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The Same 20 Hands Behind 200 Voices: Who Really Writes Italian Pop (2010–Today)
Over the last 10–15 years, Italian pop has been shaped by a small cluster of songwriting/production teams. Voices change, but—almost always—the same surnames keep appearing in the credits. Once you peek behind the curtain, “very different” hits suddenly look like close relatives.
If you buy music but don’t dig into metadata: booklets and credit menus reveal a simple fact — a huge share of recent hits comes from the same handful of writers’ rooms.
Why this happens
- Risk economics: labels double down on teams that already “won” (certifications, airplay, playlists).
- Writing camps: songs are born in mixed rooms (3–6 pens). The song then “chooses” the most fitting performer.
- Festival magnifier: Sanremo + summer season highlight recurring names, often across multiple songs in the same year.
The result: few teams, many songs. And an audience genuinely surprised once they discover who wrote what.
“Wow Atlas”: Writer/Team → Artists → Songs (broad selection)
Davide Petrella (Tropico)
- Marco Mengoni — Due vite
- Tananai — Tango (team credit)
- The Kolors — Italodisco
- Lazza — Cenere (team credit)
- Elodie — Guaranà; Bagno a mezzanotte (with other writers/producers)
- Mahmood, Sfera Ebbasta, Fabri Fibra — Calipso (team credit)
- Rkomi & Elodie — La coda del diavolo
- Takagi & Ketra feat. Lazza — Panico (team credit)
- Geolier, Lazza — Chiagne (team credit)
Davide Simonetta (d.whale)
- Tananai — Tango
- Fedez, Tananai, Mara Sattei — La dolce vita
- Annalisa — Mon Amour; Sinceramente; Bellissima (with the artist/Antonacci/Zef)
- Elisa — Dillo solo al buio
- Francesco Gabbani — pop-radio singles in co-writing/production
Paolo Antonacci
- Marco Mengoni — Due vite
- Tananai — Tango
- Annalisa — Mon Amour; Sinceramente; Bellissima
- The Kolors — melodic co-writes with a distinct ’80s flair
Alessandro Raina
- Tananai — Tango (co-writer)
- Thegiornalisti — Riccione (core of the modern “itali-pop” wave)
- Raphael Gualazzi — L’estate di John Wayne
- Francesca Michielin — multiple co-writes and unreleased tracks
Federica Abbate
- Baby K & Giusy Ferreri — Roma–Bangkok
- Takagi & Ketra feat. Giusy Ferreri & Sean Kingston — Amore e capoeira
- Takagi & Ketra feat. OMI & Giusy Ferreri — Jambo
- Rocco Hunt & Ana Mena — Un bacio all’improvviso; Caramello (with Elettra Lamborghini)
- Irama — Arrogante; Mediterranea (team credit)
- Fred De Palma & Ana Mena — Una volta ancora
- Mr. Rain; Alessandra Amoroso; Elodie — multiple radio co-writes
Alessandro La Cava
- Sangiovanni — Malibù; Farfalle; Lady
- Noemi — Ti amo non lo so dire (with Mahmood/Dardust)
- Rkomi — Insuperabile
- Matteo Romano — Virale
- Angelina Mango — Ci pensiamo domani
- Baby K — recent co-writes
Dardust (Dario Faini)
- Lazza — Cenere (co-writer/producer)
- Mahmood — Soldi (with Charlie Charles/Mahmood)
- Elodie — Andromeda (with Mahmood); production on key singles
- Noemi — Ti amo non lo so dire (co-writer/producer)
- Elisa, Giorgia, Pausini, Emma, Mengoni, Annalisa, Madame — ongoing songs and productions
Takagi & Ketra (writer–producer duo)
- Baby K & Giusy Ferreri — Roma–Bangkok
- Giusy Ferreri & Sean Kingston — Amore e capoeira
- OMI & Giusy Ferreri — Jambo
- Fedez, Achille Lauro, Orietta Berti — Mille (shared ecosystem with various writers)
- Boomdabash (feat. Alessandra Amoroso, Annalisa, etc.) — multiple summer smashes
- Fedez/Tananai/Mara Sattei — La dolce vita (co-production/co-writing in a shared ecosystem)
Cheope (Alfredo Rapetti)
- Laura Pausini — a long run of ballads and singles (various years)
- Giorgia — pop-soul co-writes
- Elisa — recurring lyric collaborations
Other recurring axes (producer-writers)
- Zef (Stefano Tognini) — central to Annalisa’s Bellissima, Sangiovanni/La Cava pipeline, and “Ketra-like” summer sound.
- Charlie Charles — trap-pop backbone (Mahmood Soldi, Sfera Ebbasta, Ghali).
- Marz & Zef, d.whale, DRD — producer-writers behind many Top 10 tracks.
Same room, different voices: three quick case studies
- Marco Mengoni — Due vite ↔ Tananai — Tango ↔ Fedez/Tananai/Mara Sattei — La dolce vita → the spine repeats: Simonetta, Petrella, Antonacci (in different combos).
- Baby K/Giusy Ferreri — Roma–Bangkok ↔ Giusy Ferreri — Amore e capoeira ↔ OMI/Giusy Ferreri — Jambo → the Takagi & Ketra + Abbate supply chain, with rotating guests.
- Lazza — Cenere ↔ Mahmood — Soldi ↔ Elodie — Andromeda → Dardust bridging orchestral electronics and mainstream pop.
Just these three “clusters” show how a shared handwriting can dress very different voices and styles.
For non-insiders
If you listen to Mengoni, Annalisa, Tananai, Elodie, Sangiovanni, The Kolors, Lazza, Irama, Mr. Rain, Rocco Hunt… you are likely listening—without noticing—to the same small set of recurring pens. Next time, open the credits: the surnames repeat.
Method note
Credits can list “lyricist,” “composer,” “co-writer,” or “writer-producer.” Here we say “signature” to indicate the author’s presence in the creative core. The list is broad but not exhaustive; different editions may shift single credits over time.
