Antonella Ruggiero was born in Genoa, Liguria and made her first recording, Io Matia ("I Matia" in English), in 1974. Matia is the stage name under which Antonella Ruggiero officially began her solo career with the first and rare 45 rpm vinyl record, however had already collaborated (unofficially) with the Jet in their LP vinyl record Faith, Hope and Charity lending her leading voice in the choruses. It was from the union of some members of both the Jet and Matia that in 1975 the Matia Bazar were born. She is classified as a light soprano and has an extraordinary voice that far exceeds the 4 octaves thanks to the use of the whistle register. In 1975 with Piero Cassano (voice and keyboards), Aldo Stellita (bass), Giancarlo Golzi (drums), Carlo Marrale (voice and guitars) she gave birth to the historical group Matia Bazar. Pop hits from the band included: “Ma perché”, “Solo tu”, “Per un’ora d’amore”, “Stasera che sera”, “Cavallo bianco”, “Il video sono io”, “Mister Mandarino”, “Ti Sento” and “Vacanze romane”. Ti Sento was their major hit. It was number one in Belgium and Italy.