All posts by Jana

Administrative Assistant to the Chief
Awards and Nominations, Gianluca, Ignazio, Il Volo, Piero, Site News

If you love something, set it free…

61 Comments

If you love something set it free, if it comes back to you, it was meant to be. We’ve all heard this quote, or variations thereof, many times and it means different things to different people.

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I’ve been following the announcements of Il Volo’s various concerts around Italy and a really sad and scary thought came to mind – Il Volo may not be coming to the US at all this year? I know we are all hoping it is not so and maybe they’ll squeeze North and South America into October & November, but what if they don’t come back to the US this year, even though they said they would? But, isn’t this what we wanted for them? To finally get recognized in their own country? Il Volo is living their dream right now, being mobbed by Italian fans in every city they travel to.

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So, we can’t be begrudging them their happiness right now. It’s time we set them free to live their lives as Il Volo and not just “our” guys – for they are the “world’s” guys, now! It’s like we were their adoptive parents that nurtured, encouraged, and watched them grow into the men they are today. But even though we gave them all of our love, it just wasn’t enough. There was still something missing in their lives. We all knew what it was – they wanted to find their real parents. In saying this, their real parents are Italy! Now they have found their real parents and we are feeling like we have been abandoned; that they don’t care about us anymore and will forget about us with their instant fame and fortune. But it’s not really instant, they have been working hard for over five long years, leaving their real families and friends behind to do what they love. They’ve finally found the love they were missing – love from their homeland, Italy. But don’t worry, they will not forget us. We may not see them as often as we’d like, but they will be back to visit. They just have more people to visit now. And think of this, there are many countries who love them and they have never even been to those countries! We have to learn to share them with the world…

I just finished watching the Porta a Porta show (great, if you haven’t seen it yet!) and they did admit that they were experiencing now the “price” of fame – they have now really lost their privacy! No longer are they invisible walking down the street!

We really are so fortunate today, living in this high-tech world with social media. They are literally at our fingertips whenever we want to see them, be it FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram, or the countless videos and interviews that have been uploaded onto You Tube! No, it’s not the same as being there, but it’s pretty close…and of course we have their music everywhere we go, our iPods, at work, in the car, or anywhere else!

In less than three months, they will be competing for Eurovision. As proud parents, we will cheer them on until our voices get hoarse! Of course we want the best for them – we want them to win! Even though their winning may take them away from us even more? Yes! Because they’ve worked hard and they deserve it. And if they don’t win? We’ll be right there to catch them when they fall. Of course, I did just read somewhere recently, can’t really remember though, that the bookies, once again, have Il Volo winning Eurovision! Although by a slim margin, they did win Sanremo and the bookies were right!
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So, as cliché as this might sound, our guys, the “world’s guys,” are flying high right now. This is what they wanted. As parents, we always want our children to achieve their goals and be happy. We should be happy for them right now, and not feeling sorry for ourselves if they might not come back to the US this year.

…if it comes back to you, it was meant to be. Don’t worry, Il Volovers – they will be back; because it’s meant to be! They may be somewhat out of sight, but never out of mind!

Pensively…

Jana

Il Volo Professional

Revised: Vote for Il Volo for Eurovision 2015

44 Comments

So sorry, forgot to add the link…

Click here —> Vote For Il Volo as Your Favorite Act

 

 

Eurovision 2015 Logo
Eurovision 2015 Logo

 

vota!! vota vota vota! You can vote more than once. If every one of my friends on here votes just twice, it will land them in 2nd place! Right now they are tied for 3rd!!

Vota!! Vota vota vota! È possibile votare più di una volta. Se tutti i miei amici di qui voti solo due volte, si fanno in 2° posto! Adesso sono legati per 3rd!!

Vota!” ! Vota vota vota! Es posible votar más de una vez. Si todos mis amigos de aquí votos sólo dos veces, se hacen en 2° puesto! Ahora están vinculados por 3RD!

 

Some say they can’t vote more than once, but I and several others were.  So give it a try.  Don’t believe the picture above, it is from a few hours ago.  At present, 11:18pm EST Il Volo is in 3rd place with 744 votes.  First place is 1501 and no one seems to be voting for her right now.  I’ve watched the Il Volo numbers go from low 700s to this!!

This voting ends tomorrow, but didn’t notice a time?

 

Don’t know how “critical” this voting is, but you never know!  Looks like the guys are already on their way to Vienna to check things out after their trip to Abu Dhabi!

Ok, all Il Volovers – let’s vote!

 

jana

Awards and Nominations, Ignazio, Il Volo

Welcome Home Ignazio, and Congratulations!

30 Comments

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After many months of wondering if Marsala would honor Ignazio, as the other cities have honored Piero and Gianluca, the day had finally come for Ignazio! Marsala bestowed upon him the honor of “Ambassador of Marsala in the World!” on February 16 at approximately 17 hundred hours, which is about 5:00pm Marsala time. The ceremony lasted about 45 minutes…and due to the small space where the ceremony took place, the city had staged a “maxischermo” outside of the municipal building, since not everyone could fit inside.

There are several videos floating around out there, but my favorite one has to be the one where he is on the stage in the city and all the townsfolk are there and he is singing Grande Amore and the crowd is singing with him. The crowd is quite good and they already know most of the words to Grande Amore in just a few short days. Then, Ignazio, is Ignazio, gently correcting the crowd on some of their misdirected words and pronunciations! When he is finished, the crowd cheers. I believe his mother was on stage with him, as at one point I think I heard him say “mama” during the refrain of Grande Amore.

 

Of course, everyone in the city is so proud of Ignazio, their Prince, and now Ambassador! Everyone at home, and around the world, is proud of him, as well as Piero and Gianluca. They are such beautiful souls with grounded thoughts and values. Such a rare thing in this world today!

 

At last Ignazio has received the accolades and honor of his hometown. But was it too much, too late? If it was, he certainly didn’t portray any of those feelings. He seemed very happy in all of the pictures and videos, and why not? They are flying so high right now, let’s hope they don’t come down for a long, long, time!

 

Wishing you the best…

 

Jana

Concert Photos/Reviews, Gianluca, Ignazio, Il Volo, Piero, POETRY

Grande Amore – the wait is over! ~~ By Jana

81 Comments

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We knew it was coming, but when would that be?

We waited, and waited, then shouted with glee!

It was coming soon, but not til after Sanremo;

How long could I last, without a new song from Il Volo?

 

We then heard the news, it was on Amazon.IT!

There I went with my visa, to order it quickly!

I wanted it now, so express shipping I paid;

Hoping and praying, it would not be delayed!

 

Three weeks and counting, how much more can I bear?

I kept watch on my email, when would it be there?

The contest had started and Il Volo appeared;

Singing their hearts out, while everyone cheered!

 

But on Friday the 13th, not bad luck for me,

I read in my mail; the CD would be early!

I jumped up and down, how lucky am I?

I’ll have it soon in my hands; I could just cry.

 

The day finally came, it was arriving today;

I waited and paced, for the delivery all day.

I tracked it online, it came straight from Milan.

On to Bergamo and Brussells, then finally MY town!

 

I raced home to get it, but it was not there?

DHL had not come yet – how much more could I bear?

I went to the store, to pick up my dinner.

They had til 8pm, then there was a knock at my door!

 

It was here, finally, at last, it was here!

I’m sorry, but I could not wait to open it, I fear.

I quickly took pictures and then opened it with care;

Staring lovingly at my hand, so wishing they were there!

 

I listened and listened, and listened again.

Over and over I played it, I did not want it to end.

But bedtime was coming, I so needed my sleep,

I can listen again tomorrow, for I know it will keep.

 

Il Volo is love, Grand Amore, to be exact!

The heck with all the critics, they are just hacks!

So listen with joy, Il Volovers everywhere;

And know that we give them our tender loving care!

~Jana

 

 

Gianluca, Il Volo

Tanti Aguri, Gianluca! ~ Jana

52 Comments

Hello friends!

Although Sanremo is now just a memory….All of us had been waiting for this week to happen, so we could support our guys, but no one had been waiting with more anticipation, than our beloved Gianluca! Obviously, for the special reason that he turned 20 years old on the day of their performance! What a special birthday he will never forget!

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The Il Volo Detroit Fan Club also wanted to share with him his special day. Even though most of his birthday was pretty much over by the time we got together, we had a great time – only wish he could have been there – but of course he was there in spirit!

We all met at Antonio’s Cucina by 5:30p. Unfortunately, only 6 of us were able to make it, but we had a great time with our small group and everyone was able to talk to each other. We had a nice waiter, named Randy, who was gracious enough to put up with us and our craziness and take our pictures, when needed. A few of us ordered a special menu item, seriously called, “Il Volo Pollo” which was Italian style cut chicken in a rosemary wine glaze. I had that and it was very good. It was served with Italian style green beans and tomatoes and a side of pasta. They also had two special drinks for the night. A Nutella hummer, which I heard was very good and a “Gianluca” drink, consisting of raspberry or pineapple vodka, Amaretto, grenadine, sour mix, I think, and served with a maraschino cherry and orange slice! I had one of those – pretty potent! We also had a cake, wishing Gianluca “happy birthday” along with some special sugar cookies made by Emilia, frosted with Tanti Aguri, Gianluca!

We even played games – what’s a birthday party without games AND prizes!!?? The first game was “Gianluca trivia questions – 13 of them!” Personally, I got 2 wrong because I couldn’t remember his mother’s name (shame on me!) or his latest girlfriend’s name, although they had already broken up. The prize for that was a lovely pasta bowl from Italy. I won the easiest game next – just had to look under my bread plate and there was smiling Gian! I won a scrumptious looking bottle of Moscato from Sicily. Can’t wait to try it! However, I did not take his picture off my plate right away and Randy cleared the dishes away. He came back later and said he found a picture on the bottom of a plate and thought we’d like it back. However, one of the girls asked him if he wanted it, and guess what? He did!! Oh well… I have plenty of his selfies to look at on Instagram! The last game was a memory game – the brain just ain’t what it used to be and I was tired from working all day! They brought out a platter with all items “Gianluca.” Things like a cell phone, candy, Italy flag, We Are Love CD, etc. The prize for that was an adorable full front cooking apron that says Bella Italia and came from Italy! With a beautiful Italian countryside scene behind the words…

After that, we decided it was time to sing happy birthday! So, we lit the candles on the cake, turned on the video camera and sang both happy birthday AND tanti aguri to Gianluca! We sent the video off to Ercole for Gianluca to see. I’m sure he received many of them that day! We then cut the cake and it was delicious!

Antonio’s even played a few of their CDs for us to listen to. I heard you could hear them the best in the bathroom! Lol!

We all gathered around the cell phone to watch the Grande Amore presentation from that night. Attached here is a picture of the evening…. A big thank you to Donna and Emilia who organized this event and made sure everyone went home with their goodie bag as well, filled with Italian candies and of course – a “to go” of Nutella in honor of Gianluca!

We’ve decided to get together again for Piero’s birthday because this was so much fun! So, mark your calendars for June 24 – also a Wednesday.

I had so much fun meeting other Il Volovers. It was so nice to talk to someone else who felt the same way and had so many stories to tell. Everyone there, except for myself and the friend I brought, had seen and met them several times already. So, I was pretty much the newbie there! I really encourage you to do this in your hometowns, if you can. It is a grande amore time!

Ok, now for some exciting news!! I got an email from Amazon today and they said the Grande Amore CD was going to be released EARLIER than expected. Not sure if this is the same for anyone else that ordered from the Italian site – not sure how they can even do this? But, I am supposed to get it next week now! Like a week earlier. Still planning my CD release party, but girls – not sure I can hold off for a WHOLE WEEK and not listen to it first! That might be a little more self-control than I have right now…? Guess I’ll just have to replay their video over and over. Like wow – someone find an AED quick, because I thought for sure I was going to have a heart attack after watching it the first time! I swear, I was breathless…even speechless, and for those of you who know me personally, that’s almost an impossibility!

Oh, and just one more little tidbit – I have converted another Il Volover! Quite unexpectedly, it’s a younger fellow in my department at work. A young, male, engineer. One day he asked me what I was listening to, as it sounded like opera. He sits on the other side of my cube. Well, poor guy, as you know, you get us talking about our guys and it’s the kiss of death! I tried to keep it short and excitedly told him who they were. Oddly, another young man that sat next to him, was familiar with them also!? Yes, I have to say, I was quite surprised…. Anyhow, to make a long story short, he listened to them and like a true follower he said, and I am just about quoting here “they sound pretty good by themselves, but when they sing together – wow!” Yes, a YOUNG GUY said that!! So, we are not alone ladies!! LOL! I have since turned him on to my just about all time favorite video of them doing “Surrender” at the Westbury on Jun 25, 2014. He watched it and said “that guy in the vest….” I said, “yeah, that’s Ignazio….” “He’s quite the ladies man,” he said, after he mentioned him dancing with the girl in the audience. “Oh yeah…,” I said. Next, I told him to find Memory. I’m sure he will tell me when he listens to that one!

Converting Il Volovers, one song at a time…. (I’m up to 7 now, how about you??)

Jana ScoobyDoo