Funny Little Fears
Funny Little Fears is the debut studio album by the Italian singer and songwriter Damiano David. It was released through Sony Music Italy and Arista Records on 16 May 2025, as his first work besides his career as the lead vocalist of the rock band Måneskin. Featuring a pop and pop rock sound, Funny Little Fears centers its lyrical themes on self-insecurities. The singers Suki Waterhouse and D4vd appear as featured artists, each on one track.
The album was supported by five singles; "Silverlines", "Born with a Broken Heart", "Next Summer", "Zombie Lady", and "The First Time" reached the top ten in Belgium and received certifications internationally. Upon its release, Funny Little Fears received mixed reviews from music critics regarding its production and David's departure from rock music. Commercially, the album peaked at number one in Belgium while reaching the main record charts in other 20 countries, and was certified gold in France, Italy and Poland.
A deluxe edition of the album, titled Funny Little Fears , was released on 11 September 2025. It includes five new tracks, featuring the single "Talk to Me" with Tyla and Nile Rodgers, as well as a collaboration with Albert Hammond Jr. To promote the album, David embarked on his first solo concert tour, which began on 11 September 2025 and concluded on 16 December 2025.
Background and composition
In 2024, Damiano David stated that he had written over seventy songs in Hollywood, Los Angeles following the end of a romantic relationship in 2023. The album consists of fourteen tracks written and composed by David himself with numerous songwriters, including Ferras, Labrinth and Noah Cyrus. In an interview with Rockol, the artist said about the production and writing of the album:"Fears have always been a tremendous block in my life, something I have been so ashamed of that I have isolated myself. This album gave me the opportunity to make these fears a beautiful thing, an additional opportunity to make music and connect with people. Here the need came from a strong feeling of feeling wrong, of not being able to read and correct myself. Music is about throwing thoughts on a paper, then when I reread, it's like I'm a third person and I have a clearer view of everything. The album was a way for me to understand the reason and the fears when I put myself in my brain. It was therapeutic. All the production comes from collaborations. It's part of the art to recognise when a piece speaks to you, when you have the feeling that someone is telling your story. For me, music is a game and collaborating with others is an added value."
Release and promotion
"Silverlines" was released on 27 September 2024 as the lead single from the album and David's debut solo song. Produced by Labrinth, it was released alongside a music video directed by Nono + Rodrigo. The album's second single, "Born with a Broken Heart", premiered on 25 October 2024 with an accompanying Aerin Moreno-directed video. "Next Summer", the third single, was released on 28 February 2025; its accompanying music video sees David portraying an inmate in an Italian prison.David announced Funny Little Fears on social media on 11 March 2025. He also shared its cover artwork and track listing. The album is set to be released on 16 May 2025 by Sony Music Italy and Arista Records. It will be issued digitally as well as to CD and vinyl LP formats. In promotion of Funny Little Fears, David will embark on his first solo concert tour. Consisting of 34 dates, it will pass through Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America. It began on 11 September 2025 in Warsaw, Poland, and is set to conclude on 16 December 2025 in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States. On the same date as the start of the tour, David released a deluxe edition of the album, alternatively titled Funny Little Fears . It added five new tracks and was supported by the single "Talk to Me", in collaboration with the South African singer Tyla and the American musician Nile Rodgers.
Reception
The album received generally positive reviews from international music critics, which praised its production and lyric writing.Kerrang! remarked, "Nothing wrong with that and nothing wrong with FUNNY little FEARS, but its success will depend on whether existing fans are as free-thinking as this talented artist clearly is," rating the album three out of five. In a positive review, Ed Power of The Irish Times stated that although "the world was not crying out for a solo project", the album is "a beautifully overwrought collection that is full of twinkling Eurobeats" in which "David isn’t doing Måneskin 2.0. Instead he's hell-bent on bringing the listener to pop heaven".
Italian music critics gave mixed reviews to the album, with some supporting David's direction into pop, and others criticising the production and songwriting; some regarded him as an "Italian Harry Styles".
Track listing
Notes- signifies a primary and vocal producer.
- signifies a vocal producer.
- "Silverlines" is not included on vinyl pressings of the album.
Personnel
Musicians
- Damiano David – lead vocals, backing vocals
- Tommy King – piano ; drums, keyboards
- Rob Moose – strings
- John Hill – drums, programming, keyboards, acoustic guitar ; drum programming
- Sammy Witte – programming, keyboards ; piano
- Cleo Tighe – backing vocals
- Daniel Aged – bass
- Evan Jackson – horns
- Jason Evigan – keyboards, electric guitars, programming ; acoustic guitars, backing vocals, drums
- Mark Schick – keyboards, electric guitars, programming ; acoustic guitars, backing vocals, bass, piano
- Joey Waronker – drums
- Justin Meldal-Johnsen – bass
- Michael Romero – brass horns
- Sarah Hudson – backing vocals
- Dove Cameron – backing vocals
- Mike Elizondo – bass
- Alna Hofmeyr – backing vocals
- Jackson Rau – backing vocals ; drums, programming, guitars, keyboards ; piano bass
- Connor McDonough – keyboards ; drums, piano, guitars, additional vocals ; programming, backing vocals
- Riley McDonough – guitars, additional vocals ; backing vocals, acoustic guitars
- Ryan Daly – drums, piano, keyboards, guitars, additional vocals
- Ryan Winkler – bass
- Anders Mouridsen – bass, electric guitar, slide guitar, pedal steel
- Grace Kelly – saxophone
Technical
- Serban Ghenea – mixing
- Mitch McCarthy – mixing
- Tom Elmhirst – mixing
- Nathan Dantzler – mastering
- Jon Yeston – engineering
- Sammy Witte – engineering
- Jackson Rau – engineering
- Jeremy Hatcher – engineering
- Mark Schick – engineering
- Jason Evigan – engineering
- Connor McDonough – engineering
- Ryan Daly – engineering
- Riley McDonough – engineering
- Walker Steele – engineering assistance
Visuals
- Damiano David – creative direction
- Fabrizio Ferraguzzo – creative direction
- Alessandro Fabrizio – creative direction
- Damon Baker – photography
- Davide Rossi Doria – cover design, back design
- Michele Potenza – styling
- Marco Steri – hairstyling
Charts
Weekly charts
| Chart | Peak position |
| Portuguese Albums | 148 |