An interesting case of success due mainly to word of mouth, Italian singer/songwriter Davide Van De Sfroos sold thousands of records before the critics and the big networks started noticing him. Real success arrived with his sophomore effort, 2001's ...E Semm Partii, a collection of ballads halfway between folk and rock that sold more than 50,000 copies. The double live album Laiv was released in 2003, followed in 2005 by Akuaduulza, a concept album of sorts about what Van De Sfroos himself described as Gothic-Lombard themes.