Arisa Italian Singer With 1.6M Instagram Followers

Early life

Arisa, born Rosalba Pippa on 20 August 1982 in Genoa, grew up mostly in Basilicata. Her family moved back to their home village of Pignola, a few kilometres from Potenza, a week after she was born. Her stage name is an acronym made from the names of her family: the A stands for her father Antonio, the R for Rosalba, the I and S for her sisters Isabella and Sabrina, and the final A for her mother Assunta. In 1999 she won first prize for singing at the Cantacavallo competition in Teggiano.

Career

Arisa became known through the Sanremo Music Festival in 2009, where she won the newcomers' section and the Mia Martini Critics Award with the song "Sincerita". Her first album came out in early 2009, and her second, Malamoreno, followed in January 2010. In late 2011 she served as a judge on the fifth season of the Italian X Factor, broadcast on Sky Uno. Her film credits include The Worst Week of My Life in 2011 and Colpi di fulmine in 2012.

She returned to Sanremo in February 2012 with the song "La notte", which finished second at the festival and went on to reach the top of the Italian singles chart. It appears on her third studio album, Amami, released on 15 February 2012. In 2014 she won the festival's main competition with "Controvento". Her album Una nuova Rosalba in citta was released on 8 February 2019, and Ero romantica followed on 26 November 2021, with singles from that period including "Cuore", "Ortica" and "Altalene".

At the end of 2021 she took part in the Italian version of Dancing with the Stars and won the series with the professional dancer Vito Coppola. Since 2023 she has appeared as a coach across eight combined seasons of The Voice Senior, The Voice Kids and The Voice Generations. Further singles followed in the next years, among them "Fiori e fango" and "Verosimile" in 2022, "Non vado via" in 2023, "Canta ancora" and "Baciami stupido" in 2024, and "Nuvole" in 2025.

On 30 November 2025 she was announced among the participants of the Sanremo Music Festival 2026, where she competed with the song "Magica favola". Her 2026 releases also include the singles "Quello che le donne non dicono", "Rugiada", "La costiera amalfitana" and "Il tuo profumo", as well as the album Foto mosse. In total, her discography lists 11 albums and 39 singles released between 2009 and 2026, mainly in pop, through Sugar Music.

Recognition

Arisa's best-known honour is her win at the Sanremo Music Festival in 2014 with "Controvento". She had earlier taken the newcomers' prize and the Mia Martini Critics Award at the 2009 festival, and in 2021 she won the dance competition Dancing with the Stars. Her second-place finish with "La notte" in 2012 was followed by a number-one spot on the Italian singles chart.

Public roles

Beyond recording, Arisa has worked in television as a talent-show judge, a contestant and a coach. Her Instagram account had around 1.5 million followers as of October 2026.