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Jalisse
(Italy 19977) |
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JALISSE is an Italian duo made up of husband
and wife Fabio Ricci and Alessandra Drusian.
In 1997 Jalisse won the San Remo Song
Festival with Fiumi di parole (Rivers Of
Words) and went on to represent Italy at the
1997 Eurovision Song Contest where they
reached a very respectable 4th place with
114 points.
They are the last singers to have
represented Italy at the Eurovision Song
Contest, to date. They took part in 1997
with their dramatic ballad, "Fiume di
Parole" (River of Words). Following this
contest, Italian broadcaster RAI withdrew
from the contest and the country is yet to
return, despite rumours to the contrary.
Partly as a result of this, the song has
achieved a considerable following among
Contest fans.
The song is a dramatic ballad, in which the
lead singer tells her lover that "rivers of
words" have come between them. She claims
not to understand what he is saying anymore,
and believes that she is losing his respect.
Despite this, she tells him "I'll give you
my heart, if you want/If you can, speak to
it now", implying that there is still some
hope for the relationship.
Jalisse have been performing together for
fourteen years. Alessandra is a popular star
in TV music and variety shows like Gran
Premio, Lunda di Miele and Belleze al Bagno,
and sings with top bands. Fabio had his
first album in 1987 with the band Vox Populi.
Singers Alessandra and Fabio formed the duo
JALISSE in 1994. The title was inspired from
a name of one of the roles played in the tv
series, The Robinsons. In arabic, Jalisse
refers to a story teller who grabs the
attention of his audience with his fables
and music: just sit down and listen.
In 1995, Jalisse took part in Sanremo
Giovani with the song "Vivo" (I live) and
reached a third place in the second night. A
year later they took part in the Festival di
Sanremo in the "Nuove proposte" category and
managed to reach a 6th place with their
song, "Liberami" (Free Me).
In 1997 they managed to get promoted from
the "Nuove proposte" on to the "Big"
category and eventually to win that edition
of the San Remo Festival. It was not an easy
task at all competing against entries such
as "E dimmi che non vuoi morire" by Patty
Pravo (written by Vasco Rossi), Laura non
c'è by Nek, Storie by Anna Oxa, Padre nostro
by O.R.O. and Amici come prima by Paola e
Chiara - to name a few.
Following their participation at the
Eurovision Song Contest 1997, Jalisse issued
the album, Il cerchio magico del mondo, an
album dedicated to the "various ethnicities,
celtic fables, native americans and to the
good values and principles of all those who
respect our world" - as stated on the
artists' officile website. The album is full
of New Age music, similar to the Irish
Clannad. The album was included in the
playlist of the United Airlines.
The duo is still very popular within the
Eurovision fans circuit, OGAE and took part
in various concerts organised by the OGAE
circuits in Russia, Boston (USA), Canada,
Russia and the Festival di Vina del Mar
(Chile).
In 1999, Alessandra and Fabio got married
and had a child. This resulted in their
decision to take a step back from the
limelight and dedicate more time for their
family. In 1999, they dedicated their new
song, 'Luce e pane' to Padre Pio. However
this song was never commercially released.
In 2000, JALISSE released their new single,
"I'll fly" - this time with Alessandra as a
soloist. Four years later they released
their next single, "6 Desiderio". In autumn
2006, they release their second album "Siedi
e Ascolta".
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Click
HERE
to visit Jalisse' official website.
Click
HERE
to visit Jalisse on myspace.
Click
HERE to watch
the Eurovision 97 performance. |
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