Violetta Zironi (born 5 April 1995) is an Italian singer-songwriter and actress.
In 2013, she took part in season 7 of the Italian version of The X Factor with her ukulele which soon became her signature instrument. She reached the final and finished third. She debuted with her EP Dimmi che non passa, containing her debut single "Dimmi che non passa".
In 2020, she starred in the Netflix's original film Rose Island, directed by Sydney Sibilia.
Biography Early years Violetta Zironi is born in Correggio, Emilia Romagna, to comic book artist and screenwriter Giuseppe Zironi, who worked for Walt Disney Italia, RAI and Mediaset, and municipal clerk Annalisa Sansone. She was first introduced to music aged three, when she joined a local children's choir, before starting taking piano lessons.
Violetta started performing live in her early teens, singing and playing guitar, often accompanied by her father Giuseppe on harmonica and by Oscar Abelli on drums, touring in local festivals and clubs. In 2012, she met ukulele player Luca "Jontom" Tomassini, who introduced Violetta to this instrument. They performed together at the 2012 YOUkulele Festival in Rome, and Jontom wanted Violetta as a guest on his EP Likelike Highway, released by the independent label Insomnia Records.
2013–2014: The X Factor and her first EP In 2013 Violetta showed up at the auditions for season 7 of the Italian version of The X Factor with her ukulele which soon became her signature instrument, and after impressing the judges with her version of "Shortnin' Bread" she was admitted to the live show and included in the "Under 25 Girls" team mentored by Mika. During the live shows, she performed songs such as "Let Her Go" by Passenger, "Le tasche piene di sassi" by Italian popstar Jovanotti, "Friday I'm in Love" by The Cure, "One Day / Reckoning Song" by Asaf Avidan, "Royals" by Lorde, "9 to 5" by Dolly Parton, "Skinny Love" by Birdy and "One" by U2. She finished third place and released her debut EP entitled Dimmi che non passa with Sony Music on 13 December 2013.
In 2014, Violetta was chosen to perform Dorothy Gale's songs in the Italian version of Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return. On 21 June 2014, she released her second single "Il primo giorno d'estate", written by Luca Mattioni and Mario Cianchi, and produced by Alessandro Magnanini. During the summer, her version of "Bring Me Sunshine" was used for the TV commercial of brand Pavesini.
On 2 August 2014 she performed at the rockabilly festival "Summer Jamboree" in Senigallia, when she opened Ben E. King's show and duet with him performing "Stand By Me".
On 25 November 2014 her version of "Winter Wonderland" was included in the compilation X Factor Christmas 2014, released by Sony Music.
2015–2016: Post-X Factor and Written in Scars Tour In 2015 Violetta's song "Eppure mi va" was included in a shortlist of 60 tracks set to compete in the newcomers section of the Sanremo Music Festival 2015, but didn't make it to the final competition. In April, Violetta guest-starred in Jack Savoretti's Written in Scars Tour, being the opening act of almost all the Italian shows and also joining the singer on stage. She once again took part in the selections for the "Newcomers" section at the Sanremo Music Festival 2016 and again her song "Piccola ferita" was included in the shortlist, but didn't make it to the stage.
On 3 June 2016, she released her third single "Semplice", written and performed together with Italian singer-songwriter Zibba.
2017–2021: Projects in Germany In 2017, she moved to Berlin and signed with label Pon't Danic Music, releasing a new EP entitled Half Moon Lane on 23 February 2018.
On 14 September 2019, she released another EP entitled Scenes from My Lonely Window.
2022: Transition to Web3 In December 2021, at a time when she was considering leaving the music industry, Zironi learned about music NFTs and decided to pursue releasing her music on the Ethereum blockchain. She released her first collection, Handmade Songs, in January 2022 and began hosting regular Twitter spaces about music NFTs.
The success of Handmade Songs encouraged her to release a larger collection. In April 2022, she collaborated with Nifty Music to release Moonshot, a collection of 2500 NFTs featuring five songs written by her and Michael Ochs and produced by Matt Rollings at Sound Emporium Studios in Nashville. The collection also featured artwork drawn by her father, Giuseppe Zironi, who was an illustrator at Walt Disney Studios.
Discography Compilation Year Album Details 2019 My Songs Label: Pon't Danic Music Formats: LP, CD Extended plays Title EP details Peak chart positions Certifications ITA Dimmi che non passa Released: Label: Sony Music Format: CD, download 13 — Half Moon Lane Released: Label: Pon't Danic Music Format: CD, digital download — — Scenes from My Lonely Window Released: Label: Pon't Danic Music Format: CD, digital download — — Moonshot Released: April 2022 Label: None Format: Ethereum NFT—— Handmade Songs Released: 26 April 2026 Label: None Format: Digital download —— "—" denotes an item that did not chart in that country.
Singles Title Year Peak Album / EP ITA "Dimmi che non passa" 20136 Dimmi che non passa "Il primo giorno d'estate" 2014 — rowspan="2" "Semplice" (feat. Zibba) 2016 — "Don't Make Me a Fool" 2017 —Half Moon Lane "Toast" — "One More Goodbye" 2018 —Scenes from My Lonely Window "Little Wound" (feat. Ed Prosek) — "Lonely Window" 2019 — "Oasis" — "When I Wake" —My Songs "Hungry to Kill" — "I Never Needed Christmas" 2020 — rowspan="7" "When You're Not Around"2021 — "Donna" (with Turista Per Sempre) — "Poor Millionaire" — "Come What May" (with Ed Prosek) — "10 Years"2023 — "Heavenly Angels" — "A Little Rain Must Fall" 2026 —Handmade Songs "Gypsy Heart" — rowspan="2" "Blaze of Glory" — "—" denotes an item that did not chart.
Other charted songs Title Year Peak Album / EP ITA "Let Her Go"201381Dimmi che non passa
Guest appearances Year Artist EP Contribution2012 Jontom Likelike Highway Vocals and acoustic guitar on "Jackson", "Ghost" and "Wherever I Go"
Other appearances in compilation albums Year Song(s) Album2013 "Dimmi che non passa"X Factor Compilation 2013 "Le tasche piene di sassi" 2014 "Winter Wonderland" X Factor Christmas 2014
Music videos YearTitleDirectorRef.2013"Dimmi che non passa"Tom Summers2014"Il primo giorno d'estate" 2017"Half Moon Lane" Elisabeth Damke"Don't Make Me a Fool" John Bird
Filmography + Film Year Title Role Notes 2018 Il flauto magico di Piazza Vittorio Pamina 2020 Rose Island Franca 2022 Io e Spotty Sissi
Awards and nominations Year Award Nomination Work Result2014 Kid's Choice Awards Best Italian Act Herself Nomination
References
External links