Ermal Meta (; born 20 April 1981) is an Italian and Albanian singer-songwriter. Born in Fier and raised in Bari, Meta rose to prominence as one of the lead singers of Ameba 4 and . After becoming a songwriter for several Italian artists, he launched his solo career, releasing two studio albums: Umano (2016) and Vietato morire (2017). The latter peaked at number one in Italy, and was preceded by the single with the same title, which placed third in the main competition of the Sanremo Music Festival 2017, also receiving the "Mia Martini" Critics' Prize. In 2018, Meta won the Sanremo Music Festival and went on to represent Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal. Biography Life Born in Fier, Albania, Meta and his family moved to Bari in southern Italy at the age of 13. He debuted as a guitarist of Italian band Ameba4, which competed in the Newcomers' section of the Sanremo Music Festival 2006 with the song "Rido... forse mi sbaglio", included in their self-titled album, which was released in February 2006. Career In 2007 Meta became the frontman, lead singer and main songwriter of the band La Fame di Camilla. Their debut album, simply titled La Fame di Camilla, was released by Universal Music in 2009. The band later released the albums Buio e luce, including the title-track which competed in the Newcomers' section of the Sanremo Music Festival 2010, and L'attesa (2012). The band split in 2013. After writing songs for several Italian artists, including Marco Mengoni, Emma, Chiara, Annalisa, Patty Pravo and Lorenzo Fragola, Meta started his solo career. In July 2013, he appeared as a featured artist on Patty Pravo's single "Non mi interessa". In 2014, he contributed the soundtrack of Italian television series Braccialetti rossi, performing the song "Tutto si muove". In 2016, he competed in the 66th Sanremo Music Festival, performing the song "Odio le favole", which placed third in the Newcomers' section. "Odio le favole" was included in his debut solo album, Umano. He returned to the contest in 2017, competing in the Big Artists section for the first time, with the song "Vietato morire". During the third night of the contest, he performed a cover of Domenico Modugno's "Amara terra mia", receiving the award for the Best Cover Performance. Meta placed third overall in the competition, and received the "Mia Martini" Critics' Prize. His second