How Måneskin frontman Damiano David disrupts the status quo: after winning Eurovision in 2021, the Italian rocker refused to play the game – from preaching LGBT rights to ‘demonic’ accusations
The glamour and mystery that surrounds Italian singer and songwriter Damiano David has captured the world’s attention, making him one of the most talked-about rock stars on the planet.
The 24-year-old Måneskin frontman has disrupted the status quo with both his edgy image and the rumours swirling around his outre lifestyle, sexuality and love life.
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Here’s what you need to know about David and his rise to fame and controversy.
Damiano David was a high school dropout
Long before becoming a heartthrob who dominated the tabloids as much as the music charts, David was a young boy in Rome who enjoyed playing basketball and singing. According to Elle Italia, he and his older brother, Jacopo, were born in Rome to flight attendant parents, who exposed the pair to different cultures and languages growing up.
He started showing a keen interest in singing at age six and by high school had decided his future lay in music. “When I was in junior school, my best friend’s mum was a singer in a choir. She would always tell my mum that I needed to study music because I had a talent. My mum tried to get me to attend singing lessons. I was impulsive but I always had a deep connection with music,” he told The Allison Hagendorf Show.
How Damiano David joined Måneskin
Determined to make a career out of music, he approached two younger pupils he went to school with who had started a band and asked if he could join them.
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More convinced than ever about where his future lay, David dropped out of high school in his second year to pursue music. “For years I was told I shouldn’t think about music. I should commit to something serious and be responsible. I didn’t enjoy school, being told what to do and not being able to express my intelligence,” he said in an interview with Il Messaggero Italia.
While he had the blessing of his parents, the group found it difficult and started out busking on the streets of Rome.
Before Eurovision … when did Måneskin finally get famous?
David was 18 when the group finished second in the 11th season of the Italian X Factor in 2017. The group further flexed their muscles by winning the Sanremo Music Festival in 2021, a stepping stone to winning the Eurovision Song Contest shortly after. It catapulted them to fame and their version of “Beggin’” by The Four Seasons went viral on TikTok.
Måneskin went on to tour the world, opening for The Rolling Stones and working with Iggy Pop and Dolly Parton. They won a 2022 MTV Video Music Award for Best Alternative Video, a 2023 MTV Video Music Award in the Best Rock category and were nominated for a 2023 Grammy for Best New Artist.
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Why is Damiano David so controversial?
The long locks and charm that made David the darling of Europe were later lost for shorter hair and what interpreted as a more mysterious personality. As ShowBuzz Croatia noted he quickly became slimmer and “almost unrecognisable today”, sparking questions over his health.
One of the most repeated rumours was that David was on drugs. Footage showing him leaning over a table during the Eurovision final led to speculation he was taking cocaine. He denied this and, according to the BBC, was later cleared after a drug test.
Damiano David’s drug use rumours
He told The Allison Hagendorf Show he was against drug use … while working at least. “‘Anti-drugs’ is very definitive. I am anti-killing yourself. I am anti-drugs when working. I think it is very disrespectful when you are on stage drunk or high because there are people who have paid to see you,” he added.
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Those “demonic” accusations against Damiano David
David also sarcastically claimed they had “sold our souls to the devil. That is why our skin is so good”.
Why is there confusion over Damiano David’s sexuality?
Pictures of David in the nude, cross-dressing and engaging in intimate moments with his bandmates have also led to questions about his sexuality.
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Who is Damiano David dating now?
According to Il Mattino, David was in a relationship with Italian model and influencer Giorgia Soleri. The couple were reportedly together for over five years before splitting up in June 2023 amid reports he was caught kissing another woman.
Four months later, David appears to be dating American actress and singer Dove Cameron. After reports of the pair being spotted together in New York, Los Angeles and Brazil, they were photographed kissing on a beach in Sydney earlier this month.
Marie Claire reported the 27-year-old Cameron, who starred in the show Liv and Maddie and the George Clooney movie The Descendants, was in town for the Australian leg of the band’s world tour.
- David was 18 when his band Måneskin came second on 2017 Italian X Factor, before winning Eurovision four years later – and they’ve just been nominated for Grammy’s Best New Artist earlier this year
- The 24-year-old musician shaved his head in January, drastically changing how he looks, sparking rumours over drug use, his sexuality and censorship of ‘demonic’ images – but is he dating Dove Cameron?