Malika Ayane

Malika Ayane (; born 31 January 1984) is an Italian singer, songwriter, and actress.

Early life 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.

Career

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. 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".

Discography

Albums + List of albums, with chart positions and certifications Title Album details Chart positions Certifications ITA Malika Ayane Released: 26 September 2008 Label: Sugar Formats: CD, download 9 FIMI: Platinum Grovigli Released: 19 February 2010 Label: Sugar Formats: CD, download 2 FIMI: 2× Platinum Released: 12 February 2015 Label: Sugar Formats: CD, download9 FIMI: Platinum "Soul Waver" / "Sospesa" (feat. Pacifico)2008 —Malika Ayane"Feeling Better"6"Come foglie"20092 FIMI: Platinum "Contro vento" —"La prima cosa bella"20105 FIMI: Platinum Ricreazione"Il tempo non inganna" —"E se poi"20138 FIMI: Platinum —"Adesso e qui (nostalgico presente)"2015 9 FIMI: Gold 74 FIMI: Gold "Domani 21/04.09" (Artisti Uniti per l'Abruzzo)2009 1 FIMI: 2× Platinum Charity single"Verrà l'estate" (Pacifico feat. Malika Ayane) —Dentro ogni casa"Hello!" (Cesare Cremonini feat. Malika Ayane)2010 7 FIMI: Gold (Pacifico feat. Malika Ayane)2012 —Una voce non basta "—" denotes singles that did not chart

Other appearances + List of non-single guest appearances, showing year released and album name Song Year Album"Blue Christmas" (Andrea Bocelli feat. Malika Ayane)2009My Christmas"Ragazza del '95" (Francesco De Gregori feat. Malika Ayane)2012Sulla strada"Omero al Cantagiro" (Stylophonic feat. Malika Ayane & Dargen D'Amico)2013Boom!"La ladra" (Marta sui Tubi feat. Malik Ayane)2014Salva gente"Sirene" (Fedez feat. Malika Ayane)Pop-Hoolista"La prima cosa bella" (Luca Barbarossa feat. Malika Ayane)2015Radio DUEts – Musica libera"Anima" (Ron feat. Malika Ayane)2016La forza di dire sì"Buena fortuna" (Raphael Gualazzi feat. Malika Ayane)Love Life Peace"Noi" (Boosta feat. Malika Ayane)La stanza intelligente"Pollyanna" 2018Duets Forever

Music videos

Acting credits Film

Television

Stage

Awards and nominations