.
2005: Paolo starred at the 55th Sanremo Festival with his song Non Capiva Che L’amavo, which reached the Italian top 10. His album Favola, released in March then went platinum.
2007: He came sixth in the 57th Sanremo Festival with the song Musica. The single went straight to number one in Italy and stayed there for six weeks.
At the end of November 2007 his live Musica Tour, CD and DVD were released; the show was filmed by TSI - Televisione svizzera. An intense two-hour show containing his many radio hits, juxtaposed with tracks taken from his latest album.
2008: He presented his new single Grande at the 58th Sanremo Festival where he came sixth out of 20 participants. In March his new album Corro Via was relaesed.