Maria Chiara Fraschetta, better known by her stage name Nina Zilli, is an Italian singer-songwriter. After moving to Ireland, she started performing live and, at the age of thirteen, she started studying opera singing at the conservatory. In 1997 she founded her first band, The Jerks. After completing high school at the Liceo Scientifico Respighi in Piacenza she spent two years in the United States, living in Chicago and New York.
Between 2000 and 2001 she co-presented Red Ronnie's TV show Roxy Bar, broadcast in Italy by TMC2. In 2001 she also debuted as a VJ for MTV Italy. In the meanwhile, she obtained a recording contract with her new band, Chiara e gli Scuri, founded in 2000. They started working on an album, but it was never released, due to some disagreements with the recording label. During the same years, Zilli started her academic studies, later graduating in Public Relations from the IULM University of Milan.
On 12 January 2010, it was announced that she was one of the winners of the contest Sanremo New Generation, allowing her to participate in the newcomers section of the 60th Sanremo Music Festival. She soon achieved commercial success with the release of her debut album.
In January 2012, Zilli was chosen as one of the participants in the Big Artists section of the 62nd Sanremo Music Festival. On the final of the show, she was chosen by a specific jury as the Italian entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku. As a Big Five member, she was automatically qualified for the final and finished in ninth place overall.
