Gina sent in this amazing video from Piero from yesteryear! Not only does the song caress the heart, but it shows such creativity on his part. I remember when this came out. We were all just blown away.
Gina, this got me thinking that many of our readers may not have been following the guys back then, so I am including some other priceless videos from the archives. I remember spending hours on Youtube looking for any and all videos of theirs back in the day. As much as I love seeing all of their new songs, I also love taking a step back to relive some very special moments in time.
This next video is before Il Volo sang, Maria, as a group. Gianluca sang Maria as a solo and he owned that song! Before the song, Ignazio and Piero are bantering back and forth with how to pronounce the word, “world.”
And here we have their precious little friend, Mia. Ignazio’s mother became friends with this family through a social media site, and youwill see why. The video her mother made of her singing and reacting to watching Il Volo on TV is priceless. The genuine love and affection they show for this little girl is captivating. The song is divine.
The next song, This Time, is an all time favorite as well.
More fun on the stage in Westbury, PA, before Ignazio sings Memory. He has always been known for instigating the impromptu comedy sketches with Gianluca being the straight guy, back then. Gianluca has come fullcircle with his comfort level on stage. But, there were times where he would look at them acting up, walk away shaking his head in humorous disbelief.
I love remembering how Ignazio had trouble standing still when songs were being sung. The music pulses through him like blood throughyour veins. He has good moves all the way!
I wonder if any of the people sitting in that room listening to them that day have continued to follow their stunning careers? I sure hope so.
And the rest…is history…
Thank you, Gina, for the great idea to look back at yesterday.
On December 16, 2016, this article was published on Zon.it, by Antonella Esposito. Although it has been a while of time, I (Daniela) will translate it for you because it is worth reading.
GRANDE AMORE OF VOLO: BECAUSE WE DO NOT GET TIRED OF LISTENING TO IT
After the first listening to GRANDE AMORE, did the song really like you and did join your favorite playlist? Are you still irremediably attracted to the melody and lyrics of the song? That’s why GRANDEAMORE of IL VOLO does not tire you.
Grande Amore is the winning song of the 65th edition of the SanremoFestival, interpreted by the trio opera lirico Il Volo. Although it seems to have been written specifically to brush the powerful and versatile voices of Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca, the piece had a tough road before cutting the finish line “Il Volo”.
THE SONG
Composed in 2003, by Francesco Boccia, songwriter and frontman of the music band I Quisisona, together with Tommy Esposito of Il Giardino dei Semplici, the romantic piece already having a precise layout designed for lyric lyricals, is presented at the selections of the Festival of the Italian Song, in 2005, with a negative result. So it remains to dust in the drawer for 10 years.
It is in fact 2015 when the song is enthusiastically evaluated by the commission of Sanremo Young and assigned to the duo Operapop. Even then, fate is a strange joke, because the duo is excluded from the competition for the age limit reached by one of the two components, Enrico Giovagnoli.
Grande Amore is also offered to Orietta Berti, who proves to be favorable to the song but she is, however, unable to participate in the singing contest for personal reasons.
Once again, bounced back and without interpreting the fate of the piece, it is entrusted to the hands of the artistic director Carlo Conti. At his first conducting of the Festival, using the help of the Operapop manager, convinces the producer of Il Volo, Michele Torpedine, to compete for the three young singers with the signed song Boccia-Esposito.
It’s the evening of 11th February, 2015, when IL VOLO sing for the first time, Grande Amore, in the slaps of applause from the Sanremo audience. The three different and perfectly complementary voices of the three singers, enter the heart and fill the audience’s eyes in the theater and viewers who are following the kermesse (festival) in the world. Grande Amore.
For some it’s a discovery, for others it’s a confirmation. The elegance of the guys of Il Volo, the stage presence with which they saturate with energy each single tile on the stage of the Ariston, and the dramatic might with which the three young singers sing the love all or almost conquer.
MELODY AND TEXT
Great love strikes, likes and creeps in the head with a basically simple and essential text and for this easy to memorize. The plain strode opens with the term “love” which in a vibrant and prolonged acute spreads the basis for the beginning of the refrain. And here comes the engaging redundant melody that never touches the nenia, by the way, draws a rhythmic curvature cleverly caressed first by the baritonebasses of Ginoble and then raised by the strong and precise setting of Boschetto and then exploding with Barone in a Love screaming to all generations.
It is therefore a universal love that sang by IL VOLO declinable in all the nuances of loving sentiment, not by chance as revealed by the same authors: “The text is not inspired by a specific person, but it is a story always valid as it may be love declaration”.
CLASSICISM
Musicality, universality and pop-lyrical contamination are probably the key elements to place with a certain conviction the classical lyric passage for the song’s story. Grande Amore with an extraordinary rapidity of diffusion not only musical but cultural has already been able to fully fit within that pink of international pieces representing Italianity.Grande Amore has all the characteristics of symphonic sweetness needed to become the Caruso of the new millennium. It has that rhythmic and flamboyant stylistic cadence so that it can be sung by the middle world as has always been the case with O ‘sole mio.
IL VOLO
It seems despicable and yet between different artists the song would not get the same feedback or maybe yes, but this is another story. The truth is that each song chooses its own interpreter and Grande Amore was born and struggled to end in the repertoire of Il Volo, altering in a shocking way the same artistic path of Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca who so much to the song that made him disconnect the ticket to success in Italy. Not that the three were not good enough, just as often happens the masterpieces make a difference and Grande Amore is without too much delay the diamond tip that has given the group the gender specificity that has always been sought after.
These are the technical reasons why listening to Grande Amore doesnot tire and will not even tire in twenty or thirty years. Stylish stylistic lists that are merely fine to themselves, which, because the longevity parable is valid over time, then add other elements with the most irrational flavor. These are the emotional ones, those you can not explain and that with a song almost invite you to listen to it and listen to it again and again.
Article translated by Daniela. Credit to all owners of photos and video.
One of our Flight Crew, Tricianna, has written us to request seeing the lyrics in English to Grande Amore. As I was preparing this for you all to see, I was struck by the thought that three of their songs stand out to me as being Pivotal Moments in their careers. I know there are MANY songs of theirs that fall into this category, but these three did it for me! Watching these videos again I am in awe at how powerful these performances were and the power was all theirs!
So Tricianna, here is your Grande Amore, as sung at the Eurovision Contest. Piero, Gianluca and Ignazio were beams of light that night. They looked so incredibly handsome, mature, self confident and sang with pure perfection. They earned the Popular vote that night and for the millions of il volo lovers out there they earned the title in our minds as well. A Pivotal Moment in their young careers.
Great Love
I close my eyes and think of her
The sweet scent of her skin
It’s a voice inside that is taking me where the sun rises
Alone, are the words
But if they should be written everything can change
No more fear I’ll want to shout this great love
Love, only love is what I feel
Tell me why when I think, I just think of you
Tell me why when I see, I see only you
Tell me why when I believe, I believe in you only great love
Tell me you never
That will never leave me
Tell me who you are
Breath of my days of love
Tell me what you know
That only me choose
Now you know
You are my only, great love
Pass springs,
Cold days and stupid to remember
Cursed nights, lost no sleep other to make love
Love, you are my love
Forever, for me.
Tell me why when I think, I just think of you
Tell me why when I love, love only you
Tell me why I live, I live only in you great love
Tell me you never
That will never leave me.
Tell me who you are
Breath of my days of love
Tell me what you know
I do not ever be wrong
Tell me you’re
What are my only, great love
O SOLE MIO
One NEVER gets tired of seeing these adorable young boys in their American Idol debut!! HUGE Pivotal Moment.
My sun (O Sole Mio)
My sun
What a beautiful thing, it’s a sunny day
The gentle breeze after the storm
The air’s so fresh, it feels like a celebration
What a beautiful thing, it’s a sunny day
But another sun,
That’s even brighter
It’s my own sun
That’s upon your face!
When night comes and the sun sets down
I almost start to feel blue
I’d stay below your window
When night comes and the sun sets down
But another sun,
That’s even brighter
It’s my own sun
That’s upon your face!
The sun, my own sun
It’s upon your face
It’s upon your face
But another sun,
That’s even brighter
It’s my own sun
That’s upon your face!
It’s now or never
(the English/Elvis version)
It’s now or never,
come hold me tight
Kiss me my darling,
be mine tonight
Tomorrow will be too late,
it’s now or never
My love won’t wait.
When I first saw you
with your smile so tender
My heart was captured,
my soul surrendered
I’d spend a lifetime
waiting for the right time
Now that you’re near
the time is here at last.
It’s now or never,
come hold me tight
Kiss me my darling,
be mine tonight
Tomorrow will be too late,
it’s now or never
My love won’t wait.
Just like a willow,
we would cry an ocean
If we lost true love
and sweet devotion
Your lips excite me,
let your arms invite me
For who knows when
we’ll meet again this way
It’s now or never,
come hold me tight
Kiss me my darling,
be mine tonight
Tomorrow will be too late,
it’s now or never
My love won’t wait.
IL MONDO
And who can forget the time they sang Il Mondo, at the 2012 Nobel Peace Concert. This was a huge honor for them and a spectacular way to showcase them to the world!
The World
Tonight, My Love
I am not thinking of you anymore
I open my eyes
for the whole world
The world
goes around as usual
Spiraling, The world goes around
in limitless space
where the Love has just begun
where the love has been over
where people are happy or hurt
as me
The World
Until now I look at you
I am lost in your silence world
I am nothing beside you
The World
never stops
Night is always following day
And the daylight will come
Tonight, My Love
I am not thinking of you anymore
I open my eyes
for the whole world
The world
goes around as usual
Spiraling, The world goes around
in limitless space
where the Love has just begun
where the love has been over
where people are happy or hurt
as me
The World
Until now I look at you
I am lost in your silence world
I am nothing beside you
The World
never stops
Night is always following day
And the daylight will come
The World
never stops
Night is always following day
And the daylight will come
Tonight, My Love
I am not thinking of you anymore
About you
We know they will continue to experience many more pivotal moments and we will be right here loving them and watching them every step of the way!
What is it that makesIl Volo so special, so uniquely outstanding? They are mega-talented, of course. They arestrikingly handsome. Theirpersonalitiesare genuinely warm and personable. Allwonderful qualities, but there issomething else that has caused themto rise so high in a tough and competitive business. Is it the magical glow of their faces as they light up when they areperforming….something about them that just jumps out and grabs hold of you, drawing you into their aura?
How did they achieve this uniquemagnetic attraction? It is so muchan intrinsic part of their natures that it would seem thatthey wereborn with it.The way that they were drawn together in the beginningismagicalin itself. The perfect match of their voices and personalitiesis remarkable. What are the odds that that first concept of puttingthem together would prove to bethe perfect blending of their voices and their charisma?
Webster puts it this way: “The X Factor is a variable in a given situation that could have the most significant impact on the outcome.”
Urban dictionary: “an indescribable quality about a person that you cannot put your finger on.”
Il Volo—The X Factor personified.
Photo credits to: Getty Images and Il Volo Facebook Russia
The music his passion, has accompanied since his childhood truly handsome, talented baritone, Gianluca of Il Volo. He has always had the chance, through his father Ercole, attentive interest of good artists, to listen to great Italian songwriters such as Fabrizio de Andrè, and Francesco De Gregori. Check out his performance with our three loved ones at 2015:Una Avventura Straordinaria Concert, live at the Arena of Verona.
His grandfather, Ernesto, was a huge Claudio Villa supporter. That says a lot about Gianluca and his stunning commitment to music. He is well aware of the importance of giving a fresh eternal life to any kind of music, which willing or not, it was created to last forever.
One of his idols is, as far as the more classical musical human heritage we are experiencing, Andrea Bocelli. Watch Il Volo perform Granada, at the Zanetti and Friends, last year in Milan.
Gianluca’s love for music, together with that of Ignazio and Piero, brought a group of great producers to put these guys together as Il Volo. That is also the reason why these young men with such voices are worldwide extremely appreciated for their, indeed, pure talent.
For me and my friends, the Grande Amore tour, back in summer 2015, was a chance to really get to understand what this great baritone from Montepaganoand his mates were about, artistically and personally. To be honest, my support for them was born before the Sanremo contest, but it grew stronger as I met great fans like me. Many criticized Il Volo after their victory. I didn’t care and I still don’t mind. They are talking nonsense. I won’t say to other people they should ever become a Ilvolover. My message is: don’t go telling lies you heard or read about them, as these guys are true and honest. Il Volo music makes my days. Listening to them is something huge, Italia sets me free. No other artists havegiven me such emotions before. My friends and I had several chances to meet the three of them. We have traveled to be at the GIGS. Every time this all happened, they were all so precious. The best times we had with them have no pics.
Some things cannot be fully translated into words, but I keep the most like they were tattooed on my heart.
I cannot really explain how exciting it was to have them live in Torino for the first time in a gig back in January 2016. How sweet and caring they were. Torino was also the city they started with their Italian tour, Notte Magica. It was an unbelievable night. Gianluca was so perfect that night. Il Volo sang their hearts out completely. I followed them on their European tour last year and I’m still on the road.
Gianluca is an extremely sensitive guy. He’s shy. When he sings he gives you thefeeling how much devoted he is to music. He caresses every word,he bows to theseven notes. As a baritone, he has a beautiful deep, warm voice. His eyes speakthemselves, so full of joy and the listeners cannot avoid being amazed by his talent. It just overflows.
Gianluca is stunning when performing En Aranjuez ( con tu amor). And what about singing his other idol, Elvis Presley, Can’t Help Falling in Love? This love hymn makes me fall so, just like he shows every time he’s about to give it to the audience. I get perfectly speechless and breathless. Despite Il Volo fame throughout the planet, Gianluca is still so humble, as the kid born in that romantic small village in Abruzzo. The one that is always so anxious and proud to comeback home after days of promotion and tours. He cannot wait to spend some time with his family and trusted friends. He is truly fantastic, a prince.
Gianluca has never forgotten about his land and whenever he can, he tells how headores Italia. I’m totally proud of him, because when it comes to approach him, he’s always so dedicated,thankful and madly special towards the fans, the peoplehe believes care for Il Volo in their soul. He understands who does believe in them, in the person and in the artist. I want to thank Gianluca for being unique in all his ways. Serena.
This article translated by Laura, previously published on Torino Aspetta Il Volo E Poi, and printed with their permission. Photos have been added to original article.
Credit to all owners of photos and videos.
~~Jane~~
Come in and share the love of life, friends and Il Volo!
