Marco Mengoni (born 25 December 1988) is an Italian singer-songwriter. He rose to fame in 2009, after winning the third series of Italian talent show X Factor. His debut extended play, Dove si vola, was preceded by the single with the same title, which reached the top spot of the Italian Top Digital Downloads chart and also served as his coronation song.

In February 2010, Mengoni competed in the 60th Sanremo Music Festival with the song "Credimi ancora", placing third in a field of fifteen. The song was included in his second extended play, Re matto, which debuted at number one in Italy. The EP was promoted through an Italian tour, which yielded the live album Re matto live.