Singer
Malika Ayane

Malika Ayane, born 31 January 1984, Milan, Italy, is an Italian pop singer. Malika Ayane was born in Milan, Italy, on 31 January 1984, from 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 Verd ... i" Conservatory in Milan, where she graduated in 2001. In 2005 she covered "Over The Rainbow" as a jingle for the commercial of Yomo. In 2006 Ferdinando Arnò commits "Time Thief" to Malika for the publicity campaign of DTC and in 2007 he commits her "Soul Waver" for the spot of Saab. In 2007 she met Caterina Caselli who produced her first album, "Malika Ayane" which was published in September 2008. The first single of the album "Feeling Better" that has become famous in Italy because it is utilised in some spots and film trailers (see the dedicated page on the Italian Wikipedia). In 2009, "Il giardino dei salici" contained in Malika Ayane is chosen as background song for Barilla spots; in the same year she took part in the 59th Sanremo Music Festival with the song "Come foglie" written by Giuliano Sangiorgi, singer for the band Negramaro. "Come Foglie" reached the second position in the Italian charts. 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 obtain money to rebuild schools in Abruzzo. In 2010, she was a contestant in the 60th edition of the prestigious Italian song contest Sanremo Music Festival where she won the "Mia Martini" critics award for her song "Ricomincio da qui". See more [+]