It peaked at number one on the Italian Albums Chart, becoming her third number album to achieve it since Schiena (2013).
Background
After the completion of the Essere qui tour in March 2019, Emma travelled to Los Angeles to begin work on her next album. Describing the process, she said "I took my time, I experienced abroad and I opened my mind in a metropolis that is not your home", adding that this helped her understand who she is and what she wanted to do.[2]
Composition and lyrical content
In an interview, Emma said that Fortuna represented who she is now: a serene, continuously changing person projected towards the future. One of the album's most prominent themes is positivity, with the title track focusing on viewing things positively and the importance of trying, whether you succeed or not.[2]
The album calls upon a variety of musical influences, with an array of producers and writers, including Dario Faini, Franco126, Elisa Toffoli, Andrea Rigonat, Vasco Rossi, Giovanni Caccamo|and Lorenzo Vizzini.[3] Emma is credited as a co-writer on three of the album's tracks: "Fortuna", "Alibi" and "Dimmelo veramente", the latter of which focuses on modern-day emotions and the anxiety that social media causes.[4]
Singles
On 6 September 2019, Emma released "Io sono bella" as Fortuna's lead single, written by Vasco Rossi, Gaetano Curreri, Gerardo Pulli and Piero Romitelli, and produced by Dardust. The second single "Stupida allegria" was published on 6 December 2019; the song was also released in collaboration with Izi and was certified gold by FIMI.[5]
Release and promotion
On 16 October 2019, Emma announced that her sixth solo studio album Fortuna would be released on 25 October 2019, via a video on her social media accounts. In addition to the album's title and release date, Emma revealed the cover and announced a concert on 25 May 2020, her birthday, at the Arena di Verona, to celebrate Fortuna and ten years of her solo music career.[6] Of the album cover, Emma said that she wanted a cover that fit with the album's sound and lyrics, and that "it shows a woman who can be anything she wants, the important thing is what you can't see".[2]
On 17 October, Emma revealed the album's track listing.[7]Fortuna was made available to pre-order on iTunes the following day.[8]
Following its release on 25 October, Fortuna debuted atop the Italian album chart, becoming her first album to top the chart since 2013's Schiena.[9]
Fortuna received positive reviews from music critics. Writing for All Music Italia, Fabio Fiume praised the album as "Emma's most beautiful yet", for establishing her artistic maturity. He also highlighted Dardust's production, writing that "he is capable of turning everything that glitters into gold". Concluding his review, Fiume wrote "Emma has definitively transformed herself into the queen of our contemporary pop and giving her that place is not an exaggeration; her throne rests on real credibility in whatever she does".[10] In their review, Rockol commended Fortuna's variety, with Emma's traditional ballads: "Luci blu", "I grandi progetti" and "A mano disarmata", rock songs: "Io sono bella", "Mascara" and "Fortuna", as well as a new sound, highlighting "Stupida allegria"'s rap-like stanzas.[1] Writing for Newsic, Elena Rebecca Odelli also mentioned the album's new sound for Emma, calling Fortuna "a record that opens Marrone to a new era". Odelli chose "Stupida allegria", "Luci blu" and "A mano disarmata" as her recommended tracks.[11]
