Barzotti, whose real first name was Francesco, was born in Belgium, but raised in the Sicilian town of Villarosa. Barzotti moved back to Belgium at the age of 18, settling in the town of Court-Saint-Étienne.

Barzotti began his musical career in France in 1981 with his song "Madame," which sold 400,000 copies. However, later in the year, Barzotti found widespread success with his song "Le Rital," which propelled him to household-name status.

"Rital" is a difficult to translate French slang term used to refer in a derogatory sense to people of Italian descent, the song deals with Barzotti's experiences as a young child and how "he wanted to be named Dupont (a common French surname)," but the song also deals with his pride concerning the term, exemplified in lines such as "Je suis rital et je le reste," which translates to "I'm Italian and will so remain.

" Barzotti's career contained throughout the 1980's, and his last major successful song was in 1990's "Aime-moi" (English:Love Me), at which point many people believed his career was far from over. Although Barzotti profited from the wave of nostalgia which gripped France at the turn of the 21st century, he was unable to capture the musical prominence he had once held.

Because of his distinctive voice and great successes in the French music industry, he is considered one of the most prominent French pop musicians of the 1980s. Barzotti's music was also popular in Francophone Canada, with songs such as "Je ne t'écrirai plus," (English: I Won't Write You Anymore), "Prends bien soin d'elle," (English: Take Good Care of Her), "C'est moi qui pars," (English: It's Me Who's Leaving), and "J'ai les bleus," (English: I Have the Blues).

Barzotti's songs have also been featured in movies and DVDs in France, the movies in which his songs have been featured have sold more than five million copies. He also wrote the Belgian entry to the 1992 Eurovision Song Contest.

Barzotti's compilation "best of" was released in France in 2003, and he also recorded a more traditional Italian song, "Vado Via." He has released a new single, "Jada," on August 8, 2007, the proceeds from which go to benefit children in poor countries who do not have access to education.