The real breakthrough came when the song entered the top ten most-played tracks on Norman Jay’s cult program on BBC Radio. The song paved the way for Handful of Soul, a well-balanced cocktail of rhythm & blues, soul, swing, and jazz, alternating original pieces with covers from the less overexposed corners of the American soul repertoire. In 2007 came I Love You More, a double live CD featuring the songs from Handful of Soul plus other gems such as “Just the Way You Are” in Barry White’s version and “Close to You” by Burt Bacharach.

Burt Bacharach, the legendary American composer, wrote “Something That Was Beautiful” specifically for Biondi, a splendid ballad that became one of the standout tracks on If, his second album, released at the end of 2009.

The unmistakable baritone voice of the Sicilian crooner, after several successful albums, let to his definitive international consecration with Sun (2013), with an all-star cast including Al Jarreau, James Taylor Quartet, Omar, Leon Ware, and Chaka Khan. Bluey from Incognito imparted his unmistakable touch to the album, and on the same year Mario had a triumphant concert-event at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

Beyond, Best of Soul, Brasil, Dare (with a master reinterpretation of Herbie Hancock’s 1964 classic from the album Empyrean Isles), Romantic, Crooning Undercover (with a reinterpretation of Julie Andrews’ classic “My Favourite Things,”) are the albums he released over the years, to culminate with the 20th anniversary of Handful of Soul in 2025.

IN fact on September 12, 2025, a new version of one of his most iconic tracks—now considered a contemporary international soul-jazz classic—was released: “This Is What You Are (20th Anniversary).”

For the occasion, the single was reinterpreted by some of the most important musicians on the global jazz scene, including Dennis Chambers (drums), John Patitucci (bass), Antonio Faraò (piano), Till Brönner (trumpet), and Chase Baird (saxophone), together with two of Biondi’s longtime collaborators, Massimo Greco (additional keyboards) and Marco Fadda (percussion).

The twentieth anniversary of Handful of Soul in 2025-2026 celebrates the definitive establishment Mario Biondi on the international scene.