Corona is an Italian Eurodance project. Initially a group formed by the Brazilian singer and model Olga Maria de Souza and producer Francesco "Checco" Bontempi ( Lee Marrow), they found commercial success with the worldwide hits "The Rhythm of the Night" (1993) and "Baby Baby" (1995). After their second album, Bontempi left the group and was replaced by Francesco Conte and Paolo Dughero.

History First album: The Rhythm of the Night (1993–1996) Corona's first single, "The Rhythm of the Night", was released in Italy in November 1993 on Roberto Zanetti's DWA record label and became an instant hit. It featured the voice of the Italian singer Giovanna Bersola, better known by her stage name Jenny B. It stayed at no. 1 on the Italian music chart for eight consecutive weeks, but was not released elsewhere until the following year. A remixed version of the song became a no. 2 hit in the United Kingdom in September 1994. Like several early 1990s Eurodance/Hi-NRG songs that eventually became American hits, "The Rhythm of the Night" did not become popular in the United States until well after its success had peaked in Europe. However, by spring 1995, the song was all over American radio and clubs, eventually reaching no. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was later released as a track in the band's 1995 first studio album The Rhythm of the Night.

Corona followed up with the 1995 singles "Baby Baby" and "Try Me Out", with similar success. The single "I Don't Wanna Be a Star" was a moderate hit. A fifth single, "Do You Want Me", became a regional hit in discotheques in the Eastern U.S. The Rhythm of the Night album sold modestly, peaking at no. 2 on the US Top Heatseekers chart and at no. 154 on the Billboard 200.

Second album: Walking on Music (1997–1999) In 1996, after the demise of Discomagic Records, DWA Records reorganized its staff due to internal conflicts.DWA Records at archive.org As a result, the production of Corona was moved from DWA Records to Bontempi's own label (World Of Music, which was also a sublabel of Discomagic).

Lead vocals for the remaining songs in the first album were by Welsh singer Sandy Chambers, who also sang on the group's second studio album, Walking On Music, released in 1998, and it featured the singles "The Power of Love" (1997), "Walking on Music" (1998), and "Magic Touch" (1998).

Third album: And Me U (2000–2009) The group's third studio album, And Me U, was released in 2001 by Brazil's Abril Music, under the name "Corona X", and it included the singles "Good Love" and "Volcano", both released in 2000. This time the vocals were by new vocalists, the sisters Bernadette "Brandy" Jones and Bambi Jones (who died of complications from a benign tumor). Again, de Souza was just the face but still not the voice, as many people thought. Although Bontempi co-wrote some of the material in the album, he did not participate in the production and left the band. In 2004, as a tribute to de Souza's native Brazil, Corona sang "A cor dos teus olhos" ("The Colour of Your Eyes") which was distributed by 5000. De Souza described the song like an imprint of her childhood memory. It was an immediate hit. The same year "Garota Brasileira" ("Brazilian Girl"), a song with spicy samba sounds, became a hit in Japan.

Towards the end of 2005, de Souza finally sang on the records for the first time and re-emerged onto the European music scene with "Back in Time", peaking at no. 36 in the Italian charts. It was followed by "I'll Be Your Lady" (2006), the first song co-authored by de Souza.

Fourth album: Y Generation (2010–2016) Corona's album Y Generation (2010), reached no. 1 on the Italian iTunes dance album chart. The first single was "Angel", followed by "Saturday" and "My Song". Corona's last single to date, "Super Model", was released in 2016 and reached no. 44 on the Italian Singles Chart and was later included in a re-edition of the album called Y Generation Remixed.

Recent years: 2020s In February 2024, the band was selected alongside DJ Jad, Wlady and Ice MC to compete in the final of Una voce per San Marino 2024, the Sammarinese national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2024. They finally placed 14th in the contest classification, while the Spanish rock music band Megara took 1st place.

Discography Studio albums + Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications AUS FIN SCOScottish Albums: "The Rhythm of the Night": JPN SWI UK US USHeat The Rhythm of the Night Released: April 1995 Label: Dance World Attack 10 30 21 1 35 18 154 2 AUS: Gold Walking on Music Released: June 1998 Label: RTI Music (Italy) — — — 5 58 — — — And Me U Released: July 2000 Label: Universal Records (Italy) — — — 10 — — — — Y Generation Released: July 2010 Label: 1st Pop (Italy) — — — 8 59 — — — "—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Singles Year Title Peak chart positions Certifications Album ITA AUSAustralian (ARIA Chart) peaks: Peaks within the top 50: "I Don't Wanna Be a Star": "Megamix": AUT FIN FRA GERGerman Singles: "The Rhythm of the Night": "Baby Baby": "Try Me Out": "I Don't Wanna Be a Star": SPA SWE UK US 1993 "The Rhythm of the Night" 1 8 6 — 3 8 3 28 2 11 AUS: Gold FRA: GoldFrench certifications . Retrieved 17 January 200) GER: Gold UK: 2× Platinum The Rhythm of the Night 1995 "Baby Baby" 1 7 13 6 16 41 2 10 5 57 AUS: Gold UK: Silver "Try Me Out" 2 10 20 5 11 40 4 17 6 — AUS: Gold UK: Silver "I Don't Wanna Be a Star" 2 109 25 6 18 69 1 37 22 — 1996 "Megamix" 20 161 — — 40 — — 43 36 — 1997 "The Power of Love" 25 — — — — — 7 — — — Walking on Music 1998 "Walking on Music" — — — — — — 4 — — — "Magic Touch" — — — — — — 3 — — — 2000 "Good Love" — — — — — — — — — — And Me U "Volcano" — — — — — — — — — — 2006 "Back in Time" 36 — — 15 — — — — — — rowspan="4" "I'll Be Your Lady" — — — — — — — — — — 2008 "Baby I Don't Care" — — — — — — — — — — 2009 "La Playa Del Sol" — — — — — — — — — — 2010 "Angel" — — — — — — — — — — Y Generation "Saturday" — — — — — — — — — — 2011 "My Song (La Lai)" — — — — — — — — — — 2012 "Hurry Up" (featuring Mikey P.) — — — — — — — — — — rowspan="5" 2013 "Queen of Town" — — — — — — — — — — 2014 "Stay with Me" — — — — — — — — — — 2015 "We Used to Love" — — — — — — — — — — 2016 "Super Model" — — — — — — — — — — "—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

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