Mietta (A Mediterranean beauty and enchanting vocalist) by Tony Marotta

The professional entertainment career of Daniela Miglietta, spans a period of over twenty years and is both diverse and impressive. She is a successful singer having recorded eleven albums and has starred as a radio and television actress. Daniela was born on November 12, 1969 in the city of Taranto, located in the southern region of Puglia. During her childhood she was drawn to music and attended a school to develop her singing and speaking skills.

Her fascination with jazz lead her to forming a popular local female vocal group called “Le Ciak” that specialized in cover songs. Displaying a distinctive deep contralto voice combined with her natural Mediterranean complexion allowed her to pursue a successful modeling and radio-acting career while still a teenager. In 1987 she appeared in a RAI drama series called “Nasce una stella” (A Star is Born) and earned an industry award for best character in a radio production as she played the role of an aspiring pop star. Later that year, she signed a recording contract with Italian music label Fonit Cetra and met noted Italian lyricist Claudio Mattone who suggested that she take on the stage name of Mietta.

She made her first appearance at the 1988 Sanremo Music Festival and presented the song “Sogno” which was written for her by Mattone. Although the song failed to place in the standings, the beauty and grace of her stage presence did not go unnoticed. She was invited to participate, along with other Italian singers, on the song “Per te Armenia” (For you Armenia) which was recorded to help raise awareness and funds for the victims of the devastating earthquake that struck that Soviet republic in early December. She returned to Sanremo in 1989 and presented the composition “Canzoni”, written for her by Italian recording artist Amedeo Minghi. The song captured first place in the “Nuove proposte” (Emerging Artists Category) as well as the “Premio della Critica” (Critic’s Choice Award) for best composition. Released as a single, the song continued to receive accolades as she earned the Italian Television Industry “Telegatto d’Argento” (Silver Medal) award for Best Emerging Artist. The recording sold over 100,000 units and quickly achieved gold status. Mietta returned to Sanremo in 1990 and along with Minghi together they performed a memorable duet rendition of the beautiful love song “Vattene amore”; which went on to capture third place in the “Categoria Campioni” (Champions Category). It was also released as a single and became a smash hit as it sold over 150,000 units. Later that year, she released her debut recording “Canzoni”; which went multi-platinum, selling over 500,000 copies. She received two “Telegatto d’Oro (Gold Medal) awards; one for “Vattene amore” and another as “Miglior interprete femmenile dell’anno” (Best female singer of the year).

With her career was now in full bloom, she returned to the Ariston stage at Sanremo in 1991 and her entry “Dubbi no”, again written by Minghi, fared well; finishing in seventh place among the twenty competitors. Within a few months, she released her second album, the multi- platinum recording “Volano le pagine”. It immediately shot up the charts, selling over 220,000 units and featured the writing talents of Mango, Biagio Antonacci and Mariella Nava. Mietta surprised everyone by also including a sophisticated cover version of Sarah Vaughan’s jazz evergreen, “Lover Man”. Later that year, she successfully presented the album’s hit single “Il gioco delle parti” at the popular Festivalbar Music competition and received yet another “Telegatto d’Oro” award for female vocalist of the year. In a year replete with television appearances including a tour throughout the Italian peninsula, RAI television station “Canale 5” presented an exclusive broadcast of her performance from a live concert from Jesolo, in the northern province of Venice. Mietta chose to record her third album “Lasciamoci respirare” (1992) in London under the direction of British producer Geoff Westley, using noted foreign studio musicians, including members from the popular American rock group Toto. The recording featured two songs that she wrote herself, including the autobiographical “Donne del sud”.

Seeking to broaden her musical horizons, she returned to Sanremo in 1993 and presented the ballad “Figli di chi”, written for her by Nek. She performed it with the teen vocal group “Ragazzi di Via Meda” and immediately afterwards, set out with them on an extended national theatrical tour. Returning to the studio, her fourth album “Cambia pelle” (1994) revealed a more mature singer, as the songs displayed elements of blues and funk. Later that year, she appeared as a guest vocalist on Riccardo Cocciante’s album “Un uomo felice” which featured the talents of other Italian vocalists including Mina, Tosca, Cecilia Gasdia and Francesca Belenis. Mietta’s fifth album “Daniela é felice” (1995) was her last with the Fonit Cetra label. She courageously continued her experimentation with new sounds as she tapped into soulful melodies and hip-hop beats. It was considered very innovative and the video for the single “Oggi Dani é piu’ felice” won an award in England for best foreign music video. In 1996, Mietta provided the voice of Esmeralda on the Italian version of the Disney animated film “Il gobo di Notre Dame” (The Hunchback of Notre Dame) and later that year, she guest-starred in Zucchero’s hit music video “Menta e rosmarino”. Mietta closed out the decade by signing a new seven-year recording contract with WEA (Warner Music Group) and immediately released “La mia anima” (1997); which was a homage to American black recording artists as it contained covers of songs by Smokey Robinson, Donna Summer and Anita Baker. During this time she also made her television acting debut appearing in four critically-acclaimed prime time productions including “La Piovra 8 - Lo scandalo” (1997), “L'ispettore Giusti” (1999), Donne di mafia (2001) and “Joy - scherzi di gioia” (2002). For the new millennium, she released what would be her last two recordings on the WEA label. The first was her initial greatest hits compilation “Tutto o niente” (2000) and “Per esempio…per amore” (2003); which featured electronic and arabesque sonorities. She appeared at Sanremo twice; in 2004 presenting the song “Cuore”, a duet that she performed with legendary Brazilian singer Morris Albert and in 2008 with the composition “Baciami adesso”. Her latest recordings are “74100” (2006), “Con il sole nelle mani” (2008) and “Due soli…” (2010) which saw her gravitate toward a more upbeat, disco-pop sound. She gave birth to her first child, Francesco Ian in September of 2010 with her companion Davide Tagliapietra, the guitarist on her latest album. In 2011, she authored her first romance novel “L’albero delle giuggiole”.

Photo courtesy of Warner Music Group/LastFM.com/ANSA