Anna Hoxha (Albanian: [ˈana ˈhɔdʒa]; born 28 April 1961), known professionally as Anna Oxa (Italian: [ˈanna ˈɔksa]), is an Italian singer, actress, and television presenter. Affectionately referred to as la Voce e il Cuore ("the Voice and the Heart"), Oxa has received mainstream popularity and recognition within Italy due to her numerous participations in the Sanremo Music Festival.
Anna Oxa | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Anna Hoxha |
Born | (1961-04-28) 28 April 1961 (age 61) Bari, Italy |
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Years active | 1978–present |
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Beginning her career as a teenager, Oxa debuted in the Sanremo Music Festival 1978 with the song "Un'emozione da poco", placing second in the competition. Following her success in Sanremo, she released her debut studio album Oxanna (1978) that year, which became her first chart-topping album in Italy. After numerous participations in Sanremo during the 1980s, Oxa competed again in the Sanremo Music Festival 1989, performing "Ti lascerò" as a duet with Fausto Leali. The duo won the competition, and thus were chosen as the Italian representatives in the Eurovision Song Contest 1989 in Lausanne, competing with the song "Avrei voluto"; they placed ninth in the finals. Oxa went on to win Sanremo once more, winning the Sanremo Music Festival 1999 as a soloist with the song "Senza pietà". In total, Oxa has competed in Sanremo fourteen times across five decades, and additionally has hosted the competition in 1994.
In her 40-year long career, Oxa has released seventeen studio albums, of which two of them have charted at number-one on the FIMI Albums Chart. Aside from singing, Oxa cohosted Fantastico for two years, was a judge on Amici di Maria De Filippi, and competed in the Italian version of Dancing with the Stars. As an actress, she has appeared in Stryx (1978) and the film Maschio, femmina, fiore, frutto (1979).
Oxa was born on 28 April 1961, in Bari to an Albanian father originally from Krujë, Qazim Hoxha, and an Italian mother from Bari, Elena Piccininno.[1] She was raised in the San Pasquale neighborhood of Bari, and attended school at the Liceo Artistico Giuseppe De Nittis. Since her youth, Oxa has been vegan.[2] Since 2020, Hoxha holds both Italian and Albanian citizenship.[3]
Oxa began her career at the Sanremo Music Festival 1978, performing the song "Un'emozione da poco", written by Ivano Fossati, who also sponsored her performance. Sporting an androgynous punk look, Oxa achieved great success in the competition, reaching second place behind only Matia Bazar.[4] After the show, "Un'emozione da poca" was released as a single by record label RCA Italiana, and became Oxa's first number-one single in Italy. Following the success of "Un'emozione da poco", Oxa released her debut studio album Oxanna (1978). The album also became a chart-topping success in Italy.[5] The second single off of Oxanna, "Fatelo con me", also written by Fossati, was selected to compete in the 1978 edition of Festivalbar and became a top twenty hit in Italy.[6]
Oxa later began to collaborate with Italian singers Lucio Dalla and Rino Gaetano. With them, she released the single "Il pagliaccio azzurro" in 1979, an Italian language cover of the song "Till it Shines" by American musician Bob Seger. The single was used as the lead single for Oxa's self-titled second studio album, released the same year. The album peaked within the top ten in Italy, and also included an Italian cover of the song "Because the Night" by Patti Smith.[7] To promote the album, Oxa ventured into acting and appeared as the lead in the musical film Maschio, femmina, fiore, frutto (1979). In 1980, Oxa released the single "Controllo totale", an Italian cover of the song "Total Control" by The Motels; the single became a top forty hit in Italy, and served as the lead single for her debut extended play of the same name.
After declining sales and a lack of promotion from her label, Oxa cut ties with RCA Italiana and signed a contract with CBS Records International in 1981. She returned to Sanremo the following year, competing in the Sanremo Music Festival 1982 with the song "Io no". Oxa's participation saw a great stylistic change in her image; she no longer sported her androgynous punk look that she had become known for, and instead grew her hair long and dyed it blonde, adopting a sexier appearance that went on to define her career for the following decades. "Io no" placed as a finalist in the competition, and went on to become a top forty hit. Despite this, CBS International did not believe it performed well enough to warrant an entire album. The following year, Oxa released the single "Navigando" to serve as the lead single to her third studio album, titled Per sognare, per cantare, per ballare (1983). Oxa continued to take part in Sanremo several times during the 1980s, competing in 1984, 1985, 1986, and 1988, placing within the top seven each time. Her 1986 entry, "È tutto un attimo", went on to become a massive success in Italy; while only placing fifth in Sanremo, it became her second chart-topping hit in her home country, and served as the lead single to her album È tutto un attimo (1986), which peaked at number-three.[8]
Following the success of È tutto un attimo, Oxa began pursuing television presenting and was a co-presenter of Fantastico in 1988 and 1989.[9][10] Oxa entered the Sanremo Music Festival 1989 as a duet with Italian singer Fausto Leali, performing the song "Ti lascerò". "Ti lascerò" went on to win the competition, becoming the first winning song for both Oxa and Leali, and became Oxa's third number-one single in Italy. Following their win, the duo was selected to represent Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest 1989 in Lausanne. They opted to record a new song for the competition, and competed with "Avrei voluto"; the song placed ninth in the final. "Avrei voluto" was released as a single from Oxa's album Tutti i brividi del mondo (1989), which became her second chart-topping album in Italy.[11]
Oxa returned to Sanremo the year after her win, competing in the Sanremo Music Festival 1990 with the song "Donna con te". The song was originally to be performed by Patty Pravo, but after Pravo demanded multiple changes be made to the song and eventually refused to perform it, Oxa was asked to replace her.[12] "Donna con te" performed well, becoming a finalist in Sanremo and a top ten hit in Italy. Despite the single's success, it was not included on a studio album and only appeared on Oxa – Live con i New Trolls (1990), Oxa's collaborative live album with Italian band New Trolls. Following the collapse of CBS International in 1990, Oxa was transferred to the Columbia Records label under Sony Music. Her first release with the new label was "Mezzo angolo di cielo", released in 1992 and becoming a top twenty hit. She followed up the success of the single with the release of the album Di questa vita (1992); the album peaked at number-five in Italy.[13][14] Following this release, Oxa took a brief hiatus from performing original music. She hosted the Telemontecarlo (TMC) program Viaggio al centro della musica and later the Sanremo Music Festival 1994. From 1993 to 1994, Oxa released two cover albums and one album of remakes of her previous releases.[15][16]
Her first original release since Di questa vita came in 1996, releasing the single "Spot" which competed in Festivalbar 1996. The single was later included on the album Anna non-si lascia (1996), which peaked at number-ten in Italy.[17] Her first greatest hits album Storie – I miei più grandi successi (1997) was later released the following year, including songs from both her CBS International and Columbia contracts.[18] Oxa competed in the Sanremo Music Festival 1997 with the album's lead single "Storie", placing second.[19] In 1999, Oxa signed to Sony BMG, which also received the rights to the songs that Oxa recorded while signed to RCA Italiana in the 1970s and early-1980s. That year, she competed in the Sanremo Music Festival 1999 with the song "Senza pietà". She went on to win the competition, earning her second Sanremo win.[20] As Italy was not participating in the Eurovision Song Contest at this time, however, she was not asked to represent her country at the Eurovision Song Contest 1999 in Jerusalem. "Senza pietà" went on to be a top ten hit in Italy, and served as the lead single to Oxa's album of the same name, which peaked at number-three.[21]
In 2001, Oxa released the single "L'eterno movimento", which served as the lead single to her album of the same name. The song saw a stylistic change in Oxa's music, instead incorporating an international sound. Oxa competed in the Sanremo Music Festival 2001 with "L'eterno movimento", where she placed tenth.[22] That year, Oxa appeared as a co-presenter on the second season of the Italian variety show Torno sabato (2000–04) with Giorgio Panariello.[23] She competed in Sanremo twice more in the decade, in 2003 and 2006; in 2003, Oxa placed fourteenth with "Cambierò", while in 2006, Oxa did not qualify to the final with "Processo a me stessa".[24][25]
In 2010, Oxa released her most recent studio album Proxima (2010). The album was preceded by the release of the single "Tutto l'amore intorno", a collaboration with her former collaborator Ivano Fossati. The single became a top ten hit in Italy, while the album peaked at number-two in Oxa's home country. She later returned to Sanremo a final time, competing in the Sanremo Music Festival 2011 with the song "La mia anima d'uomo", with which she did not qualify to the final. With her participation in the 2011 competition, Oxa had competed in Sanremo a total of fourteen times, spread out across five decades.[26][27]
In 2013, Oxa was invited by Milly Carlucci to compete in series nine of Ballando con le Stelle, the Italian version of Dancing with the Stars. She was partnered with professional dancer Samuel Peron and received the highest scores from weeks one to three. She withdrew from the competition in week six following a leg injury.[28] In 2016, she appeared in the judging panel for series fifteen of the talent competition show Amici di Maria De Filippi, appearing alongside singer Loredana Bertè and actress Sabrina Ferilli.
Oxa has been married four times. She married her first husband, Franco Ciani, in the early-1980s, although they later divorced. Soon after, she married Gianni Belleno. With Belleno, she had two children: Francesca (born 1991) and Qazim (born 1995). They later divorced. In 1999, Oxa married Kosovar politician Behgjet Pacolli; they later divorced in 2002. Her fourth husband was her bodyguard Marco Sansonetti, whom she married in 2006; they divorced three years later.[29]
Album name | Year | Classification | Label | ||
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Oxanna | 1978 | 1 | RCA Italiana | ||
Anna Oxa | 1979 | 10 | RCA Italiana | ||
Controllo totale (Q disc) | 1980 | RCA Italiana | |||
Per sognare, per cantare, per ballare | 1983 | 15 | CBS | ||
La mia corsa | 1984 | 12 | CBS | ||
Oxa | 1985 | 9 | CBS | ||
È tutto un attimo | 1986 | 3 | CBS | ||
Pensami per te | 1988 | 12 | CBS | ||
Fantastica Oxa | 1988 | 3 | CBS | ||
Tutti i brividi del mondo | 1989 | 1 | CBS | ||
Oxa - Live con i New Trolls (doppio live) | 1990 | 5 | CBS | ||
Di questa vita | 1992 | 5 | Columbia Records | ||
Cantautori (album di cover) | 1993 | 11 | Columbia Records | ||
Do di petto (album di remake) | 1993 | Columbia Records | |||
Cantautori 2 (album di cover) | 1994 | 7 | Columbia Records | ||
Anna non-si lascia | 1996 | 10 | Columbia Records | ||
Storie - I miei più grandi successi | 1997 | 3 | Columbia Records | ||
Senza pietà | 1999 | 3 | Sony BMG | ||
L'eterno movimento | 2001 | 15 | Sony BMG | ||
Collezione | 2001 | Sony BMG | |||
Ho un sogno | 2003 | 7 | Sony BMG | ||
La musica è niente se tu non-hai vissuto | 2006 | 15 | EMI | ||
Proxima | 2010 | 2 | Cose di Musica e suoni coscienti |
Side A / Side B | Year | Classification | Weeks in first place | Label | |
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"Un'emozione da poco" / "Questa è vita" | 1978 | 1 | 3 | RCA Italiana | |
"Fatelo con me" / "Pelle di serpente" | 1978 | 19 | RCA Italiana | ||
"Il pagliaccio azzurro" / "La sonnambula" | 1979 | 44 | RCA Italiana | ||
"Controllo totale" / "Metropolitana" | 1980 | 24 | RCA Italiana | ||
"Toledo" / "Proprio tu" | 1981 | RCA Italiana | |||
"Io no" / "Cammina" | 1982 | 28 | CBS | ||
"Fammi ridere un po'" / "Ed Anna pensò" | 1982 | 35 | CBS | ||
"Senza di me" / "Hi-Fi" | 1983 | 20 | CBS | ||
"Non scendo" / "Primo amore come stai" | 1984 | 16 | CBS | ||
"Eclissi totale" / "Tornerai" | 1984 | 36 | CBS | ||
"A lei" / "Piccola piccola fantasia" | 1985 | 13 | CBS | ||
"Parlami" / "Piccola piccola fantasia" | 1985 | 32 | CBS | ||
"È tutto un attimo" / "Tenera immagine" | 1986 | 1 | 1 year[citation needed] | CBS | |
"Quando nasce un amore" / "Estensione" | 1988 | 5 | CBS | ||
"Ti lascerò" (with Fausto Leali) / "Ti lascerò (strumentale)" | 1989 | 1 | CBS | ||
"Avrei voluto" (con Fausto Leali) / "Avrei voluto (strumentale)" | 1989 | 22 | CBS | ||
"Donna con te" / "Donna con te (strumentale)" | 1990 | 2 | CBS | ||
"Mezzo angolo di cielo" / "Mezzo angolo di cielo" | 1992 | 12 | Columbia Records | ||
"Mezzo angolo di cielo (remix)" / "Mezzo angolo di cielo (remix)" | 1992 | 12 | Columbia Records | ||
"Spot" / "Padroni del niente" | 1996 | Columbia Records | |||
"Storie" / "Storie (strumentale)" | 1997 | Columbia Records | |||
"Come dirsi ciao" / "Luci e ombre" | 1999 | Sony BMG | |||
"Senza pietà" / "Le stagioni dei disinganni" | 1999 | 10 | Sony BMG | ||
"Camminando camminando" / "Caminando caminando" (con Chayanne) | 1999 | 6 | Sony BMG | ||
"L'eterno movimento" / "L'eterno movimento (strumentale)" | 2001 | 36 | Sony BMG | ||
"Io sarò con te" / "Controvento" | 2001 | 60 | Sony BMG | ||
"La panchina e il new york times" / "La panchina e il new york times" | 2001 | Sony BMG | |||
"Cambierò" / "Cambierò (strumentale)" | 2003 | 17 | Sony BMG | ||
"In trattoria (con Fabio Concato)" / "In trattoria (con Fabio Concato)" | 2004 | Sony BMG | |||
"Processo a me stessa" / "Processo a me stessa (strumentale)" | 2006 | EMI | |||
"Tutto l'amore intorno" feat. Ivano Fossati | 2010 | 8 | Cose di musica e suoni coscienti | ||
"Scarpe con suole di vento" | 2010 | Cose di musica e suoni coscienti |
Awards and achievements | ||
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Preceded by | Sanremo Music Festival winner 1989 (with Fausto Leali) |
Succeeded by Pooh with "Uomini soli" |
Preceded by Luca Barbarossa with "Vivo (Ti scrivo)" |
Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest 1989 (with Fausto Leali) |
Succeeded by |
Preceded by | OGAE Second Chance Contest winner 1997 |
Succeeded by Nurlaila with "Alsof je bij me bent" |
Preceded by Annalisa Minetti with "Senza te o con te" |
Sanremo Music Festival winner 1999 |
Succeeded by Piccola Orchestra Avion Travel with "Sentimento" |
Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest | |||||||||||||||||||
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Note: Entries scored out are when Italy did not compete |
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Countries |
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Artists |
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Songs |
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Sanremo Music Festival winners | |
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1950s | Nilla Pizzi ("Grazie dei fiori") · Nilla Pizzi ("Vola colomba") · Carla Boni / Flo Sandon's ("Viale d'autunno") · Giorgio Consolini / Gino Latilla ("Tutte le mamme") · Claudio Villa / Tullio Pane ("Buongiorno tristezza") · Franca Raimondi ("Aprite le finestre") · Claudio Villa / Nunzio Gallo ("Corde della mia chitarra") · Domenico Modugno / Johnny Dorelli ("Nel blu, dipinto di blu") · Domenico Modugno / Johnny Dorelli ("Piove (Ciao, ciao bambina)") |
1960s | Tony Dallara / Renato Rascel ("Romantica") · Betty Curtis / Luciano Tajoli ("Al di là") · Domenico Modugno / Claudio Villa ("Addio, addio") · Tony Renis / Emilio Pericoli ("Uno per tutte") · Gigliola Cinquetti / Patricia Carli ("Non ho l'età") · Bobby Solo / The New Christy Minstrels ("Se piangi, se ridi") · Domenico Modugno / Gigliola Cinquetti ("Dio, come ti amo") · Claudio Villa / Iva Zanicchi ("Non pensare a me") · Sergio Endrigo / Roberto Carlos ("Canzone per te") · Bobby Solo / Iva Zanicchi ("Zingara") |
1970s | Adriano Celentano / Claudia Mori ("Chi non lavora non fa l'amore") · Nada / Nicola Di Bari ("Il cuore è uno zingaro") · Nicola Di Bari ("I giorni dell'arcobaleno") · Peppino di Capri ("Un grande amore e niente più") · Iva Zanicchi ("Ciao cara come stai?") · Gilda ("Ragazza del sud") · Peppino di Capri ("Non lo faccio più") · Homo Sapiens ("Bella da morire") · Matia Bazar ("E dirsi ciao") · Mino Vergnaghi ("Amare") |
1980s | Toto Cutugno ("Solo noi") · Alice ("Per Elisa") · Riccardo Fogli ("Storie di tutti i giorni") · Tiziana Rivale ("Sarà quel che sarà") · Al Bano and Romina Power ("Ci sarà") · Ricchi e Poveri ("Se m'innamoro") · Eros Ramazzotti ("Adesso tu") · Gianni Morandi, Umberto Tozzi and Enrico Ruggeri ("Si può dare di più") · Massimo Ranieri ("Perdere l'amore") · Anna Oxa and Fausto Leali ("Ti lascerò") |
1990s | Pooh ("Uomini soli") · Riccardo Cocciante ("Se stiamo insieme") · Luca Barbarossa ("Portami a ballare") · Enrico Ruggeri ("Mistero") · Aleandro Baldi ("Passerà") · Giorgia ("Come saprei") · Ron and Tosca ("Vorrei incontrarti fra cent'anni") · Jalisse ("Fiumi di parole") · Annalisa Minetti ("Senza te o con te") · Anna Oxa ("Senza pietà") |
2000s | Piccola Orchestra Avion Travel ("Sentimento") · Elisa ("Luce (Tramonti a nord est)") · Matia Bazar ("Messaggio d'amore") · Alexia ("Per dire di no") · Marco Masini ("L'uomo volante") · Francesco Renga ("Angelo") · Povia ("Vorrei avere il becco") · Simone Cristicchi ("Ti regalerò una rosa") · Giò Di Tonno and Lola Ponce ("Colpo di fulmine") · Marco Carta ("La forza mia") |
2010s | Valerio Scanu ("Per tutte le volte che...") · Roberto Vecchioni ("Chiamami ancora amore") · Emma Marrone ("Non è l'inferno) · Marco Mengoni ("L'essenziale") · Arisa ("Controvento") · Il Volo ("Grande amore") · Stadio ("Un giorno mi dirai") · Francesco Gabbani ("Occidentali's Karma") · Ermal Meta and Fabrizio Moro ("Non mi avete fatto niente") · Mahmood ("Soldi") |
2020s |
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