Malika Ayane

Malika Ayane (Italian pronunciation: [maˈliːka aˈjan]; born 31 January 1984) is an Italian singer, songwriter, and actress. Malika Ayane was born in Milan, Italy, on 31 January 1984, to a Moroccan father, Ahmed, and an Italian mother. She grew up in the Zone 2 of Milan, the most multi-ethnic area of the city. In 1995, she entered the White Voices Choir at the Teatro alla Scala in her hometown, where she sang for seven years. In the meanwhile, she started studying cello at the "Giuseppe Verdi" Conservatory in Milan, where she graduated in 2001. During the mid-2000s, Ayane recorded songs for some TV spots, including a cover of "Over the Rainbow" for the campaign of Italian food company Yomo in 2005, and the original track "Soul Waver", performed in 2007 for Swedish car manufacturer Saab. In 2007, Ayane met Italian record producer and former singer Caterina Caselli, which granted her a deal with independent label Sugar Music. As a result, "Soul Waver" was released as her debut single. The song was also re-released in an Italian-language version, "Sospesa", with singer-songwriter Pacifico. "Sospesa" will also feature in the movie Letters to Juliet, released in 2010. Malika Ayane's self-titled first studio album was released on 26 September 2008. The album also spawned the single "Feeling Better", which became a radio hit in 2008, while the track "Il giardino dei salici" was chosen by Barilla for a TV commercial. In December 2008, Ayane was chosen as one of the contestants of the Newcomers' section of the 59th Sanremo Music Festival. During the show, held in February 2009, she performed her entry "Come foglie", written by Negramaro's frontman Giuliano Sangiorgi. During the third night of the show, the song was also performed as a duet with singer-songwriter Gino Paoli. For Valerio Scanu, contestant of the eighth season of the talent show "Amici di Maria De Filippi", she wrote the song "Dopo Di Me" that reached the ninth position in the Italian charts. Malika, in April 2009, took part in the song "Domani 21-04-09" with other Italian singers to fund raise to rebuild schools in Abruzzo, the region where the disastrous earthquake centred in L'Aquila and surrounding villages struck on 6 April. In 2010, she was a contestant in the 60th edition of the Sanremo Music Festival where she won the "Mia Martini" critics award for her song "Ricomincio da qui". In 2010 she collaborated with her then-fiancé Cesare Cremonini on "Hello!". On 30 November 2025, she was announced among the participants of the Sanremo Music Festival 2026. She competed with the song "Animali notturni". Sandra Cesarale (8 January 2009). "Doppia Malika". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved 16 June 2013. Maurizio Amore (15 January 2013). "Sanremo 2013 – Artisti in gara big – Malika Ayane". La Stampa (in Italian).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) Andrea Laffranchi (19 February 2010). "L'italo-marocchina di via Padova: Orgogliosa di essere meticcia". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved 16 June 2013. Carlo Moretti (4 July 2010). "Malika Ayane" (in Italian). Retrieved 16 June 2013. "Ayane, Malika". Enciclopedia Italiana (in Italian). Retrieved 16 June 2013. Marco Mangiarotti (2 December 2012). "Festa per Malika Ayane agli Arcimboldi e al Blue Note". Il Giorno. Retrieved 16 June 2013. Alessandro Alicandri. "Malika Ayane canta per i surgelati. E piace a chi fa gli spot..." Panorama. Archived from the original on 9 May 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015. "Malika Ayane – Biografia" (in Italian). Rockol.it. Archived from the original on 18 March 2015. "Villa Badoer di Fratta Polesine (Ro): la voce speziata di Malika Ayane in concerto" (in Italian). RovigoOggi.it. 18 August 2009. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. "Malika Ayane all'Abbazia di San Galgano". La Nazione (in Italian). 13 July 2010. Archived from the original on 9 May 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015. Rita Celi (22 December 2008). "Sanremo, da Albano a Zanicchi, ecco il cast del festival di Bonolis". la Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 9 May 2015. Valentina Greggio (20 February 2009). "Sanremo 2009 – Terza serata" (in Italian). Nonsolocinema.com. Archived from the original on 2 March 2009. Retrieved 10 May 2015. "Sanremo 2026. Da Tommaso Paradiso a Patty Pravo, Carlo Conti annuncia i nomi dei 30 Big in gara". RaiNews (in Italian). RAI. 30 November 2025. Retrieved 30 November 2025. Dammacco, Beppe (15 December 2025). "Sanremo 2026: i titoli dei brani in gara. Definite le quattro Nuove Proposte". Eurofestival News (in Italian). Retrieved 15 December 2025. "Italian Charts – Malika Ayane – Albums". Italiancharts.com. Retrieved 1 September 2012. "Italian album certifications – Malika Ayane" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 25 October 2021. "Malika Ayane: il nuovo album "Naif" esce il 12 febbraio!" (in Italian). MTV News. 21 January 2015. Archived from the original on 2 February 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2016. Peak positions on the Italian FIMI Top Digital Download: For "Tre cose": "Archivio – Top Digital Download – Classifica settimanale WK 38 (dal 17-09-2012 al 23-09-2012)" (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Retrieved 27 October 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) For "Niente": FIMI – Classifiche". Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (in Italian). Retrieved 19 April 2015. Enter the section Archivio, then choose Top Digital in the field Sezione and 2013 in the field Anno. Finally, click on the chart for week 7. For all the other songs: "Italian Charts – Malika Ayane – Singles". Italiancharts.com. Retrieved 1 September 2012. For "Animali notturni": "Singoli – Classifica settimanale WK 10 (dal 27.02.2026 al 05.03.2026)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 7 March 2026. "Italian single certifications – Malika Ayane" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 22 November 2014. "Certificazioni – Archivio" (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2013. Select Online, Week 26, Year 2013, then press Avvia la ricerca. Simona Lombardi (15 October 2013). "Malika Ayane – Neve Casomai (Un amore straordinario) (Radio Date: 18-10-2013)" (in Italian). Earone.it. Retrieved 19 February 2016. Oriana Meo (9 September 2015). "Malika Ayane: Il nuovo singolo è Tempesta, poi il tour" (in Italian). AllMusicItalia.it. Archived from the original on 2 January 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016. Featured singles on the Italian Singles Charts: "Domani 21/04.09": "Italian Charts – Domani 21 aprile 2009 – Artisti uniti per l'Abruzzo (single)". Italiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 July 2011. "Hello!": "Italian Charts – Cesare Cremonini – Hello! (song)". Italiancharts.com. Retrieved 1 September 2012. "Jovanotti &Friends, uniti per l'Aquila. Puntiamo a vendere 1 milione di cd". La Stampa. 5 May 2009. Archived from the original on 3 January 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2012. "Awards 2010" (PDF) (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 May 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2012. "Pacifico in tour al Paolo Pini". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). 25 June 2009. Retrieved 1 September 2012. Alessandro Alicandri (1 October 2010). "Hello Cesare Cremonini (con Malika)! Il difficile confronto con Mondo". Panorama (in Italian). Archived from the original on 4 January 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2012. "Pacifico, nell'album Bersani, Bianconi e altri: Francesco è stata la scintilla". Rockol.it. 14 March 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2012. "My Christmas di Andrea Bocelli" (in Italian). RAI. 20 November 2009. Archived from the original on 4 January 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2012. Gabriele Ferraris (15 November 2012). "De Gregori: Sulla strada mi sento musicista". La Stampa (in Italian). Retrieved 19 November 2012. "Anche Ra, Malika e Pau dei Negrita in Boom! di Stylophonic" (in Italian). Radio