Tiziano Ferro

Diagnoses

Passions

Vocation

Italian singer-songwriter, producer and author. He broke through in 2001 with his international hit single "Perdono" and has remained commercially successful since then, primarily in his home country. Ferro has released a Spanish version of each of his albums, and has also sung in English, Portuguese, and French. Known as the modern face of Italian pop music, he frequently writes songs for other artists and has produced albums for Giusy Ferreri, Alessandra Amoroso and Baby K. Aside from his success as an artist, Ferro is well known for his personal struggles. Having been overweight as a teenager, he has been outspoken about his battles with food addiction and eating disorders. In May 2006, several comments he made during an interview on Italian television resulted in major controversy abroad, effectively ending his blossoming career in Latin America. In October 2010, at the height of his fame, Ferro came out as gay, admitting that he had remained closeted out of fear that his homosexuality was not compatible with a career as a pop singer. He was diagnosed as depressed in 2008 and started taking antidepressants. In late 2009 he came close to taking his own life, going as far as to write a suicide note. In early 2010 his desperation led him to break down and come out to his father, an event that inspired the title of his first book, "Trent'anni e una chiacchierata con papà" (Thirty years old and a chat with dad). This book, published in October 2010, contains most of his personal diaries, dutifully kept since his teenage years. Its release was preceded by an interview with Vanity Fair in which he declared his homosexuality to the public. Ferro is currently one of the best-selling artists in Italy. Both his third album Nessuno è solo and fourth album Alla mia età were certified diamond. Despite his fears, his coming-out did not negatively affect his career, as his fifth album L'amore è una cosa semplice was the best-selling album of 2012 in Italy, and his first greatest hits album was supported by a stadium tour. As of 2015, Ferro has sold over 15 million records worldwide. Link to Wikipedia biography