Anna Oxa
Iliriana Hoxha (Albanian: [ˈana ˈhɔdʒa]; born 28 April 1961), known professionally as Anna Oxa (Italian: [ˈanna ˈɔksa]), is an Italian singer of Albanian origins (from father side), actress and television presenter. She has received mainstream popularity and recognition within Italy due to her numerous participations in the Sanremo Music Festival.
Beginning her career as a teenager, Oxa debuted in the Sanremo Music Festival 1978 with the song "Un'emozione da poco", placing second in the competition. Following her success in Sanremo, she released her debut studio album Oxanna (1978) that year, which became her first chart-topping album in Italy. After numerous participations in Sanremo during the 1980s, Oxa competed again in the Sanremo Music Festival 1989, performing "Ti lascerò" as a duet with Fausto Leali. The duo won the competition, and thus were chosen as the Italian representatives in the Eurovision Song Contest 1989 in Lausanne, competing with the song "Avrei voluto"; they placed ninth in the finals. Oxa went on to win Sanremo once more, winning the 1999 edition as a soloist with the song "Senza pietà". In total, Oxa has competed in Sanremo fifteen times across six decades (a record shared with Al Bano, Milva, Peppino di Capri and Toto Cutugno), and additionally hosted the competition in 1994.
In her 45-year long career, Oxa has released seventeen studio albums, of which two of them have charted at number-one on the FIMI Albums Chart. Aside from singing, Oxa cohosted Fantastico for two years, was a judge on Amici di Maria De Filippi, and competed in the Italian version of Dancing with the Stars. As an actress, she has appeared in Stryx (1978) and the film Maschio, femmina, fiore, frutto (1979).
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