Marco Mengoni is an Italian pop singer who rose to fame on the television show #X Factor in 2009 and made his chart-topping debut shortly thereafter with the smash hit Dove Si Vola. Born on December 25, 1988, in Ronciglione, Viterbo, Italy, he was cast on the third season of #X Factor and in the end was declared winner, triumphing over second-place runner-up Giuliano Rassu on the night of December 2, 2009. Over the course of the #X Factor season, he performed a mix of Italian- and English-language pop/rock covers, from Insieme a Te Sto Bene (Lucio Battisti) and Almeno Tu Nell'universo (Mia Martini) to Back in Black (Amy Winehouse) and Billie Jean (Michael Jackson). Shortly after winning #X Factor, Mengoni made his recording debut with Dove Si Vola, a song written for him by Italian pop veteran Bungaro. Dove Si Vola was a number one smash hit on the Italian singles charts. The song was also released as the title track of Dove Si Vola (2009), a seven-track mini album comprised of songs that Mengoni performed on #X Factor, among them a couple of English-language songs, Man in the Mirror (Michael Jackson) and Psycho Killer (Talking Heads). Rush-released within days of the #X Factor season finale, Dove Si Vola was followed a couple months later by Re Matto (2010), another seven-track mini album, this one comprised of original material sung in Italian. Featuring Credimi Ancora, the Top Five hit single that Mengoni performed at the 2010 Sanremo Music Festival, Re Matto topped the Italian albums chart. ~ Jason Birchmeier, Rovi