Emmanuela “Emma” Marrone (born 25 May 1984), known professionally as Emma, is an Italian pop singer, songwriter, and actress. After working with several bands, she won the Italian talent show Amici di Maria De Filippi in March 2010, and signed a contract with record label Universal Music. 

Since 2010, she has released 7 solo studio albums, 1 extended play and 39 singles, topping the Italian Singles Chart and the Italian Albums Chart four times and selling more than 1.6 million records in Italy. On 18 February 2012, she won the Sanremo Music Festival 2012 with her song “Non è l’inferno” and she represented Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 with the song “La mia città”, finishing 21st.

She has collaborated with international artists like Thirty Seconds to Mars and Álvaro Soler, and Italian artists and songwriters such as Elisa, Alessandra Amoroso, Modà, Fabrizio Moro, Vasco Rossi, Giuliano Sangiorgi and Roberto Casalino. Marrone figured also as a songwriter and producer for other artists such as Elodie and Antonino.

In 2013, 2015, and 2016 Marrone was selected as the artistic director of one of the teams in Amici di Maria De Filippi, which gave her two Italian Television Direction Awards, and acted in several Italian TV series and films, including Gabriele Muccino’s film The Best Years in 2020.

She received several Italian and international awards and nominations including three MTV Italian Music Awards, one TRL Awards and was nominated at the MTV Europe Music Award and the World Music Awards.

Born in Florence, she spent her early childhood in Sesto Fiorentino. At the age of four, she moved with her parents Rosario and Maria Marrone to Aradeo in the province of Lecce, from where her parents originally came. She acquired her passion for music from her father Rosario, who was a guitarist in a band from Aradeo called “Karadreon”, which was formed when Marrone was about 10 years old, and which performed in festivals and clubs. She was in a band called H2O (always the Father). She graduated from classical high school, writing a thesis on music. She worked in a warehouse and was a saleswoman for three years.

Marrone started her professional musical career in 2003, when she took part in the second Italian edition of Popstars (later renamed Superstar Tour); she won the talent show, and along with Laura Pisu and Colomba Pane formed Lucky Star. The group released a successful single in 2003 called “Stile”, on the Universal label. In 2006 the group recorded the soundtrack of the cartoon W.I.T.C.H. and released a dance-pop album, called LS3. The band then broke up.

In 2007, she formed another alternative rock group, M.J.U.R. (which stands for “Mad Jesters Until Rave”). The group won a contract with Dracma Records, recorded an album between August and September 2007, and released the album Mjur in January 2008, with ten tracks written and composed by its members.

Between 2007 and 2009, she was in the band Anonimo Soul with her uncle Emidio Marrone, performing soul and funk. Until 2009 she also played with H2O, a band in which her father Rosario Marrone was a member. In 2009, she took part in another talent show for Canale 5, Amici di Maria De Filippi, and won this competition.

In March 2010, through Universal Music she released her first EP, Oltre, which was very successful in Italy, peaking at number one for two weeks on the Italian Albums Chart. In the same month, her first single was released, “Calore”, which peaked at number one for two weeks and was certified platinum. The EP was certified triple platinum for its sales in Italy and was the second best-selling album of 2010 in Italy. In Switzerland it peaked at number 85.

On 28 May 2010, she took part in the Wind Music Awards, and was awarded the prize for the multiplatinum CD EP Oltre by her idol Gianna Nannini. In June 2010, she began her first summer-long tour: the Ahi ce sta passu tour. She toured throughout Italy with her band. In the same month, she also took part in the Amici Tour 2010 with all the contestants of the talent show. In July 2010, the second single from Oltre was released: “Un sogno a costo zero”. After the tour, she released the video for the third single “Sembra strano”.