Ermal Meta (Albanian pronunciation: ; born 20 April 1981) is an Italian singer, songwriter and composer of Albanian descent. Born in Fier and raised in Bari, Meta rose to prominence as one of the lead singers of Ameba 4 and La Fame di Camilla. After becoming a songwriter for several Italian artists, he launched his solo career, releasing two studio albums: Umano (2016) and Vietato morire (2017). The latter peaked at number one in Italy, and was preceded by the single with the same title, which placed third in the main competition of the Sanremo Music Festival 2017, also receiving the "Mia Martini" Critics' Prize. In 2018, Meta won the Sanremo Music Festival and went on to represent Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal