Nek

Born in Sassuolo, Italy, Filippo Neviani's interest in music stemmed from a very early age and subsequently began playing the guitar and drums at the age of nine. Prior to pursuing this interest as a solo artist, Nek formed the country music group Winchester and began playing in small clubs and bars around Modena. Following his contributions to Winchester, the singer had his first taste of success with the soft-rock group White Lady, which developed a notable fanbase in the Bologna province.

In 1991 Neviani appeared at the Castrocaro Music Festival, a national talent contest for emerging artists, in which the singer came second overall. The following year Nek issued his debut, self-titled solo album on the label Font Cetra, after which the singer entered Italy’s most popular talent contest, Sanremo Music Festival. With his song “In te”, which also leant its name to Nek’s 1993 sophomore album, the multi-instrumentalist placed third. Continuing his run of talent competitions, in 1995 the singer came second at the Festival Italiano, and subsequently released his third album “Calore unmano”.

The signer signed with WEA in 1997, now known as Warner Music Group, and entered the Sanremo Music Festival once again, this time placing second. Despite not taking home the biggest prize, Nek’s single “Laura non C’é” became a smash hit, aiding the sales of his fourth full-length “Lei, gli emici e tutto il resto” which went six-times platinum. On top of this success in Italy however, the singer recorded a Spanish-language version, which gained popularity throughout Europe and Latin America. A pair of albums followed, “In due” (1998) and “La vita è” (2000), raising Nek’s profile to that of pop superstar, after which he released the compilation “The Best of Nek: L’anno Zero” in 2003.

Nek’s seventh studio album “Le cose da defendere” appeared in 2002, peaking at No. 4 on the Italian Albums Chart, following which the singer released “Una parte di me” in 2005, and “Nella Stanza 26” in 2006. The tribute album to his father, “Filippo Neviani”, in which Nek played every instrument, was released in 2013, followed by “Prima di parlare” in 2015.