The hit “This Is What You Are” on the radio for the first time in 2006 defined the voice of Mario Biondi, a native of Catania, whose extraordinary warm, velvety voice has invited comparisons with Teddy Pendergrass, Isaac Hayes, and Barry White, three of the greatest black voices of all time.

The real breakthrough came when the song entered the top ten most-played tracks on Norman Jay’s cult program on BBC Radio. The song paved the way for Handful of Soul, a well-balanced cocktail of rhythm & blues, soul, swing, and jazz, alternating original pieces with covers from the less overexposed corners of the American soul repertoire.

It has been 20 years since Mario Biondi’s warm, deep voice won over audiences abroad and in Italy with the single “This Is What You Are,” which went on to become one of his most iconic songs and a contemporary classic of international soul-jazz and led to collaborations with Burt Bacharach, Chaka Khan, and Earth, Wind & Fire. Since then, he’s earned platinum albums, recorded for Disney films, and performed on iconic stages.

Blending jazz, soul, and pop into a refined signature, Biondi now looks ahead to 2026, when he will tour Europe celebrating the 20th anniversary of “This Is What You Are”.