Urban Strangers

Urban Strangers
Origin	Somma Vesuviana, Campania, Italy
Years active	2012–2020
Labels	Sony Music
Past members	Gennaro Raia Alessio Iodice

The Urban Strangers were an Italian musical duo formed by Gennaro Raia and Alessio Iodice.

History

The duo, active since 2012, achieved success after participating in the ninth edition of the Italian X Factor in 2015, where they finished in second place. ^{[1] [2]} Signed to Sony Music, they released their debut studio album Runaway, which was certified gold, featuring the eponymous single that topped the FIMI Singles Chart and achieved platinum certification. ^{[3] [4]}

In 2016, they released their second album Detachment. ^[5] In 2018, they launched their first single in Italian, "Non so", which preceded the album U.S, released on 7 September. ^[6] In March 2020, they announced a hiatus from their musical project. ^[7]

In March 2025, Raia debuted as a solo artist under the name Genn Butch. ^[8]

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with details and chart positions

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions	Certifications
		ITA [9]
Runaway	Released: 11 December 2015 Label: Sony Music	6	FIMI: Gold [10]
Detachment	Released: 14 October 2016 Label: Sony Music	4
U.S	Released: 7 September 2018 Label: Sony Music	31

EPs

List of extended plays, with details and chart positions

Title	EP details	Peak chart positions
		ITA [9]
Urban Strangers	Released: 15 June 2015 Label: Casa Lavica Format: CD, digital download	16

Singles

Song	Year	Peak positions	Certifications	Album
		ITA [11]
"Runaway"	2015	1	FIMI: Platinum [4]	Runaway
"Last Part"	2016	57 [12]
"Bones"		—		Detachment
"Stronger"	2017	—
"Non so"	2018	—		U.S
"Non andrò via"		—

Other charted songs

Title	Year	Peak chart positions	Album
		ITA [11]
"Cupid's Chokehold"	2015	34	Runaway
"Oceans"		25 [12]
"Rape Me"		66 [12]

References

1. "Urban Strangers". Giffoni Film Festival.
2. Uzzo, Cecilia (11 December 2015). "X Factor 9, il trionfo di Giosada sugli Urban Strangers". GQ Italia .
3. Prisco, Francesco (12 December 2012). "X Factor, la classifica racconta un'altra verità: Urban Strangers (primi) staccano Giosada (13esimo)". Il Sole 24 Ore .
4. "Runaway". FIMI . Archived from the original on 2006-04-21. Retrieved 2025-04-17.
5. "Urban Strangers tornano con Detachment". Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata . 12 October 2016.
6. Ferrari, Giovanni (11 September 2018). "Il ritorno (in italiano) degli Urban Strangers". Billboard .
7. "X Factor, sono scomparsi e il pubblico li piange". Che Musica. 2 November 2021.
8. "Genn Butch: il ritorno dell'ex Urban Strangers con un nuovo EP. Il primo singolo è "Mai"". All Music Italia. 11 March 2025.
9. "Italian Charts - Urban Strangers - Albums". Italiancharts.com. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
10. "Runaway". FIMI. Archived from the original on 2006-04-21. Retrieved 2025-04-17.
11. "italiancharts.com - Italian charts portal". italiancharts.com.
12. "Classifica W50 (2015)". FIMI.