AMICI and INTERNATIONAL PEACE HONORS by Daniela Perani
susandebartoli
There have been many events that Il Volo has attended in this last week, but let’s go in order!
On Sunday, February 27th, Il Volo was the guest of the television program on Channel 5, “AMICI di Maria de Filippi.”
They have been on this program before, but I remind you that this is a school program for singing and dancing, where the students enrolled are not professionals. They express their skills, and they are evaluated by their teachers.
At the beginning of the program, Il Volo performed the function of judging the boys in singing, giving them marks and making comments.
(Maria De Filippi asked the schoolboys to guess who will be the singers who will judge them. The boy replies)
“There are three singers ……. Il Volo”
MARIA: IL VOLO (applause, Il Volo enters)
IGNAZIO: Hello everyone.
MARIA: There (Maria indicates they must take their positions to judge). How are you?
MARIA: (Maria addresses the first guy to be judged), come LDA. (the name of the boy)
Since Il Volo are three, they will each give a vote and then an average of the votes will be made.
Who do you fear most of the three? Gianluca, Piero or Ignazio?
LDA: A little all three.
MARIA: All three, they accept well. Look them in the face, in your opinion which is the sternest?
LDA: I don’t know, all three seem sweet and kind, there isn’t one who is stern! 😁
PIERO: That’s what I used to say at school to my teacher! 😁😁
MARIA: LDA you are terrible!
LDA: It’s always nice to be first, however. (ironic)
MARIA: What are you singing?
LDA: Baila, of Zucchero. (he starts singing)
MARIA: So, Ignazio applauded you, Gianluca looked at you, Piero smiled while you sang.
PIERO: For a very simple reason, he has an overwhelming personality and brings us all into his world. He does so with the songs he sings, all different, but he brings them into his world without making them similar, without making them the same, so congratulations.
MARIA: So, you liked it. Ok. You can go back to your seat.
LDA: I go. A thousand thanks.
MARIA: ALBE (The boy’s name). So Gianluca, he is a pupil of Pettinelli (music teacher).
ALBE: Hi Maria.
MARIA: He greeted me now, this tells you that he lives in his own world.
GIAN: He is the most restless.
ALBE: I don’t understand.
MARIA: You were nice to greet me, but it’s strange, it’s just that when others arrive they say “hello Maria”
ALBE: Oh no?
MARIA: Well, that’s how he is, he lives in a world of his own. Last week I went into the rehearsal room to listen to him, he was rehearsing some songs and at one point he says: “Can I do a piece on the guitar?”
He has been here since September and there was the one who follows him in the song that tells him:
“Why do you play the guitar?”
He replies: “Yes”.
For months he never said that. Then he said:
“Do you want to hear something on the piano?”
“Why do you play the piano?”
ALBE: “Yup”
So ALBE you’re a little weird! Or not? 😁
ALBE: Yes, a little yes.
MARIA: Tell them (Il Volo) what you sing.
ALBE: I will sing “Let Her Go” by the Passengers, and I wrote some “barre” (rap verses) on the song, inherent to the theme.
GIAN: We are all ears. Pay attention to the pronunciation.
ALBE: I see that you ……
PIERO: For him …. no matter what, for me you can also sing it in French, which I don’t understand, don’t worry. (laughter and applause)
MARIA: Ok, the backing track begins. (Albe sings the chosen song)
MARIA: Gianluca?
GIAN: I like it a lot. It must be premised that I follow the program, I believe that ALBE has a great charisma, not just a beautiful voice, because then, in the world of music, in my opinion, it is risky to become someone else’s copy, to take a position, a place in Italian music, it’s not easy, he has a beautiful voice, also a great charisma and I also like the way you dress, you show up very well. (applause)
ALBE: Thanks!
MARIA: What grade did you give you, Ignazio?
IGNAZIO: I gave 6.5.
MARIA: Ah, a little less than LDA. Let’s see what marks the other two gave (the average of the three marks appears).
GIAN:(to Ignazio) Damn, you lowered the average. The faultis his (points to Ignazio’s)
IGNAZIO: I know!
MARIA: Currently the most severe, it seems Ignazio.
IGNAZIO: But my grades are almost all the same.
MARIA: Okay. Go to your seat ALBE.
Aisha (the girl singer). Lorella’s pupil, she is seventeen, what do you sing?
AISHA: “A Change is Gonna Come” (applause, song starts).
MARIA: (to Il Volo) Who wants to comment? For me it is thesame!
PIERO: I have personally followed your path within this school, and you improve day by day and you have the great ability to surprise.
AISHA: Thank you.
PIERO: I knew the song she had to sing, and I hoped this desire would come. The lyrics of this song are about a woman who is afraid of dying ….
GIAN: Even the text, you studied, damn …. you are like a student ….
PIERO: Of course, it speaks of a woman who is afraid of dying and has the desire for a change in her life. And this desire, it came to me! (in the sense that the woman’s desire reached Piero through the words of the song, in the way Aisha sang them). Congratulations, you are a well-rounded artist (complete)
AISHA: Grazie
MARIA: Aisha go back to your seat. (they frame the leaderboard) Aisha, you are first right now.
From now on, you no longer have to declare votes.
GIO (another boy). He joined the program very recently, how long? Two weeks?
GIO: Two and a half weeks.
MARIA: Today is the first time you sing a cover.
GIO: Yes.
MARIA: Which one did you choose?
GIO: “E’ Sempre Bello”. (the song begins)
MARIA: How did it go?
GIO: Tense, but well, I hope well.
PIERO: Are you tense?
IGNAZIO: It was understood
PIERO: It was understood, but you did well.
This song is complex, because we all have in mind the voice of COEZ (the one who sings this song), but …. good, maybe you should let yourself go a little.
GIO: Thanks. Grazie mille!
MARIA: LUIGI (another boy, lots of applause) Today is his birthday.
PIERO: AH, BEST WISHES!
MARIA: How old?
LUIGI: 21, is actually my first birthday away from home.
PIERO: Bravo, but do you have the fanclub here? (there is a lot of applause)
MARIA: Yes, he has the fanclub.
What are you singing?
LUIGI: “The Power of Love.”
MARIA: They told me that you dedicated this piece to your family.
LUIGI: Yes, because today is the first birthday that I spend away from home, away from them (family), so this piece fits perfectly to tell them that I never miss them, I think of them every day and the power of love is what makes me go forward, even towards them, and even in here, when at times you feel you are giving in, and then, the power of love makes you come back up. (applause).
MARIA: When you want. (the song begins)
Okay, they (Il Volo) can’t declare the votes, but they can comment.
IGNAZIO: Can I tell you something? I understand you very well, we are very attached to our families too. I lost my dad a year ago, just exactly a year ago today, and family is the really important thing.❤ (applause).
This performance for me is the classic example where sometimes the intonation has nothing to do with it, what is important is what is given, what is expressed. In our genre, intonation is fundamental, but the important thing is that it reaches the people, what you have inside, and always let your words, your thoughts, your feelings arrive.
I can’t say the grade, but my grade was based on that,because I just felt there was something special when you sang.
LUIGI: Thanks!
MARIA: Luigi goes back to your seat, he is CALMA (another boy.)
CALMA: Hello everyone.
MARIA: You are the last in the race, what are you singing?
CALMA: I sing Parole in Circolo by Marco Mengoni. (the song begins)
MARIA: Ok, you have to give your last marks, did you give them?
PIERO: The vote that I am giving you personally, and that I do not reveal, is dictated by my personal taste, I really think it is not a negative vote and I believe that you have an undeniable artistic vitality. Congratulations, good.
CALMA: Thank you, from my heart, thank you very much. (applause)
MARIA: (to Il Volo), I’ll let you out because then you come back to sing, right?
PIERO: Better, better if we sing, thanks.
IGNAZIO: See you later.
GIAN: We didn’t hear her sing but, I want to congratulate SISSI too, good, congratulations.
SISSI: Thank you, thank you.
I + P + G: Till later. (Il Volo goes out)
The program continues with other tests of the dance boys, with other judges, then Maria announces Il Volo will perform.
MARIA: Il Volo Sings Morricone, the album was released in November all over the world, dedicated to the great maestro Morricone. For 8 weeks it was in the American top ten of classics and crossovers.
Let’s get Il Volo in. (applause, Il Volo enters)
Welcome back!
IGNAZIO: Here we are!
MARIA: Let’s listen to a medley of the record, right? When you want, we send the backing track.
GIAN: We are ready.
(Il Volo starts singing a medley consisting of: HERE’S TO YOU, SE TELEFONANDO ,the words of this song were written by Maurizio Costanzo, husband of Maria De Filippi, and at the end THE ECSTASY OF GOLD)
(Big applause and a lot of admiration from the guys from AMICI also standing ovations.)
P + I + G: Thank you, thank you very much.
MARIA: They are really good !!
GIAN: Thanks to everyone.
MARIA: What do you say SISSI?
SISSI: I got it right here , wow… (makes a gesture like hearing the music inside her)
GIAN: Maria, then this is a collection of great songs, the soundtracks of maestro Ennio Morricone, and we want young people to discover this great music, because Morricone is part of all of us.
MARIA: I’m very happy. I know that this summer, in addition to touring Italy, you are going to America, Japan, Australia, Latin America.
PIERO: Tonight, we leave for America. (To attend the Italian Filming Festival in Los Angeles)
MARIA: Guys, good luck.
IGNAZIO: Thanks.
PIERO: Bye Guys.
GIAN: Bye Maria, bye guys, bye everyone, good luck!
So, their participation in the program ended, but now I want you to dwell on Ignazio’s words:
I understand you very well, we are very attached to our families. I lost my dad a year ago today, and family is the really important thing. ❤
Yes, because it is exactly one year after Vito’s death!
Ignazio also posted this:
You who look at us from above and do not judge us, you who watch over our souls from above, you who protect us from up there, feel loved as if your days here with us were never over, because until the last moment of our life, you will always cover the largest space of our heart.
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
While they were at AMICI, Ignazio, Piero and Gianluca were interviewed by Giulia, a former student in dance at AMICI, it’s a fun interview with unusual questions and unusual ways.
Giulia takes off her shoes and sits cross-legged on the armchairs, Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca do the same.
It begins with Il Volo performing a piece of Il Mondo a cappella.
GIULIA: So, who imitates better than the others? (we see Ignazio who, clearly imitates with his gestures, first Gianluca’s gaze and then Piero’s way of singing)
PIERO: The problem is that the two of us (he and Gian) don’t know how to imitate Ignazio.
GIULIA: Not even if you try together ??
GIAN: No, he is inimitable! 😁
IGNAZIO: I am unique.😁
PIERO: In the morning, when he arrives in a meeting and has slept little ….. (Piero tries to imitate as Ignazio does) 😁
IGNAZIO: Because I was having trouble sleeping, now I’m getting better, but I was really having trouble sleeping at night.
GIULIA: Do you suffer from insomnia? You know, me too.
GIAN: All dancers have it, you are a dancer too (to Ignazio)
IGNAZIO: Of course, I too, I dance Le Corsaire (famous classical dance, Ignazio stands up and performs two ballet movements)
GIULIA: Can I show you something? (Ignazio extends his leg and shows the instep well pulled, very important in classical dance).
PIERO: How disgusting.
IGNAZIO: But how do you have it?
PIERO: Look a bit …. it’s a foot!
GIULIA: He has some too! (Piero also pulls his foot well)
GIAN: I have it like this (he extends his leg a little)
GIULIA: Come on, however, stretch out more!
GIAN: I can’t do it!
IGNAZIO: He can’t do it!
GIULIA: You have traveled all over the world, haven’t you?
IGNAZIO: We miss Africa!
GIULIA: Do you know all the languages in the meantime?
GIAN: We are also learning Portuguese, especially Ignazio. (Ignazio promises to say a few words in Portuguese)😁
PIERO: Did you see when he speaks Portuguese how he speaks with his nose? 😁
GIULIA: How do the emotions change before going on stage?
PIERO: Fortunately, emotion never fails. Of course there are always our gestures, we shake hands, we look into each other’s eyes, but we try to never lose that pre-concert anxiety, which is what makes you convey emotions.
IGNAZIO: You know what it is, it is that with the long run, the emotions do not become a habit, but they become like gasoline.
GIULIA: Upcoming engagements???
IGNAZIO: Mind your own business … (laughter)
PIERO: We are going to America to do some promotion, on TV, interviews, for the new album, and after that, we go back to Italy to start the tour, it’s 100 concerts!
GIAN: We invite you, however, to the Arena di Verona, if you want to come we invite you!
GIULIA: I’m glad if you invite me!
GIAN: How not!
IGNAZIO: What music do you usually listen to? (Giulia’s boyfriend is a singer)
GIULIA: A little bit of everything, one of my favorites ….
PIERO: IL VOLO ! 😁
GIULIA: …… is a female: ROSALIA. (Spanish singer)
IGNAZIO: She is very good, (meanwhile Gian sings a song by Rosalia). She is a little like us, in a different way, flamenco has always been something classic and she has brought it into the world of the new generation, right? That is, she took it to a next step, like we are doing with classical music or even with Morricone.
GIULIA: You are used to doing so many interviews, the answers, what do you do for the answers? Do you divide them?
IGNAZIO: You know how we do it, when you ask the question, I already know that they start to answer (Piero and Gian)
PIERO: You ask a question and we will show you what happens in slow motion. Go, ask the question.
IGNAZIO: In slow motion though!
PIERO: In slow motion!
GIULIA: Who dances best?
IGNAZIO: (as if he is thinking) What do I answer? (and then Ignazio looks at Piero as if to say, you answer ….. laughter) 😁
GIULIA: We are …..
GIAN: In conclusion …
GIULIA: …. to very fast questions, so answer quickly, all you three.
I + G + P: Ok, yes.
GIULIA: Arrosticini, tortellini, arancini ??? (they are typical foods of Abruzzo,Bologna, and Sicily)
GIAN: Arrosticini, an Abruzzese like me! 😁
Ignazio: Arrosticini all life.
PIERO: Arancini.
GIULIA: Wine or beer?
I + P + G: Wine
GIULIA: Juve, Milan, or Roma (three football teams)
GIAN: Rome
PIERO: Milan
IGNAZIO: Juve
GIULIA: But you have to name one …
IGNAZIO: But imagine, there are three of us and we are fans: I am for Juve, he (Piero) for Milan and he (Gian) for Roma …..
GIULIA: You have to choose one ….
IGNAZIO: What shall we choose, sorry ….. (laughter)
GIULIA: And now, to conclude, let me sing too.
IGNAZIO: Go, are you a little in tune?
GIULIA: To die for (she jokes), you will see ….
IGNAZIO: So, start singing:
“Fra Martino, campanaro …..” (Giulia continues the song but is out of tune and the boys laugh)
Do you know IL MONDO by Jimmy Fontana? (the boys start singing)
GIULIA: (to Ignazio) But you conquer everyone with this look? (Giulia’s laughter, Ignazio pretends to be offended and leaves the place)😁😁😁
Also, on Sunday the 27th, Il Volo announced its participation in International Peace Honors. Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca sang SE, accompanied on the piano by Maestro GRANI, the video was previously recorded, before the worsening of the situation in Ukraine.
Before I give you my closing comment, I want to give you this news, Pat has been operated on her back, and is fine, of course it will be a little while before she becomes active on this site again.
We look forward to seeing you soon, Pat! –😘
Really busy day at the end of February, and March started with Il Volo at Lucio Dalla’s house and the departure for Los Angeles, but I will talk about these two events in another post.
I really enjoyed Il Volo’s participation in AMICI and I noticed a lot of admiration for them. I like that Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca have proposed themselves in a very informal way with attitudes and clothes that bring the young, together very well.
Too bad that at the International Peace Honors event, Il Volo did not mention Ukraine, but as I told you it was a video already recorded previously.
For this reason, I want to close this post, with a video of our guys who wanted to give a very important message from Los Angeles, where they are now.
Daniela
PIERO = Hello everyone, we are Il Volo, we would like to express our thoughts regarding the current situation.
GIAN = As GINO STRADA (founder of Emergency) said, war is not the right medicine, it does not cure but it kills, it must absolutely be abolished.
IGNAZIO = Peace will always be the greatest solution. STOP THE WAR!!! 🌿🌿🌿🌿
