Francesco Avallone (born 1996), known professionally as Ava, is an Italian record producer, DJ, and beatmaker.
Life and career Avallone was born in Naples in 1996. He started playing drums but then developed a passion for digital production, using sequencers and DAWs.
In 2011, he moved to Salerno, where he met Luca d'Orso, aka Capo Plaza, with whom he formed a collaboration in rap—Ava as a beatmaker and Plaza as a freestyler. In 2016, they signed a contract with Sto Records, owned by Ghali. After some singles, in 2018 he produced Capo Plaza's album 20, including the hit single "Giovane fuoriclasse", which achieved great success and platinum certifications. Subsequently, Ava accompanied Plaza on tour and also started a career as a DJ in Italian clubs.
In 2019, Ava signed with Warner/Atlantic Records. Some of his early singles include "Holly & Benji" (2019) and "Tête" (2022), the latter created with Medy and VillaBanks. On 19 May 2023, he released the song "Vetri neri", featuring Plaza and Anna, which peaked at number two on the FIMI singles chart and was certified sextuple platinum. The track was also the most streamed single in Italy during the 2023 summer on Spotify. On 21 July 2023, he released his debut EP, Ok Ava.
Ava reached the top of the Italian chart in 2024, with the song "Moon", featuring Plaza and Tony Boy.
Discography Extended plays Title EP details Peak chart positions ITAOk AvaReleased: 21 July 2023 Label: Warner— "—" denotes an item that did not chart in that country.
Singles As lead artist Single Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album or EP ITA"Holly & Benji"(featuring Capo Plaza and Shiva)20195FIMI: GoldOk Ava"Tête"(featuring Medy and VillaBanks)202217 FIMI: 3× Platinum"Dimmi che"(featuring Bresh and Neima Ezza)202368"Vetri neri"(featuring Anna and Capo Plaza)2FIMI: 6× Platinum"Moon"(featuring Capo Plaza and Tony Boy)20241FIMI: Goldrowspan="2" "Bacio di Giuda"(featuring VillaBanks and Mida)14FIMI: Platinum
As featured artist Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album ITA "Bad Boy"(Finesse featuring Shiva, Capo Plaza and Ava) 2024 14FIMI: Gold
References