Ranked 10th of the "50 Best Italian Albums of 2010s" by Rolling Stone Italia,[3] in 2019 the project was reissued in a double album, Diari aperti (Segreti svelati), composed of the first disc with Italian songs and the second with the English songs already released on the EPSecret Diaries, alongside new bonus tracks and collaborations with Francesco De Gregori, Carmen Consoli, Rkomi, Carl Brave and Calcutta.[4]
The album debuted at number two on the FIMI Albums Chart and was certified three times platinum in Italy.[5]
Background
After ending her contract with Sugar Music, Elisa signed with Universal Music Group in February 2017.[6] On 12 October 2018 she announced "Diari aperti", her second album entirely in Italian, and an acoustic tour to accompany its release.[7] From March 2019 to May 2019 she embarked on a European tournée to promote the album.[8]
Composition
The idea of the title came about to better explain what it is about: I drew not only from my diaries, even very old ones, to write the songs. [...] But also from writings made recently and around which I built the music. For me it was always the other way around: first the melodies were born, and then those suggested the message. In this case the text, in the form of an intimate diary, was driving it. [...] [Reading the diaries] moved me to find there different bonds and feelings that time has not nicked.
The recording project includes eleven tracks in Italian, written and composed by Elisa, with contributions from Davide Petrella, Federica Abbate, Calcutta and Carl Brave, and the vocal participation of Francesco De Gregori.[10][11] American musician and composer Patrick Warren collaborates for arrangements of the tracks.[12] The singer defined the record project a concept album, in which she reflects about her life, marriage and feelings.[9]
During 2019 she published "Anche fragile" and a new version of "Vivere tutte le vite" featuring rapperCarl Brave. and "Tua per sempre" were all released as singles from the album;[17][18][19] the first two were certified double platinum in Italy[20][21] while the third one was certified gold.[22] The track "Promettimi", without being a single, was certified platinum.[23]
The album reiussed Diari aperti (Segreti svelati) was promoted by the collaboration "Blu Part II" with Rkomi, as a sequel of "Blu".[24]
Writing for Rockol, Mattia Marzi opined that the album "represents at the same time a way to take stock and open up to news, to reflect on how many pages have been written and on how much there is still to be written", praising the vulnerable side of the singer and her singing versatility in several music genres.[25] Giovanni Ferrari of Billboard Italia, associated the album with the term "truth," emphasizing the fact that "it must not be easy to share, first with yourself and, then, with others, all that you are. Strengths but mostly weaknesses. Fragility. The desire to be understood, loved."[28]
Mattia Barro of Rolling Stone Italia wrote that although the album appears to be "a record in the middle", because in Diari Aperti "one half can perceive a desire to get back into the game" of the singer, while "in some episodes, she decides to break out of the rules" and in others "she does nothing but be the Elisa we know." The journalist identified "a triptych of tracks" that stand out for their "natural freshness": "Tutta un'altra storia" with "its own upbeat rhythm" compared to the sounds of Max Gazzè, "L'estate è già fuori", a "calypso pop, fresh, all in major" song interesting for "the use of the melodic reiteration of the sung" and "Come Fosse Adesso", described by the critic as "a very elegant composition that refers to the splendid work on songwriting carried out by Riccardo Sinigallia." Barro described the song with De Gregori as "the craziest and the most punk," which, with "Promettimi" and "Anche Fragile", turn out to be made with a production that "grants entire attention to the intimacy of these lyrics."[29]
Diari aperti debuted at number two on the FIMI Albums Chart, becoming the artist's thirteenth top ten album on the chart, third number two of her career after Lotus (2003) and Pearl Days (2004). On December 5, 2018, the album was certified as a gold by FIMI, becoming the 34th best-selling album of 2018.[30] On February 29, 2019, the album was certified platinum for selling over 50,000 units.[31]
In 2019, after the release of the reissue Diari aperti (Segreti svelati), the project returned to the top ten of FIMI's chart at number six,[32] becoming the eighteenth best-selling album of the year.[33] In 2020, the album achieved double platinum status, appearing on both the 2020 and 2021 FIMI End-Year Charts.[34] In 2022, it was certified triple platinum with 150,000 units sold.
