Equally well-known as a singer and as a songwriter for other artists, Mariella Nava (Taranto, Feb 3 1960) debuted in 1986 composing a song for Gianni Morandi, "Questi figli". In 1987 and 1988 she took part to the Sanremo Music Festival with the songs "Fai piano" and "Uno spiraglio al cuore", both included in her first album, Per paura o per amore. "Dentro di me", a song included on her sophomore effort, 1989's "Il giorno e la notte, was censored because of its explicit sexual reference, but thanks to journalist and showman Maurizio Costanzo, who often invited Nava in his TV show, it became her first important success. The second followed in 1991, when she returned to the Sanremo Music Festival with two songs: "Gli uomini", sung by herself and included on the same year's Crescendo, and the poignant "Spalle al muro", interpreted by Renato Zero, which finished second, thus giving Nava an unexpected celebrity.