Bertè was born in Bagnara Calabra, Province of Reggio Calabria, southern Italy. She started her singing career in 1974 with the album Streaking. She became successful the following year by releasing “Sei bellissima”, a ballad that would have become one of her biggest hits, and the Normale o Super album. In 1977 the album T.I.R. updated her sound, and two years later the LP Bandabertè spawned the hits “Dedicato”, “E la Luna bussò” (the first Italian reggae song), “Folle città”, and “Robin Hood”. Loredana next released two albums with a strong funky vibe. The first was Loredanabertè (1980) which included the huge hit “In alto mare”; the song was covered in 2004 by the group 2 black. In 1981 Bertè released Made in Italy, recorded with the American funk group Platinum Hook. The album included the single “Movie”, probably the first Italian song featuring rap. The following year she left her long-time producer Mario Lavezzi to record with a new producer, Ivano Fossati. With Fossati she recorded what many consider to be her masterpiece album, Traslocando, containing Loredana’s signature song “Non sono una signora”. The following years the albums Jazz (1983) and Savoir faire (1984) spawned two hits: “Il mare d’inverno”, penned by Enrico Ruggeri, and “Ragazzo mio”, a cover of a Luigi Tenco classic. Bertè released an innovative album in 1985 called Carioca, which was a tribute to Brazilian singer Djavan and included “Acqua” and other hits. Many songs from the album were subsequently covered by The Manhattan Transfer. Bertè became engaged to tennis champion Björn Borg in 1988, and they were married in September of 1989. Their marriage was reported as very troubled. Bertè has had numerous notable performances at the Sanremo Music Festival, also known as the Festival della canzone italiana. Her first appearance was in 1986 with a rock song called “Re”. For the performance, Loredana was dressed to look like a pregnant woman, which caused a scandal. Notably, the critic’s award at Sanremo is called the Mia Martini after Bertè’s sister, who won the first critic’s award offered in 1982. To date, Bertè has not yet won a top award at the festival. In 1988, along with her third participation at the Sanremo festival, she released the Io album with producer Corrado Rustici, who also worked with Whitney Houston. In the spring of 1992 Bertè and husband Björn Borg officially split. Their divorce was finalized in 1993. Loredana was deeply affected by the disastrous marriage but found the strength to start recording a new album which she dedicated to her failed marriage. This album was Ufficialmente dispersi. That year, Mia Martini joined Bertè at Sanremo for a duet. Their song, titled “Stiamo come stiamo”, was the first single of Bertè’s new album. Later that summer, Bertè released a second song from the album. The single, titled “Mi manchi”, was an Italian radio hit. Bertè’s also appeared at Sanremo in 1994 when she performed an emotional song called “Amici non ne ho”. The song was a hit and was included in her first live compilation entitled Bertex Ingresso Libero. Her 1995 performance of the funky song called “Angeli & Angeli”, a single from Bertè’s Ufficialmente ritrovati, a greatest hits compilation. On Friday, 12 May 1995, her sister Mia Martini committed suicide, causing Bertè to go into shock and suffer from depression. In mid-1996 she began work on her following album, Un pettirosso da combattimento, considered by some to be one of her most beautiful recordings thus far. Relseased in 1997, the album is one of Bertè’s most personal to date, featuring a new hard rock sound and lyrics based on the tragic loss of her sister. Bertè’s seventh appearance at the Sanremo Festival featured a song titled “Luna”, a desperate shout against her life. Her second live compilation album was released in 1998 and was recorded with a live orchestra. In 2002 she returned to Sanremo for the eighth time with a song called “Dimmi che mi ami”. That same year she dropped her current record label (one she had joined just some months before) and began searching for a new label. She eventually signed with NAR. Bertè joined a reality show about music called Musicfarm in 2004. With the money she earned from her appearance she began to work on a new album. This album was her 2005 effort titled Babybertè, which was released in September, 2005. Her first album in seven years, the CD debuted at #2 in the official album chart making it one of her most successful album ever [citation needed]. The second single from the album, titled “Strade di fuoco”, hit #3 in the official single chart. In May, 2006 the album was re-released with a bonus CD and a bonus DVD. |
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