Through the 1990s, several dance artists from Italy enjoyed huge international success: amongst them Alexia, Black Box, Corona, DJ Dado, Gala, Robert Miles, The Tamperer featuring Maya, Double You and Whigfield.
Eiffel 65's first single, "Blue (Da Ba Dee)", was released in late 1998 and became an international hit in the following year, peaking at #1 on the music charts in several countries, including Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Australia and Canada.
Also in summer 1999, Italy-based English singer Kim Lukas released her hit single "All I Really Want": the song entered the top 10 in Italy, Canada (peaking at #2), Denmark and Austria.
These successes paved the way for the new genre: in 2002, Eiffel 65 DJ Gabry Ponte started a parallele solo project, releasing hit singles such as "Geordie" (a remake of the eponymous song by Fabrizio De André, based on a traditional English ballad) in the same year, and "Figli di Pitagora" in 2004, featuring Sammarinese pop-rock legend Little Tony.
In 2003, Eiffel 65 participated in the Sanremo Festival with the song "Quelli che non hanno età"; they also released successful singles in the Italo dance style, such as "Viaggia insieme a me" (2003).
After the mid-2000s, however, Italo dance's popularity began to decrease, as other genres were rising to prominence: amongst these, the electro house pioneered by Italian DJ Benny Benassi with his 2002 single "Satisfaction", and the music of EDM producers like Bob Sinclar and David Guetta.