Fabiana Palladino: UKNY Session 2025

It took over a decade for Fabiana Palladino to find the right timing to write, record and release her 2024 self-titled debut album. She was concurrently making her name as a session musician, supporting everyone from Jessie Ware to Sampha, all while defining and refining her own path as a solo artist and producer. She got a much-deserved break when Jai Paul discovered her music via Soundcloud and in 2017, he signed her to the Paul Institute, the label he co-founded with his brother, A.K. Paul, and Muz Azar.

Palladino takes the time she needs to write the songs she wants out in the world. That intuitive, slow-and-steady pace has paid off with her auspicious first album, cited as one of the best debuts of 2024 by the Guardian's Alexis Petridis, who called it "the flowering of an original pop voice."

Palladino's own family has a rich music legacy — her brother, Rocco, is a member of the Yussef Dayes Trio; her mother Marilyn "Maz" Palladino is a singer; and Fabiana's father, the renowned bassist Pino Palladino, has gigged with just about everyone, including Paul Simon, Beyoncé, John Mayer, Elton John, and scores more.

On tonight's "UKNY" at 11 p.m., a session with Palladino, who speaks at length about her supportive family as well as outside influences including Kate Bush and Janet Jackson's production team of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Palladino also spoke frankly on the challenges — and rewards — of breaking through the youth-obsessed music industry in your thirties.

She performed two songs from her debut album — "Stay with Me Through the Night" and "Forever" — plus a new single, "Drunk."