Holden Italian Singer Born 2000 in Rome

Early life

Holden was born Joseph Carta on 15 February 2000 in Rome. He is the son of the singer Paolo Carta and grew up in the city's EUR and Montagnola districts. His first contact with music came through electronic dance production, and he later spent time as a DJ in Roman nightclubs. After finishing at the Giuseppe Peano linguistic high school, he committed himself to songwriting full time, first in English and then in Italian.

The stage name is a nod to J. D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye, whose narrator, Holden Caulfield, is a character he relates to.

Career

His first release was the EP Il giovane Holden, which appeared on 24 March 2019 and carried the title track together with "Se stava bene con te" and "Io rimango qua". Later that year came a run of singles, among them "Come le altre", "Non fa per me" and "Cadiamo insieme". "Na na na" and "Cadiamo insieme" each went on to receive gold certification, and "Na na na" later reached platinum.

In 2020 he put out "Fratè", "Barriere" and "Flute", the last of these featuring Gemello, and he appeared as a guest on Lowlow's "Mondo sommerso". These songs led into his first album, Prologo, released on 26 March 2021. The record included "Alieno", "Roma-Milano", "Fallo tu per me" and "Cliché", the latter made with Coez and Quentin40. In October 2021 his song "Accelero ancora" was placed on the soundtrack of the Prime Video film Anni da cane. In 2022 he released "Farmi a pezzi", "Tu lo sai già" and "Neon", and sang on Gemello's "Con te". "Lampi" followed in January 2023.

A turning point in his public profile came in September 2023, when he auditioned for the twenty-third season of the television talent show Amici di Maria De Filippi on Canale 5. He passed the initial rounds and entered the evening phase in February 2024, joining the team led by Rudy Zerbi and Alessandra Celentano. In May 2024 he reached the final, finishing third in the singing category and winning the radio prize. While on the programme he released previously unissued songs. "Dimmi che non è un addio" recorded the highest debut in the programme's history within twenty hours of release and was later certified gold, and "Nuvola" also reached gold, making him the first student of the show to have two certified songs before the evening phase began.

"Solo stanotte" and "Randagi" were included on his second EP, Joseph, released on 24 May 2024, which entered the FIMI album chart at number six. It also contained "Ossidiana" and "Non siamo più noi due", a duet with Gaia. During that summer he appeared at festivals and radio events including Future Hits Live, RDS Summer Festival, TIM Summer Hits, Battiti Live, 105 Summer Festival, Yoga Radio Bruno Estate and the Red Valley Festival.

In November 2024 he previewed "Grandine", made with Mew, during an episode of the following season of Amici; it was released on 8 November and entered the singles chart at number 25. His first sizeable club tour in Italy, the Holden tour, ran from 13 to 29 November 2024, travelling from Florence to Milan, with the dates in Rome, Milan, Bologna and Turin selling out. He followed with the singles "Autodistruzione" on 18 April 2025 and "Baby drive" on 27 June 2025.

Alongside singing and songwriting, he works as a record producer. His discography on file runs from 2019 to 2025 and includes the albums and singles named above.

Recognition

Holden has not been credited with any listed award wins or nominations. His recognition has come mainly through certifications: gold for "Cadiamo insieme", "Dimmi che non è un addio" and "Nuvola", and gold followed by platinum for "Na na na". Third place in the singing category of Amici and the radio prize in 2024 are his most visible competition results.