Tiziano Ferro ( born 21 February 1980) is an Italian singer, songwriter, producer and author. He broke through in 2001 with his international hit single “Perdono” and has remained commercially successful since then, in several countries. Ferro has released a Spanish version of each of his albums and has also sung in English, Portuguese, and French. Known as the modern face of Italian pop music, he frequently writes songs for other artists and has produced albums for Giusy Ferreri, Alessandra Amoroso and Baby K.

Aside from his success as an artist, Ferro is well known for his personal struggles. Having been overweight as a teenager, he has been outspoken about his battles with food addiction and eating disorders. In October 2010, at the height of his fame, Ferro came out as gay, having himself struggled with depression related to self-acceptance about his homosexuality.

Ferro is currently one of the best-selling artists in Italy. Both his third album Nessuno è solo and fourth album Alla mia età were certified diamond. Despite his fears, his coming out did not negatively affect his career, as his fifth album L’amore è una cosa semplice was the best-selling album of 2012 in Italy, and his first greatest hits album was supported by a stadium tour. As of 2015, Ferro has sold over 15 million records worldwide.

Ferro’s interest in music was born when he received a toy keyboard as a present, which was used to compose his first songs when he was seven. He later started taking guitar and piano classes at a local conservatory of music. When he was 16 years old, he joined a gospel choir  and during the same years, he started performing in piano bars and karaoke contests.

In 1997, Ferro participated in the “Accademia della Canzone di Sanremo”, a music contest created with the purpose to choose the contestants for the Sanremo Music Festival, but was eliminated during the first stage of the competition. The following year, Ferro participated again in the same contest, and despite being chosen as one of the 12 finalists, he did not make it to win the competition. However, during the selections, Ferro met music producers Alberto Salerno and Mara Maionchi, and started to collaborate with them. In 1999 Ferro also toured throughout Italy as a back vocalist with the Italian hip hop band Sottotono.

In 2001, Ferro signed a contract with EMI Music Italy. On 22 June 2001, he released his first single, “Xdono”. During the first months after the release, the song received a poor reception, but it later became a hit and, after topping the Italian Singles Chart in September 2001, it was certified double platinum by the Federation of the Italian Music Industry for sales exceeding 100,000 copies.

The song was included in Ferro’s debut album, Rosso Relativo, released on 26 October 2001. Following the commercial success obtained in Italy, in 2002 the album was released in several European countries. A Spanish-language version of the record, titled Rojo Relativo, was also released in Spain and Latin America. Rosso Relativo obtained success in different markets throughout its various editions and had sold more than 1,000,000 copies worldwide by 2004, according to EMI Music. The album also allowed Ferro to receive a nomination for Best New Artist at the Latin Grammy Awards of 2003.

In November 2003, Ferro released his second studio album, 111, recorded both in Italian and Spanish, produced by Alberto Salerno, Mara Maionchi and Michele Canova. The album was preceded by the release of “Xverso” / “Perverso”, and also spawned the singles “Sere nere” / “Tardes negras”, “Non me lo so spiegare” / “No me lo puedo explicar” and “Ti voglio bene” / “Desde mañana no lo sé”. 111 has sold more than 1,000,000 copies worldwide, topping the Mexican Albums Chart and being certified four times platinum in Italy for domestic sales exceeding 450,000 copies. Following the success of the album Ferro won Best Italian Artist at the 2004 MTV Europe Music Awards in Rome.

In July 2004, Ferro also released in Europe his first English-language single, “Universal Prayer”, a duet with British R&B singer Jamelia recorded to promote the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Ferro lived in Mexico during these years, first in Cuernavaca and later in Puebla. He studied Spanish  there at a university, eventually graduating in August 2005, before relocating to Manchester.