by Alessia de Antoniis
GIGLIO, born Martina Giglio, is a singer-songwriter from Turin, born in Ciriè on 15 July 1995.
He made his debut on the Italian music scene last year with “Festa”. This year she won the CIAO Contest – Rassegna Lucio Dalla award for the Artist category, with the song “Santa Rosalia”, and performed on the stage in Bologna together with Brunori Sas, Calcutta, Daniela Pes, Dardust, Madame ei Pinguini Tattici Nuclear.
He is among the 3 winners of 1MNEXT 2024 and will be among the artists who will take the stage of the Circus Maximus for the May Day concert in Rome.
Where does the road that brought you to the stage of the biggest concert in Europe start from?
My passion for singing began as a child: my first memory dates back to the age of four or five, during family lunches and dinners with relatives. I stood in the center like a stage and started singing I’m Outta Love by Anastacia.
Music has always been a permanent presence in the house and I think it all started from there: from the long summer trips by car to Calabria to sing at the top of my lungs with my family, the “Battistiane” mornings with my mother or the R&B culture of the Ninety absorbed through osmosis by my older brother. So, after years of karaoke in my room, at the age of 16 I decided to enroll in the singing course at the music institute in my town, Ciriè, in the province of Turin. And from that moment on I haven’t stopped.
I’ve always dreamed of doing this as a job but I got confirmation of it little by little, live after live, feeling that I couldn’t do without it anymore. When I’m on stage I feel like I’m one hundred percent myself, light, grateful and happy.
How did your music come about and which artists influenced it?
I like to define myself as a mix of heterogeneously homogeneous souls and I have understood that I cannot give up, or prefer, just one side of me. I grew up with black music, Italian songwriting, and then the R&B and pop of the nineties and 2000s: Etta James, Ray Charles, Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey, Sting, Battisti, Mia Martini, Mina, Vanoni, Giorgia, Elisa, Spice Girls, Paolo Nutini and others. As I grew up, new worlds were added: urban, Latin and Mediterranean music, electronic. There are no artists in particular: I have absorbed all those who have accompanied my life.
As an author, who would you like to have one of your songs performed by?
If I dare, I aim high: Elisa. In addition to being a formidable singer-songwriter, one of my absolute points of reference since I was little, she is also a great author who, especially in recent years, has written for several artists on the current music scene. It would be an honor for me to have the opportunity to write for her or collaborate, I shudder just at the thought and it could also be a way to reciprocate all the emotions and masterpieces that she has given us during her artistic career.
You lost your dad at a very young age. What would he have felt seeing you on such a stage? What do you think he would have told you?
I’m sure he’s proud of me for the path I’ve taken to get here and that, in some way, he’ll be there with me on that stage. It has also always been a dream of his to see me shine and live from music. He would have told me to have fun and rock everything, and that’s what I’ll try to do. It will be a day of celebration for all of us.
You will go on a stage where we talk about rights. Have you found any difficulties due to being a woman in a man’s world?
I often felt judged as a woman. Sometimes it is a thought that remains in the background, subtle, that you perceive from looks, tones and attitudes. It’s also happened to me in the world of music and it leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but, fortunately, there are many colleagues who respect me and support me as an artist.
You participated in the selections for Sanremo. In the era of talent and, above all, platforms like Spotify, is Sanremo really useful for young people who are starting out?
I think Sanremo is still an important channel to reach the general public. I think of Maneskin or Mahmood who, despite participating in the talent shows, took off immediately after Sanremo. Oh Geolier. The latest editions have also been widely followed by very young people, so I find it to be a great opportunity for us emerging artists.
What message would you like to send from the stage of the Circus Maximus?
I won’t give spoilers, but the song that I will sing on the stage of the Circus Maximus is already in itself the bearer of an important message: it is a hymn to the freedom to live and love freely. And I am grateful to have the opportunity to launch it on such an important and meaningful stage as the May Day Concert in Rome. It’s called “Santa Rosalia” and it is available from April 30th distributed by The Orchard.
Student unrest in various states, 2024 is the year of elections: voting is taking place in many countries and for various reasons. How do you see the excitement of the new generations?
I am always pleasantly surprised by the excitement of the new generations. There is a great desire to be heard and to fight for one’s rights. I think we are in a very active historical period and this also emerges at the moment of voting: all my peers are interested and actively participate. Indeed, I notice more abstentionism on the part of past generations, almost as a sign of surrender.
