Arianna DiCorso

Arianna DiCorso is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. She rose to prominence during the 12th season of URAPS Idol, where she became a fan favourite, eventually placing third in the competition. She signed to Blacklight Records following her tenure on the show, releasing her debut single "The Analyst" in November 2011. This was followed by her debut album "Take A Picture, It'll Last Longer" which debuted at #1 to massive Christmas-fueled sales. The album has been certified diamond with sales of over 1,000,000 copies, and to-date has spawned two #1 hits - the club-crossover "I Bite", and the Elice Claire-penned ballad "Until The End Of Time". In late 2012, Arianna released "The 'Snapshot' EP" as an off-shoot of her debut album, containing newly-recorded material from the US edition of the album. The EP became Arianna's second chart-topper on the albums chart.

Early Life
Arianna Natalia DiCorso was born on the 5th of April, 1989 to an Italian father and a British mother. Her parents' marriage was not a happy one; Arianna's father was distant and cold, and although he was not abusive he walked out on his wife and daughter when Arianna was six years old. Arianna remained hopeful for a time that her father would return, but when he never did, she turned to writing as her solace. She took up classical piano training at the age of ten, and by her teenage years she had begun writing her own music. Arianna spent her time writing for years; short stories, poetry and lyrics, and she recorded a private demo in her bedroom at the age of 17. At 20, Arianna contributed her original song "Without You" to the debut album of Jessica Snow, and this would have been her break into the industry at large, but when the album was scrapped Arianna took the song back for herself, as it was written about the departure of her father.

Arianna auditioned for URAPS Idol in 2011, believing that this would be her chance to finally break through into the industry. Arianna impressed the judges with her audition and made it straight into the top 12, where she quickly became one of the most popular finalists in the competition. Arianna rated highly with voters every week, and was seen as a favourite to take out the season, but she was eliminated in the semi-final after making the top 3. Arianna recorded the Ben Johnston-penned song "Chains Around My Heart" which would have been her winner's single had she won the season; after losing the competition she held onto the studio recording. Arianna returned for the grand finale special, where she performed her version of the Delta Goodrem song "The Analyst", of which she recorded a studio version for the season's cast album. Arianna would later release her cover as her debut single, following winner Regina Harper's winners' single and Rory Jacobs' debut EP.

"Take A Picture, It'll Last Longer" Era
Work on Arianna's debut album began before URAPS Idol was even finished, with Arianna being given the song "Chains Around My Heart" by Ben Johnston. Arianna recorded the song as her winner's single, but held onto the song after placing third. Shortly after the show was completed, Arianna recorded her version of "The Analyst" by Delta Goodrem, one of her most popular performances from early in the competition, for the URAPS Idol 12 compilation album. During the rest of 2011, Arianna was recording songs for her album "Take A Picture, It'll Last Longer", which was originally scheduled to be released simultaneously with her debut single, but was pushed back to 2012 until eventually being re-scheduled for a mid-December release. Arianna released "The Analyst" as her debut single in November 2011, which was later included on the album itself. Arianna recorded a number of covers for the single, to go with it being an Idol-related single release - as three of the b-sides she recorded were other songs Arianna performed on Idol. The single went straight in at #2, and was certified gold after its chart run.

Arianna released two editions of her debut album in December; both were available simultaneously. One was the standard edition of the album, featuring twelve songs. The deluxe edition featured an additional four songs, some of which were also included as b-sides on Arianna's second single, "Breaking Down The Girl". The single was a second consecutive top 2 hit for Arianna, also being certified gold. Arianna announced her third single early, declaring that "I Bite" would be the follow-up to "Breaking Down The Girl" in December. The music videos for both singles were shot back-to-back in December. In February, it was announced that "I Bite" would be remixed and released as a crossover into the club market. The main remix was produced by Hungarian duo Myon & Shane 54, and this was the version that was picked up by radio. "I Bite" became a #1 airplay hit for Arianna, her first chart-topper on any chart; it also hit #1 on the club chart, and later, on the singles chart when it debuted straight at the top. It became Arianna's first platinum-selling hit and her first to sell over 300k.

Arianna revealed that she would be releasing her album in America, and would be releasing "I Bite" as her debut American single. The single was released in the US the same time as the UK, where it peaked in the top 40 on the Hot 100. It was also announced that "Cold Summer", a song written for Arianna by Romo, would be the second American single from the album, whose US version is set for release on September 18th, 2012. Further, "I Bite" has been confirmed as the lead single from Arianna's album in Japan, where the single is set for a release in August. The album was be released in Japan at the same time as it was in America. Arianna has said that the UK will receive an EP of all the new songs recorded for the American and Japanese versions of the album. "Until The End Of Time", written by Elice Claire, was revealed as the 4th and final UK single from the album at the end of April. Arianna shot the video for the single in May, but did not give the single heavy promotion as she was busy with work on her international career. Despite this, the single proved wildly popular, and upon release it became Arianna's second consecutive #1 hit, helping her album finally hit diamond in sales. In late September, "Take A Picture, It'll Last Longer" debuted at #5 in America and at #12 on the Japanese international charts.

"Snapshot" Era
Arianna announced that she would be releasing an EP in the UK comprised of the new material recorded for the American version of "Take A Picture, It'll Last Longer". It was also announced that the EP would be supported with a double A-side for a lead single, featuring "Little Miss Knock-Her-Up" from the original album and "Cold Summer" from the US album. "The 'Snapshot' EP" includes all five tracks recorded for the American version of "Take A Picture", plus "Forwards / Backwards" which was originally a b-side on "Until The End Of Time". The EP was released on October 8th, where it entered the UK albums chart at #1 to become Arianna's second career chart-topper on the albums chart. Its lead single was released on October 15th, Arianna's fifth consecutive top 2 hit. A second single from the EP is due for release in early 2013.

Personal Life
Arianna came out publically as a lesbian in October 2011, to pre-empt any attempts by the media to dig into her private affairs. Due to her blunt and candid admission, her orientation has had zero impact on her career, as all of her chart success occured after her public coming-out. Arianna has also been candid that her skyrocket to fame has been hard on her love life, despite rumours that Arianna was secretly dating Elice Claire. These rumours have not been helped by the fact that Arianna worked with Elice on the making of her album, the fact that Arianna appeared in Elice's unreleased music video for single "Manifest Of The Eccentric", or even Elice's own admitted like of Arianna. There's also been people Arianna has clashed with; notably, Arianna has feuded with Charlee Brookes of Intoxicated fame, and more recently has also had an explosive falling-out with Regina Harper, after Regina displayed major homophobia after URAPS Idol.

Controversy
Arianna herself has not generated any controversy, but she is involved in the controversy surrounding Regina Harper. The two were friends during their time on URAPS Idol, and were still friends after the show, but when Regina began to display a major case of homophobia, she and Arianna rapidly fell out, with Arianna reacting in shock, outrage and disgust to Regina's behaviour. Regina hit back at Arianna, and now the two Idol mates are embroiled in a tense feud. Arianna has also faced criticism for refusing to be a role model to gay and lesbian youth.