By Caterina Salimbeni. Cover image by Margie Mitchem for I’M Firenze Digest.
Alfa on tour in Florence soon is the news. But there is more than this. “I wanted to be a singer like someone who dreams of being an astronaut, that stuff you think will never happen to you. But I believe that a passion should always be pursued, even when it might seem stupid, because it’s worth it in the end.” A young singer-songwriter, Alfa, at 23 years old, is a simple guy who places love at the centre of his songs. For him, being romantic is the true revolution: “Love is a natural symbol of my attitude. We must love and dream and combat the cynicism, aggression, and disillusionment that are taking hold of us young people. We need to take life head-on, redefine our perception of time, and overcome social anxiety rooted in nothing.” As a representative of Generation Z, Alfa speaks of love and fights anxiety with his lucky charm: a yellow heart, a symbol of happiness and the logo of his latest album Non so chi ha creato il mondo ma so che era innamorato (I Don’t Know Who Created The World But I Know He Was In Love).
Alfa on tour in Florence: a 23-year-old singer with tons of awards already
Andrea De Filippi, known as Alfa, will arrive on Sunday, April 21, at the Mandela Forum in Florence with his first arena tour that will go on until next Summer. With over 435 thousand subscribers on YouTube and over 1.5 million followers on TikTok, he has over 608 million streams on digital platforms and over 182 million views on YouTube. His songs have been shared in over 500 thousand TikTok videos, and his latest videos have been trended on YouTube. Alfa has received two triple platinum records (“Cin Cin,” “bellissimissima <3”), 4 platinum records (“TeStA Tra Le NuVoLe, pT2” and “Sul più bello,” “Testa tra le nuvole, Pt.1,” “Before Wanderlust”), and 9 gold records. About Sanremo, he says: “I was pleasantly surprised by the affection from people. The worlds of the web, where I come from, and TV aren’t usually connected. Plus, I brought a country song, which wasn’t an obvious choice to capture people’s hearts.”
Alfa tells us a story of social revenge
“It feels very strange to think about where I started, but perhaps my journey is a story of social revenge. Now, I perform in arenas, which brings me infinite joy!” In this tour, Alfa has decided to present himself in the most authentic way possible by recreating the spaces of his home: “It will be like having a party in my living room at home,” the singer promised.
From love to bullying, another important aspect of his musical inspiration is a central theme of his generation. He explains how music is his tool to help him and to feel closer to his peers. Through the lyrics of his songs, he tries to fight this monster, remembering that he and many others have also been bullied, but they managed to overcome it with love: “I was bullied for my weight, which drove me to write songs. I was shy and didn’t talk much at school. Music was my alternative to socializing, a form of therapy.”
Finally, he appealed to the Florentine audience: “Wear something yellow to create a sea full of love. And then let’s raise a toast and try to end with a bang!”
