In days at the end of April, as you well know, there was the anniversary of the start of Il Volo’s career.
Searching on YouTube for something that documented their beginnings (I have been following them since 2015), I came across many videos with Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca who were really young, in their first interviews, what sweet treasures, they didn’t yet know how to speak English well, and it’s so nice to hear their answers, even though they were really young, their answers are mature and don’t deviate from what they say even now. It’s nice to hear their hesitation about the future and the hope that everything will go well for them. ❤️❤️❤️
What little treasures, they still struggled to understand well and respond in English, but what love!! ❤️❤️❤️
The next interview is in Italian, but you can activate the subtitles. 😉
At the beginning of the next video, Ignazio, Piero and Gianluca talk about what their ideal women should be like! 🥰🥰🥰
In those years, Gianluca had a girlfriend, Jessica, who he also mentions in the video. Jessica Brando is an Italian singer, photo model, at that time they were very much in love. 😍😍
Gianluca and Jessica Brando.
Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca have always said that they went to a school in the US. to learn the language, while they learned Spanish thanks to Humberto Gatica, who spoke Spanish with them.
In the next video, they talk about Il Volo: Tony Renis, Humberto Gatica and also Michele Torpedine.
Gianluca, Piero and Ignazio talk about their tours and missing their family.
The first shows on television: The Talk
Young Hollywood
A nice interview, showing them starting to master the English language.
In this Instagram post above: Il Volo in Rome with Tony Renis, Humberto Gatica and Ennio Morricone.
These videos don’t need many comments, because they speak for themselves, they tell us about the beginnings of three boys who didn’t know each other. Three guys full of talent, but also of enormous values, well anchored to their roots and the education they received, guys with a head on their shoulders despite their young age.
Also full of dreams and paths that came true, but continually evolving, kids who didn’t give up at the first difficulties but made the most of them. They are Il Volo, they are Piero, Ignazio, Gianluca. ❤️❤️❤️
I’m on the early morning train to the Cinque Terre and I’m thinking, how do I wrap up the last fifteen years? How do I summarize how these amazing men who came together as teenagers on the Ariston stage, rose to stardom in a short time and remained the success they are today? Maybe the best way to think about it is to think as they think and that would be to summarize it as they did. Their new album says it all. They’re Sitting on the Edge of the Universe.
Just think what they’ve done over the last two years. They’ve changed their style! They’ve changed their music! They introduced their individuality; they’ve shared the songs that are closest to their heart, yet they didn’t leave bel canto behind. They brought it along because, that’s who they are ~ Il Volo.
That’s who they were in the beginning, and that’s who they’ll always be until the end. But it’s important to recognize where they are now. They have all new never been heard before songs, new ideas. A whole new style, that I absolutely love! Let’s take a look at how they took this leap forward. You might call it a leap of fate!
Songs come and songs go but some never leave. Classics! Songs that are and always will be in the repertoire! O Sole Mio, Granada, Nessun Dorma, Il Mundo; these are the songs that they will always bring to the concerts, but the new songs are the ones that tell the truth. The truth about how they got to the edge of the universe where we find them in 2024.
Let’s begin with Frammenti di universo (Fragments of the Universe). To me, this song talks about three teenage boys who set out on a journey for life. What they saw and how they perceived their future! Along the journey they find strength, love and fragments of the universe and the experiences of life.
Now let’s look at how I see the lyrics….
This song evokes a sense of wonder and reflection on the interconnectedness of the universe and human experience. It begins by describing the beauty of the night sky, portraying celestial bodies as “suspended miracles” visible through the eyes of a child. The imagery of waiting in a courtyard hoping for something yet to come.
It explores optimism, likening the individuals to dreams carried by the wind and clouds drifting above. There’s a sense of empowerment in the “signs of the vast expanse.”
The car headlights on the road point to life’s journey where one must trust oneself amidst uncertainty.
It also touches on the enduring nature of love and the significance of fleeting moments in the vastness of time and space.
Let’s talk about Chiara di Luna (Moonlight)….
This song talks about miracles that come about whether by fate of luck. In the case of Il Volo, we know it’s fate. The moonlight is a metaphor for illumination, the guidance that will help them through the dark times. The hope that dispels the fears.
The soul is depicted by a feather which though delicate is very resilient. These guys certainly are resilient. The miracle of fate is certainly God’s hand in their creation and their coming together on the Ariston stage. As they grew, they learned, out there on their own, how to deal with life’s uncertainties and challenges.
In Moonlight, the lyrics seem to express a contemplation on life, love, and the mysterious nature of existence. The speaker reflects on his thoughts while looking at the sea, longing for someone, and pondering the unpredictability of life’s course.
The imagery of waves coming and going reflects the transient nature of life and relationships. Despite uncertainties and challenges, there’s a sense of resilience and hope portrayed, symbolized by the clouds parting and the night becoming a spectacle, dispelling fear.
The moonlight serves as a metaphor for illumination and guidance in dark times, with the soul depicted as a feather, suggesting a delicate yet resilient essence. The idea of being pieces of a miracle, whether by fate or luck, underscores the interconnectedness and wonder of existence.
It also talks about learning and growth through living, with the acknowledgment that sometimes choices are limited, yet there’s still a glimmer of light and possibility. Love is portrayed as a healing force, capable of saving and restoring.
There’s a sense of wonder, resilience, and the enduring power of love and connection, even amidst life’s uncertainties and challenges.
In Saturno & Venere (Saturn & Venus) we get to the heart of what the guys went through every time they left home and the loved ones they left behind. Especially the girls they left behind. As their career grew so did their desire to find love and, in many cases they did, but the difficulty of leaving a loved one behind goes to the heart of this song!
These lyrics seem to express feelings of longing, frustration, and heartbreak in a relationship. The speaker reflects on the inability to fully connect with the other person, despite their efforts to do so.
There’s a sense of distance and separation portrayed, with the speaker on one side and the other person on the other side, unable to bridge the gap between them. Words are held back, promises are made but not kept, and there’s a feeling of being left hanging by the other person.
The metaphor of the other person being like the universe, a big question mark, underscores the mystery and complexity of their relationship. Despite the pain caused by their absence, the speaker still feels a deep longing for them, symbolized by the need for the sun to start again, implying a desire for renewal and hope.
The lyrics depict the tumultuous emotions experienced in the aftermath of a failed relationship, with a mix of resignation, longing, and a reluctant acceptance of the other person’s significance in their life.
To me, Opera talks about their career. Their fifteen years together. You can liken the song to a woman but for me the drama and the multifaceted experiences speaks of their career. The song says, even with all the problems they stood together. In the end the challenges, the ups and downs, are still beautiful, like an opera. Yes, they are saying there is beauty in the music. Well, we all know that. Life is beautiful because of Il Volo!
These lyrics celebrate the beauty and complexity of life, likening it to an opera—a grand, dramatic, and multifaceted experience. The repetition of “opera” emphasizes the significance of life’s unfolding drama.
The speaker reflects on the passage of time, noting that despite the challenges and ups and downs, they have never lost their partner. They attribute this to their ability to make the best of difficult situations and to recognize what truly matters, even with their eyes closed.
The imagery of dodging rain and lightning together, like two boxers, suggests the resilience and unity of facing life’s adversities. I acknowledge that life can be scary at times, but they find comfort in the understanding that it is as beautiful as an opera—a metaphor for the richness and depth of human experience.
The speaker recalls moments of strength and resilience, laughing in the face of fear and surviving despite hardships. They find beauty and meaning in the wrinkles of their mother’s face and in the ordinary moments of everyday life.
Despite the challenges and occasional pain, the speaker concludes that life is still beautiful, like an opera, with its extraordinary songs and moments of illumination. The repetition of the phrase “It’s like poetry, like music” emphasizes the artistic and profound nature of life’s experiences.
It celebrates the richness and complexity of life, acknowledging its challenges while finding beauty, resilience, and meaning in the midst of it all.
Capolavoro, Masterpiece, is truly a masterpiece! When I first heard this song I said, “If I didn’t know better, I would think this song was about Ignazio and Michelle, But, of course, we know the song was written before Ignazio started dating Michelle. I think of Ignazio singing All By Myself, and then there is Michelle. But you have to wonder, how is it these things keep happening to these guys. It’s like a story that plays out every day of their lives. A plan; God’s plan!
This song expresses deep emotions and experiences related to love and connection. The imagery suggests a profound sense of discovery and transformation upon meeting someone special, symbolized by the metaphor of falling from the sky like a masterpiece.
It conveys a sense of awe and gratitude for the presence of this person, describing them as the only light that makes sense and portraying life with them as a masterpiece. There’s a contrast between feelings of being lost and the sudden appearance of this person, bringing clarity and meaning to the speaker’s life.
It celebrates the idea of finding love unexpectedly and the profound impact it has on one’s existence, turning life into a masterpiece of shared experiences and emotions.
So this is how I see some of the new songs. It’s the summation of fifteen years and the prelude to the future. It shows the force that was leading them. The force that led three teenagers to the Ariston stage. The force that took Michele Torpedine to the end of his career only to find himself sitting on a couch looking at a silent TV and finding truth before his eyes. Knowing at once this was what he was looking for his whole life.
Even though the guys did not write the songs, they certainly had some input perhaps this is why these songs can be likened to their lives.
When the forces of fate came together, there was no stopping the wheel!
When we’re born, we step on the wheel of life, and we move forward to our fate!
If you spin the wheel of fortune, where would it land? Would it follow your path in life? It should because that wheel is spun by the hand of God. In the case of our guys, God was always the force behind the guys and obviously behind Michele! On the Ariston stage? On a living room couch? On the edge of the universe?
So, it seems the universe they created is their step into the future! A future that will be as totally amazing as their last fifteen years! The music may be new, and the style may be new, but their hearts remain as always, old hearts that love their fans who have followed them for fifteen years and will follow them into this new universe!
So, let’s take our place Sitting on the Edge of the Universe, and follow the guys to the future!
Happy 15th Anniversary!
For you listening pleasure….
Radio Italia Live Speciale Sanremo su Radio Italia Tv il 14-02-2023
If you would like to share a story with me, please email: susan.flightcrew@yahoo.com
And here I am at the second event, the CD signing.
It happened on the same day as the launch of the new album..
I hadn’t pre-ordered any CD precisely because I was hoping that there would be an instore event, but then I had lost hope because Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca had shown us the photos while they signed the discs which could therefore be purchased already autographed and so I thought that they wouldn’t have done any instore and then they were very busy with interviews and television appearances. But in the end only two instores were announced and one of these was in the province of Verona, which is really not far from my house, so I said to my husband, let’s go there!!
I inquired at the “Porte dell’Adige” shopping center where the event was held if it was possible to purchase the CDs directly on site and they replied that I could purchase them directly there, but if I already had I could still participate in the signing and this is really a nice thing, because when the event takes place in Milan, if you don’t buy the CD from them (Feltrinelli bookshop), you don’t have the right to entry.
The meeting was scheduled for 5:30 pm so in the early afternoon my husband and I left, there wasn’t a long way to go.
I also took with me my Il Volo 10th anniversary CD, which doesn’t have their signatures so I would have taken the opportunity to get it signed.
As soon as we arrived we saw that the event was taking place in the small internal square inside the shops, where a small stage had been set up and barriers marked a mandatory route for people who had to line up with the CD.
There were already a lot of people waiting and we immediately saw the desk set up for the purchase of discs and we bought ours, I was holding the new AD ASTRA CD in my hand and my husband was holding the 10 YEARS CD. There was an entertainer who joked with the people making the emotion rise, which was already palpable and the music in the air at full volume were all songs from the new AD ASTRA, beautiful!!
People continued to arrive and shortly after 5:30 pm, here they were, I made a short video, but I propose the video that was made by the organizers of the event, which is obviously better seen.
What a thrill as Piero, Gianluca and Ignazio entered, acclaimed by the people!! ❤️❤️❤️
I took a still image of the video to show you where my husband and I were!!
The guys had to sit at the table and we in the audience had to parade behind them and while the three of them signed the CD, the official photographer took the photo. The time to stay with them was short, but better than nothing.
Before sitting down to start signing, Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca approached all the disabled people who were in the front row in front of the barriers and exchanged a few words with them, took photos and signed their CDs.
Then the signing began for all the people and obviously, as we approached we could take some photos, here are mine.
As I approached the stage, I noticed Torpedine talking assiduously to a man, I came forward, shook his hand and complimented him by saying that the songs were beautiful. He thanked me, I didn’t think to take a photo with him…..damn!!
And now our moment has come. What an emotion!
We positioned ourselves behind the boys, my husband between Piero and Ignazio and me between Ignazio and Gianluca.
We immediately greeted them and I told them: “Congratulations guys, last night we were at the Radio Italia event and you were fantastic, the songs are beautiful. I am part of Flight Crew and I bring you greetings from the whole group that follows you and awaits you next year.” Ignazio and Gianluca thanked me with amazement as they signed, and before passing behind Ignazio I managed to tell him: “Congratulations to you also for Michelle,” and he thanked me.
The photographer had taken the shot and was motioning for us to continue the journey.
My husband told me that he managed to tell Piero and Ignazio that they should have won in Sanremo and Piero thanked him and Ignazio made an expression as if to say that it wasn’t their fault.
That’s all, very little and with all that noise of voices, it’s impossible to say and understand anything else.
And here is our photo together, it’s not beautiful, but that’s enough.
All finished, as we walked away, one more look at the people who continued to sign.
Radio Italia is certainly a very different event, but of course, if you have the chance to go to this one, why give up! 😉
And the next day Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca had the same event in the province of Naples, in short, a completely different place, only two events, one in the north and one in the south of Italy.
Here is the reportage of the event at the “VULCANO BUONO” shopping center.
The public response was excellent.
The event was also covered by local TV which made an excellent report of it where he talks about Il Volo, the new CD and their tour, at the end the director of the shopping center talks about the events and projects that will be held in VULCANO BUONO.
All the Italian news talked about the release of the new CD. There are endless interviews and appearances on TV, some of which I still have to translate for you, but events follow one another so quickly that it is impossible to keep up.
Meanwhile, on the day of the CD’s release, Il Volo published this beautiful photo together with all the authors and producers toasting, a truly beautiful company with many dreams that we hope will come true.
Luca Faraone, one of the authors and exactly the boy with the glasses and the open mouth, in the photo next to Gianluca and Ignazio wrote these words.
You can find me on PER ASPERA, CHIARO DI LUNA and FRAGMENTS OF THE UNIVERSE.
Working on these songs was really cool, because it gave me the opportunity to measure myself with aspects that I rarely deal with in the mainstream.
Great cinematic compositions, complex productions, choral arrangements, orchestrations, I had fun like a child. And the first reason above all why I am grateful for this experience is independent of music, and is the opportunity I had to build new relationships with wonderful people.
Thanks to Il Volo for wanting me so strongly on this album, thanks infinitely to Ernesto, without whom this could not have existed, a person with an immense heart.
Thanks to Stefano Marletta, Michael Tenisci, Patti Carmelo and all those who contributed with their art.
Lastly and not because of the size of the mullet (it’s the boy with the striped shirt next to him in the photo, he has a lot of hair that he keeps collecting) the discovery of the Edwyn Roberts discoveries.
Praise God of songs for bringing us together.
Well…..let me know what you think, come on.
In the photo above Gianluca and Fuca Faraone.
In the photo, Ignazio has fun with the authors Edwyn Roberts and Stefano Marletta. 😂😂
Remember that for this project many very successful young authors were called here in Italy, but they are used to other musical genres, so it was a great challenge for them too and the result is excellent!
The promotion of the CD can also be seen externally, here at the Milan train station, look at that beautiful poster.
And here, Roma train station.
And how beautiful is this video published by Gianluca while he sings FRAMMENTI DI UNIVERSO in his car.
Among the many interviews, the one published by FQ Magazine, written by Andrea Conti, which I translate for you, is very beautiful.
Il Volo to FqMagazine: “Get used to fake news, we will be together for a long time and we hope forever. Prejudices? You can’t please everyone.”
Piero Barone, Ignazio Boschetto and Gianluca Ginoble present the new album “Ad Astra”, after having participated in the last Sanremo Festival 2024 with “Capolavoro” and crowning 15 years of career
Fifteen years of career and not hearing them. Despite the outcry caused by an exchange of opinions during a radio interview at the Sanremo Festival, no dissolution is in sight for Il Volo. The proof is the fact that Piero Barone, Ignazio Boschetto and Gianluca Ginoble are involved in a thousand projects in Italy and abroad. The trio has released the new album “Ad Astra” to start again on new bases and create a new repertoire to propose on the international tour which will start in April from China, and then continue to Japan and touch the main European capitals in autumn. Il Volo will be the protagonist of “Tutti per uno”, four special concert events at the Verona Arena, all sold out for the first three dates 9, 11, 12 and 13 May. Then 20 summer events between June and September. In short, there is no intention to interrupt professional relationships, on the contrary.
“OPERA” celebrates the resilience and strength of remaining united even in daily difficulties. Who did you dedicate it to?
Ignazio:A suitable song especially in the moment we are experiencing in the world because it encourages people to have strength. The same also comes from listening to music. I would recommend listening to it in moments of weakness.
Piero:I would like to dedicate it to people who are chasing a dream and I invite them to never give up. Being encouraged is very important because sooner or later time gives the answers.
Gianluca:Finally, musically you approach our genre with an eye to the future thanks also to the collaboration with Federica Abbate, Katoo, Cheope and Raige. (authors)
“The world upside down (IL MONDO ALL’INCONTRARIO)” is an invitation to dream big. Is there a dream you would still like to realize? Ignazio:There are still many unfulfilled dreams. We are first and foremost three guys and then very ambitious artists. We always think about what the next project could be. We must always aim high and try to always want more, remaining focused in the present. Being ambitious is one of the most beautiful things that can exist.
Piero:It’s a song that tells of an ideal world, we sing about happiness. Today in such a hectic life we neglect many things, especially in this historical moment we are experiencing. This song highlights hope.
Gianluca: From the beginning of writing the album we wanted to focus on content that didn’t talk about love in a rhetorical way. So we worked hard to try to give meaning and a varied message from Capolavoro to the discovery of new sounds. Maybe this is our dream, slowly building our repertoire because we have many messages to send.
Ignazio, “SUCCEDE” seems written for you. When did you realize that Michelle had shocked your life like an earthquake?
Ignazio:But no! It is written for everyone in the end. The person you love becomes a bit like home. This is one of my favorite songs obviously because it encapsulates my love life today, but it is a song that everyone can make and feel is their own. Here we collaborated with Michelangelo as producer, something remotely imaginable only until recently. He did an amazing job and we are really happy.
How do you explain the uproar that followed the radio interview done in Sanremo in which Piero and Gianluca teased each other?
Piero:It was created because Ignazio wasn’t there to mediate (laughs)
Ignazio: If you look closely at the full interview (and not the minute that went viral on the Web) you understand very well that these are the usual attitudes we have. After many years and because of the trust that has been created, we respond as we want and often in a fun way.
Gianluca:I think that irony will save the world and that it exists in an ideal world. We are used to fake news. Il Volo will be together for a long time and we hope forever. Full speed ahead!
Four events at the Verona Arena. What can you tell us?
Piero:We will go on tour in China and Japan, but we are already thinking about the future project. We have almost finished the Verona project, which will be broadcast on Canale 5 on Saturday evenings and the concept is the same as last year’s ‘Tutti per Uno’. There are many confirmations from many artists. We like to surprise. There will be no shortage of surprises and there will be unthinkable collaborations.
To date, has Il Volo undermined the prejudice a bit?
Gianluca:Paradoxical that this prejudice has never existed abroad, where we are perceived differently. You have to manage your career differently in every part of the world. A very difficult thing. In South America we sing in Spanish and there is the perception of Italian with a younger audience. In the United States we are seen a bit like Bublè and Bocelli, in Japan there are only Japanese. Sanremo is an Italian fact, but one that also has resonance abroad. We were born here in a talent show for children, abroad they don’t know it and they have never seen us like this. It takes time to eradicate prejudices for those who have only seen us one way. There’s a reason we’ve reached fifteen years of our career. You can’t please everyone but I believe that starting a dialogue with even the most skeptical can open up new perspectives.
Meanwhile, CAPOLAVORO has been certified Gold Record here in Italy!! Nice satisfactions. 👏👏👏
And after a week, the AD ASTRA CD is first in Italy for vinyl sales and fifth in total sales, great guys, full steam ahead!! 👏👏👏
Listen and activate the subtitles to read and see this beautiful and funny interview done by Annalia Venezia, journalist of the weekly GRAZIA. Gianluca is missing from the interview. Annalia did not know Il Volo, nor had she ever interviewed them and at the end, she too remained fascinated by our boys! 🥰
And now laugh with these two short videos… these guys make me die laughing.🤣🤣🤣
(Gianluca, Ignazio and Piero read some questions, as always they laugh and joke and immediately Ignazio makes a joke to Piero.) 🤣🤣🤣
PIERO= I have to read the first one.
GIANLUCA= Can we read too?
PIERO= (he reads) I have never lied to one of you.
No, I lied! 😁
GIANLUCA= Okay, everyone, white (innocent) lies are told, come on. 😁
PIERO= For the balance of a group, it is sometimes necessary to lie.
GIANLUCA= So it also works in relationships?
PIERO= This is your business!! 😳
GIANLUCA= No, no, I’m telling you, I’m asking you the same question, ours is a relationship.
PIERO= So, I said “a group”, the relationship with the partner is one and one.
GIANLUCA= It’s a dual relationship, ours is a triad. oh well, you have to lie, come on. 🤪
(now he reads the question)I have never made up an excuse not to take a selfie with a fan.
No, no, in fact we are perhaps too open to that, aren’t we? 😍
IGNAZIO= Yes absolutely, always. 😍
GIANLUCA= It’s true. 😍 (To Piero) See how I’m faster than you?
PIERO= I have never danced alone in my room.
No, of course I danced alone in my room, of course.
IGNAZIO= Always and also in déshabillé, (in underwear, or undressed)
GIANLUCA= With the “glié” (Ignazio pronounces déshabillé incorrectly making the letter G heard and Gianluca makes fun of him)
PIERO= With the “glié” (Piero also makes fun of Ignazio’s pronunciation)
IGNAZIO= I never thought about leaving my trio.
True, absolutely true, I never thought so. 🥰
GIANLUCA= But none ever.🥰
IGNAZIO= With sincerity.🥰
PIERO= This question is incredible…. I have never dreamed of a feat with Ghè.
GIANLUCA= (Piero pronounces Ghè and Gianluca corrects him) Gué, who is Ghé? Gué not Ghé. 🤣🤣
PIERO= I call him Gué Pequeno.😂 (He is a singer)
GIANLUCA= Gué 🤣
PIERO= And I call him Ghé Pequeno.😂
GIANLUCA= Gué, bye Ghé. 🤣
PIERO= Hi Ghé. No, I have to tell you that I thought about it, sometimes you know when you think of particular, strange duets….
GIANLUCA= Ghé…. (Gian insists with the wrong pronunciation and Ignazio dies laughing) 😂😂😂
PIERO= And with Ghé I thought so (I think it would be a truly absurd duet and perhaps Ignazio laughs at that too)…😂😂😂
GIANLUCA= Gué let’s do something together, the time has come, come on! (here in Italy Gué is doing duets with several singers)
IGNAZIO= I apologize to you, deeply.
PIERO= You go (to Gianluca)
GIANLUCA= Amuninni! (Sicilian dialect word meaning: let’s go)
I have never ghosted a girl.
(everyone laughs because this question actually happened to Gianluca who is considered the conqueror of the group) 😂😂😂
No it is not true!
PIERO= What, isn’t it? So we have to…
GIANLUCA= No, I said it’s not true that I’ve never done it.🤪
PIERO= Ahhhh ok! 😁
GIANLUCA= But not with malice, always with education!
PIERO= But you can’t ghost with politeness…..
GIANLUCA= No, I have never ghosted.
I never thought that anyone had fallen asleep at one of our concerts.
The most beautiful scene was Ignazio who saw someone sleeping and with the microphone he said, in an arena of 10 thousand people: PEM. And see, this one (jump) there was an incredible scene I don’t remember where, this one who had fallen asleep poor guy, after a while he had heard the two of them (Ignazio and Piero) singing he said, I have to fall asleep. It’s at a certain point it was he (Ignazio) who let out a scream and this (fright) 😂
IGNAZIO= I have never done something crazy for love.
PIERO= Just him! 🤣
GIANLUCA= He is madness for love par excellence. 😂
IGNAZIO= I have never done something crazy for love.
PIERO= Just him!
GIANLUCA= He is madness for love par excellence.
IGNAZIO= I am the…
PIERO= He is the feeling.
IGNAZIO= I have never snitched a bro.
PIERO= What does it mean? 😳
IGNAZIO= And what does snitched mean, sorry?? 😳
VOICE= That you snitched.
GIANLUCA= Derived from snitch.
PIERO= I have never snitched, what does this mean?
IGNAZIO= That you have never cheated or betrayed a friend.
PIERO= Ah, no never.
GIANLUCA= In any case, we’re really in our thirties, eh, there’s nothing we can do…
PIERO= But if you are thirty…
GIANLUCA= It’s a vocabulary that doesn’t belong to you, to me yes, to you no. 😁
IGNAZIO= So you want to know something?….
PIERO= Yes, because we have three generations of difference….🤣
IGNAZIO= As long as I had company (that means hanging out with a company), friends from Call of Duty, from “gioco”, from gaming, I knew how: to show off, to snitch, all these things, now the era is over….
PIERO= But I say, if we are in Italy, let’s talk, use the terms in Italian, not these snitch, snatch…😁
IGNAZIO= Say hotel, (in Italian albergo), don’t say hotel!😁
This video needs no translation, the three of them sing LA DONNA È MOBILE in three different ways: lyrical, pop, rock, they have fun and they joke. At the end Ignazio doesn’t stop making high notes and Gianluca asks:
“Where does it turn off?” 😂😂😂
And now this beautiful review of HALLELUJAH made by vocal coach Giacomo Rossi who analyzed their performance from a technical point of view, activates the subtitles.
I love these reviews and they’re on you tube, go and comment too, I asked Giacomo to review the new songs.
And finally this last gem.
A short video of CAPOLAVORO played by Valentino Alessandrini with the violin. 🥰
I hope you enjoyed the story of my two direct experiences with Il Volo, certainly the concert at Radio Italia was the best!!! But even seeing them sign your CD is priceless. I remind everyone that both events were absolutely free.
And what about the results of the new CD, very good and I hope the race continues!
By the way, in the next article I will show you all the lyrics of the new songs and we will talk about these new songs together, I can tell you that I liked them very much at the first listen.
There is less and less time left until Sanremo and every day new interviews and videos are published.
Today I propose this interview to you in the GRAZIA newspaper.
Pay attention to Ignazio’s words. ❤️
LOVE PUSHES US FORWARD
After the victory in 2015, the three singers of Il Volo return to the Festival with the song CAPOLAVORO, which talks about the feeling that changed their lives.
When I meet the three guys from Il Volo, I can’t help but notice all their differences. In their way of telling themselves, of understanding music and the world. But at the same time I feel a unique, consolidated, respectful entity.
Fifteen years after their debut, Gianluca Ginoble, Piero Barone, and Ignazio Boschetto felt the need to focus on themselves. They did this by preparing an album that for the first time will be composed entirely of unreleased songs and in which they promise a new story that they will take on a world tour.
WHAT TIME IS THIS?
GIANLUCA= We realized that we have based our career in the past, on the strong roots of our culture that we have brought around the world. For the first time, however, we now feel connected to the present, with an eye towards the future.
YOU WILL BE COMPETING IN SANREMO WITH CAPOLAVORO. HOW WOULD YOU TELL IT?
IGNAZIO= We understood that this was the perfect song for Sanremo. Talk about love. When you are in a relationship, you stop and say: “This story is a Capolavoro”, I’m getting married next year and for me the masterpiece is exactly what I’m experiencing.
PIERO= It makes me think of that very strong feeling that grows inside you without you knowing it. When you realize you have it you need to externalize it.
GIANLUCA= For me, love is like jumping off Niagara Falls without a life jacket. You know that you rely on a person with the risk of experiencing incredible pain.
HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT OF BREAKING UP YOUR TRIO?
PIERO= Never. We have lived intense years, without ever stopping. There wasn’t time to even think about it.
BUT IT IS NOT OBTAINED.
PIERO= Yes, but there was a lot of effort. Today others only talk about immediate success achieved with the least amount of effort. It’s wrong.
GIANLUCA PARTICIPATED ON BEHALF OF THE TRIO IN THE EVENING OF GRACE FOR THE DAY AGAINST VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN. IT’S AN EMERGENCY?
GIANLUCA= For many men it is difficult to admit that they have weaknesses, there is a virility that is so flaunted and which can lead to violence.
PIERO= Each of us should make our contribution, even in small things, not laughing at squalid jokes and perhaps pointing out to our best friend that he is making a mistake in using certain words.
There was the long-awaited Radio Italia interview (I don’t like Gianluca’s trousers at all, my opinion) 🤪
WOMAN= Let me dream right away. Where have you been lately around the world? You are always around, I watch the stories, I would like to do all the trips you do. Where have you been?
GIANLUCA= We’ve been around, we’ve had the opportunity to tour, travel, but returning to Sanremo is always an emotion, because we were born here artistically.
WOMAN= It’s true, this is what I wanted to tell you, what it’s like to return, after all these trips around the world, to such an important stage for Italy and not only and above all for you who this stage has given you so much.
IGNAZIO= We have realized that we are coming to celebrate our anniversaries, it will be 15 years, we celebrate 15 years this year and it is not easy, it is not easy to be together for 15 years (Piero and Gianluca protest), let me finish, it is not easy to stay together for 15 years always with the same enthusiasm.
GIANLUCA = (to Piero). See, you don’t have to interrupt him.
PIERO= (to the person filming) Can you cut this piece?? (laughs) 😂Is not easy.
WOMAN= So what is it that keeps you tied to this enthusiasm?
PIERO= Enthusiasm keeps us bonded, the desire that unites us to always do new things, never lose that passion for the profession we carry out, we consider ourselves three privileged individuals, because we do what we love, we do it every day, so we don’t there is something more beautiful.
WOMAN= And so we return to Sanremo, the piece is called MASTERPIECE, tell me a little about it, a little spoiler.
GIANLUCA= A small spoiler that can be done….more than anything it explains the feeling that is love, but told in a profound way, because sometimes you realize that you love, only when you look back, and sometimes you realize how special this person is, like how did I do without this person before I met them. Sometimes it’s as if it suddenly falls from the sky, but it can be love for a child, love in general, universal love, how important this feeling really is that moves the world.
PIERO= For us who sing it, each of us sings it in a different way, feels it in a different way, for me CAPOLAVORO speaks in a romantic way about hope, because maybe when you don’t find it in yourself, in the most difficult moments you hope for something outside of yourself.
WOMAN= So you hope something comes…..how you turn it is a nice message.
GIANLUCA= Yes, there are people who can really change your life. Growing up, doing introspection on yourself is important, to be able to understand, to recognize love as a feeling, then there are people who can enrich your life and make it better.
PIERO= It can be dedicated to someone, something, that feeling that literally changed your life, not just people.
WOMAN = Even a little awareness when you feel certain things. Guys, we were immediately a bit philosophical, but the piece requires it, because it actually has a beautiful message. I thank you, see you in Sanremo.
IGNAZIO= Thank you very much.
PIERO= Remember……it’s not easy.
WOMAN= With this enthusiasm, it’s not easy.
IGNAZIO= However you’ve seen, nothing has changed, they won’t let me talk. 😂😂😂
And then there is this which is not an interview, but a long reflection that makes you think a lot, a long tirade made by Luca Maggitti to the administration of the municipality of Montepagano and Roseto degli Abruzzi, read it and try to understand that it’s very ironic. I really liked it, well written Luca Maggitti, sometimes you need these “little digs”.
I remind you that Luca Maggitti is a journalist who lives in Abruzzo and who met Gianluca who was walking with his grandfather and they drank a coffee.
I bring you an old photo of Luca Maggitti and Gianluca.
Gianluca Ginoble – Il Volo THE AMBASSADOR OF ROSETO AND ABRUZZO IN THE WORLD RETURNS TO THE SANREMO FESTIVAL
In short: there is no two without three.
Gianluca Ginoble – from the ancient village of Montepagano in Roseto – will return to the stage of the most important Italian event in terms of occupying television, social media and any other space. Tens of millions of people in Italy will talk about the event (Sanremo Festival) and billions around the world will in some way be involved in the various references to the event.
Every time such a media circus takes place (all the media attention for Sanremo) I think of Gianluca sitting drinking a coffee in Roseto, speaking kindly to anyone who comes to say hello. And I have the image of a Ferrari left in the garage, for some souped-up Vespone to race in competitions where class and speed are needed. (Maggitti compares the kind and polite Gianluca to a beautiful world-class car, a Ferrari that is left in the garage, to race a Vespa, a famous Italian motorbike, remember the film Roman Holidays?)
Yes, because I ask myself: is it possible that Gianluca goes to Sanremo and no one in the Municipality (of Roseto) or Region (of Abruzzo) calls him – eight days before the start of the event – to congratulate him, incite him, encourage him?
Let’s be clear, we talk about politics and government at various levels and I certainly don’t expect the administrators to call him because they truly love the artist or his genre or appreciate this exemplary boy for education and culture, who has remained very polite despite a global success that we even have hard to imagine.
(Maggitti is really scolding the municipal administrators here, because Gianluca should be called not only because he is a great artist, but also because he is an exemplary boy in terms of education and culture, despite his great success)
I don’t expect this. Furthermore, I am biased because I have always respected him.
No, I want to be cynical and wretched to the core!
(Maggitti means that if they had been cynical, the administrators would have had to call Gianluca for at least other reasons, which he will now list)
If I were a public administrator – at various levels in Abruzzo, since Gianluca was appointed, years ago, ambassador of both Abruzzo and Roseto degli Abruzzi in the world – I would call him because Gianluca creates media hype. Because its social profiles generate more interactions than all those of the various municipalities, provinces and regions combined. Not to mention the Volo one.
I see Gianluca who for almost 15 years – in a few months it will be 15 – has spoken well (more: he speaks with love) about Roseto degli Abruzzi and Abruzzo, truly helping these territories to be known.
On the other hand, I don’t see equal interest on the part of those who govern, especially the tourist-cultural part of the territory. And I ask myself: why?
What is the point of this masochism?
A final reflection, remaining in Roseto, in the limited area of via Latini. And talking about tourism and – more generally – territorial promotion.
The part of via Latini that goes towards the sea, the one after via Nazionale, has a system of decorative lights at the top with the words of the famous “Nel blu painted di blu” (Volare) by Domenico Modugno. Good, great.
(He intends to remember that in the town of Roseto some lights have been installed with the words of Volare)
But, I wonder: we have Gianluca Ginoble who won the Sanremo festival at 10 years old, at his first participation, he chose to live in Montepagano di Roseto, where his roots are, he always speaks well of his birthplace and the territory, he is always available when it comes to visiting associations that work for the good of the area… and don’t we put “Grande Amore”?
Is it possible that it is so incredibly difficult to insert the words of “Grande Amore” on the “rambla” of Roseto degli Abruzzi (via Latini, in the part that goes towards the hill), perhaps by having him turn on the lights for the first time and have him sing alone and live a cappella the song?
Is it so difficult to respect an international pop star who lives where she was born and who has the only flaw of not being haughty? Not for him, I repeat.
He (Gianluca) now travels from Rai 1 upwards, from Canale 5 upwards, from Corriere della Sera upwards. (Maggitti means to say that the most important programs talk about Gianluca and Il Volo)
For us, for our struggling territory, for tourism with less than 100,000 visitors in two years… for the fact that no one queues there and that the very expensive VisitRoseto.it gets as many likes or visits as a site set up by a elementary school, to teach children to use the web.
Is it possible that we prefer to keep the Ferrari in the garage and go for challenges with the souped-up Vespone? But what’s the point?
Mayor Mario Nugnes, do you remember when I brought Gianluca Ginoble to the Oratory of the Campo dei Preti at the request of my friend Father Antonio Ghidoni, who wanted to meet him and who defined “Grande Amore” as a prayer, and in the homily invited the faithful to vote Il Volo?
Mayor, do you remember? You had frizzy hair and were tutoring in the afternoon, and Gianluca came to hug you (him, you!), telling me that you had been his afternoon teacher when he attended the Oratory?
If you don’t remember, I’ll put the photo from that day here.
Mayor, can we ask Ferrari for the favor of lending a hand to this little village, which is slipping more and more towards numerical inconsistency and which desperately needs a great recovery plan?
I don’t know if Gianluca Ginoble – who is preparing for yet another world tour on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of Il Volo – has time, but I know for sure that a photo of him, a reel or a thought is worth the sum of all the sites’ efforts, little sites, pages and little pages of our parts.
And if I say this it is because I myself have found my articles about him translated into English, Spanish, Romanian, Portuguese and more, on the web. And I am a poor journalist who would never otherwise have been translated! 😂
I, for the umpteenth time, put these reflections into it. You rulers – at any level – will do what you believe. I only hope that you are illuminated by the beacon of the common good and real progress in your daily work.
Whatever the case, my best wishes to Gianluca Ginoble and Il Volo, remembering the emotions of the 2015 victory, when he turned 20 exactly on the day of his debut as a competitor at the Festival.
Dàje sìmbre fùrte, Gianlù! (Abruzzo expression to say: “Come on, always strong, Gianlù “)
(Another old photo of Luca Maggitti with Gianluca)
Who knows if it was because of the article published by Luca Maggitti that the municipal administration of Roseto woke up??
We want to think that it wasn’t the article, but today, Friday 2 February, there will be an award for our Gianluca in Roseto. 🎉🎉🎉
This is the motivation.
On the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the birth of ‘Il Volo’ and in view of its participation in the 74th edition of the Festival of Sanremo, the Municipal Administration of Roseto degli Abruzzi organized a ceremony to pay homage to the Rosetano singer Gianluca Ginoble who was a guest in the Council Room, at 11 am on Friday 2 February. In 2015, Gianluca Ginoble was awarded the title of ‘Ambassador to the World of the City of Roseto degli Abruzzi’ and the other two members of the ‘Il Volo’ trio, Piero Barone and Ignazio Boschetto, were awarded the honorary citizenship of Roseto degli Abruzzi.
The ceremony, conducted by Francesca Martinelli, represented a moment to make the entire Rosetan community feel the affection towards Gianluca Ginoble, to relive his great career with him and to pay homage to him with a gift created for the occasion.
And here is the video of the awards ceremony.
The mayor expresses words of esteem and good wishes and Gianluca thanks everyone and tells little things about life in his town and the emotion he always has when he talks about his city which he will always carry in his heart. ❤️
And another video by a journalist, Luca Maggitti Di Tecco, from Il Messaggero who was at the event.
The administration gives Gianluca a jewel representing a Presentosa Rose and asks him to wear it also on the evening of the festival and Gianluca wears it immediately. Then Gianluca thanks and also wants to remember his brother Ernesto who collaborated with the team. 🥰
Then there was a really nice video by Antonella Clerici (she presented TI LASCIO UNA CANZONE) who wished Il Volo her “good luck”. ❤️
The guys from Il Volo are extraordinary, I met them in the first edition of TI LASCIO UNA CANZONE and they were put together, that is, they introduced themselves alone, Ignazio and Piero are Sicilian, while Gianluca is from Abruzzo. Since they were three “lyricists” even if with different voice tones, we formed this trio and it won all the episodes, it was really very, very strong. So it was clear that they had great talent, then it was Tony Renis who first brought them to the United States, then their manager Michele Torpedine understood their potential and first they had great luck in the United States, and then also in Italy.
I remember when they showed up at their first Sanremo festival with GRANDE AMORE, which was hosted by my friend Carlo Conti, I told him: “Carlo get ready because they will win the Sanremo Festival, I’m sure of it”, because in the televoting they were too much, too strong and also very good, then they were three young guys, people liked them, I knew their potential and in fact it was like that .
And now I wish them a big “good luck” for the next Sanremo festival.
As I have already told you, many newspapers of all kinds are talking about Il Volo.
This is a Gossip magazine, it talks about Il Volo’s girlfriends. I assure you that some are not reliable news, so I don’t waste time translating them.
Even the RAI news programs talk about Sanremo and therefore also about Il Volo.
WOMAN= Sanremo Festival, on the Ariston stage, among the competing artists Il Volo, with the song CAPOLAVORO, and on the cover evening, the homage to Queen. (a video starts)
MAN= Grown up, born on the Ariston stage at TI LASCIO UNA CANZONE, in the end you know Sanremo well.
PIERO= In 2009 we met at the Ariston, then we left and returned in 2015 with GRANDE AMORE, now, after 15 years, we are returning to celebrate this great achievement, which is both professional and personal.
MAN= Who knows what Ignazio was up to at 14 years old in the back stage of the theater.
IGNAZIO= But because I, sorry…..we combined all three. It was a way to grow quickly, because in the end we grew quickly.
MAN= CAPOLAVORO in Sanremo, isn’t it a bit risky to say it right away?
GIANLUCA= In fact we wanted to title it CAPOLAVORO in brackets perhaps…..
PIERO= Let’s hope….
GIANLUCA= Let’s hope. Obviously it’s not about us…
MAN= Queen for duet, this year.
PIERO= It will be a great moment to be able to share the stage with Steff Burns and we would like to thank Vasco Rossi (well-known Italian rock singer) for lending us his guitarist, thank you Vasco!
.……..and this is Vasco Rossi’s response!
Happy to lend my guitarist STEF BURNS to Il Volo in Sanremo…..on the cover evening….he will perform a Queen solo, WHO WANTS TO LIVE FOREVER, I’m proud of him.
This interview on Radio Subasio is also very beautiful. Since at the beginning the questions are the same ones that are repeated several times, I start translating about halfway through the video.😉
RADIO SUBASIO
WOMAN=……do you sometimes argue too? Who is the most rebellious of the three? (Piero marks Ignazio with his hand)
WOMAN= Ignazio?
GIANLUCA= Every now and then it explodes, yes yes. But we have three completely different characters, but thank goodness it’s like this, because if we were the same, that creative spark wouldn’t strike, so everyone brings their own ideas, there are often contrasts but in the end we always manage to find the solution and the best for the group, well, this is important.
WOMAN= Of course, of course. But then in recent years a few things have changed in your life, we used to talk off the air, there are those who have coupled up (Ignazio), those who have exploded (Gianluca), what is the situation like, those who are single among you, do we want to say it?
PIERO= We have always tried to respect our private life and I believe it is also our duty, because we often say that we live two parallel lives, the professional life which takes up ten months of our life every year and our personal life, and we also want this to be the case. keep it.
WOMAN = It seems very right to me….
GIANLUCA= But anyway Ignazio is getting married!!
WOMAN= When Ignazio, when the happy event?
IGNAZIO = Next year.
WOMAN= So next year. Guys I wanted to tell you something else, in recent days we spoke with LA SAD (a punk group with colored hair that will be in Sanremo) and I asked them which artist (from Sanremo) they felt most in tune with and they told us Il Volo.
I even considered a collaboration with them and they said yes, absolutely.
How about? How do you respond to this proposal?
IGNAZIO= Well, they are young guys who…..
GIANLUCA= Young people, they are older than you Ignazio….(it’s true the members of La SAD are older than them)
IGNAZIO= Yes, but they are young kids in the sense of sending the message (Ignazio means that they are listened to more by young kids)
WOMAN= But can something be done?
GIANLUCA= It would be interesting, we recently met in Sanremo during rehearsals, a relationship of great respect was born, because everyone expresses their emotions in their art and it’s nice to see these differences. Everyone has space to demonstrate what they really are and we are all different, there is no right or wrong, better or worse, this is the beauty of music, so it will be wonderful to see these contrasts between Il Volo and La Sad, certainly in Sanremo .
WOMAN= Of course I agree, that’s why we’re very intrigued by this idea, this image of a collaboration between the two of you, have you ever seen it? I want to play a little game with you, to test your memory, if you agree.
PIERO= This worries me. 😁
WOMAN= Remembering the festival of a few years ago, for example Sanremo 2000, concentrate, Sanremo 2000…
PIERO= I was 7 years old….
WOMAN= You remember who won, even from hearsay, I will help you anyway because I give you three options…
IGNAZIO= Jo di Tonno (Italian singer).…
GIANLUCA= No, it was 2006…
WOMAN= I’ll give you the three options…
GIANLUCA = (to Ignazio) Jo di Tonno and I are the only people from Abruzzo to have won the Sanremo festival…
WOMAN= Oh yes, you see it!
PIERO= Do you know that I am the only Sicilian to have won the Sanremo festival?
GIANLUCA= Oh no, boy, he (Ignazio) is Sicilian…
PIERO= He’s from Bologna!
WOMAN= Guys three options for the 2000 festival, be careful: Gigi D’Alessio, Ivana Spagna or Piccola Orchestra Avion Travel? (All Italian singers)
GIANLUCA= Ah yes, “Sentimento” (it is the title of the song by the Piccola Orchestra Avion Travel)
WOMAN= Well done, great Gianluca, see what a memory! Instead, who was presenting the festival? Do you remember it? Who was there in 2000?
GIANLUCA= Fazio (an Italian presenter)
WOMAN= Good, you didn’t even need the help. Oh Gianluca, damn what a memory, well done, congratulations, you haven’t won anything, but thanks for being with us guys.
Good luck for the Sanremo Festival, we’ll meet again to hear about the fresh emotions we just experienced on the Ariston stage.
Thanks Ignazio, thanks Piero, thanks Gianluca.
Il Volo on the Sanremo 2024 stage, bye guys, thanks!
And to the happiness of many fans, this year’s summer concerts have been announced, all in Italy, here they are!! 🥳🥳🎉
But now the most beautiful interview, made by Gianluca Gazzoli for BSMT. There is the automatic translation and I urge you to activate it, because it is truly a beautiful interview, different from the usual ones, and to which our boys responded with sincerity and maturity and also with a lot of spirit.
To turn on captions click the gear button in the lower right corner of the video, then Subtitles. Then choose English from the list that appears.
The comments under this interview suggest that some people, seeing it, have changed their minds about how Il Volo has always been perceived (thanks to the Italian press)
Don’t miss this interview!!!
From school desks to the most prestigious stages in the world. Three boys who, at just 15 years old, have fascinated and conquered everyone with their extraordinary talent. Well yes, Il Volo passed through the BSMT.
An extraordinary career, started as teenagers and built with sacrifice, commitment and a lot of ambition. Ignazio, Gianluca and Piero told us how their lives changed suddenly, transforming them from simple fifteen-year-olds to world stars. Successes, family, friendship, recognition, surreal anecdotes, changes and much more. A chat in which their three very distinct personalities emerged and in which they indulged in confidences like never before.
FROM A WHOLE DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE! IL VOLO passes through the BSMT
Certainly Caterina Boschetto’s words, at the beginning of the interview, contained a lot of truth.
“Know that if I sign your life will change, know that the responsibilities will become more, know that you can play but not like before, know that many things will change.”
I warned you that the media exposure of Sanremo is notable, and what I have reported to you are the best interviews of these days, but at every moment there is something new.
The auditions and rehearsals are over and finally, we have the guys together at the Ariston Theater and they are about to meet but before they meet, I want to tell you a little more about the journey they took to get here and what this new adventure will be for them but, even more so for their parents.
For Piero and Ignazio, great sacrifices were made.
We know Ignazio’s parents worked hard and gave up all they had to make Ignazio have the opportunity to have singing lessons. In the end, thanks to someone dear to them, Ignazio finds himself on the stage of Ti Lascio Una Canzone.
From a very young age, Piero worked endlessly for a classical education which would lead him to the stage of an opera house. Thanks first to his grandfather, who paid for the piano lessons, and the sacrifices of his parents, Piero found his way to the stage of Ti Lascio Una Canzone.
As we know, Gianluca never had singing lessons and never competed in any singing competition. He was discovered while singing with his choir and that led him to the stage of Ti Lasio Una Canzone. So, there was no sacrifice by his parents but don’t think this is where the story of sacrifice ends.
No, the story just begins on the stage of Ti Lascio Una Canzone. The Big Sacrifice follows.
But let’s begin with the fourth night of Ti Lascio Una Canzone.
With O Sole Mio in hand, the boys set out for night four of Ti Lascio una Canzone.
It’s April 25th, 2009, and these three teenage boys who only met a short time before are getting ready to turn their world upside down. They are one step from stardom!
The first time they sing together everyone is amazed. Who wasn’t amazed, Roberto Cenci! He knew exactly what he was doing. He realized by putting these three voices together he would create an amazing sound! How right he was!
So, let’s turn to Piero who will tell us how the guys first sang together….
I remember Roberto Cenci calling us all three to the center of the stage during the rehearsals.
‘Piero, Gianluca and Ignazio, come here.’
They start ‘O Sole Mio’ and we sing as we had divided the parts. Gianluca begins with the first verse and then it’s my turn, I attack with ‘Ma n’ato sole,’ (but another sun). This ‘Ma n’naaaato’ with the note kept so long and vibrated, as we still sing it today, was born in that first test because I learned, ‘O Sole Mio,’ by listening to the Three Tenors, that is Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Josè Carreras. And Pavarotti made those three words of refrain with a very, fast, but difficult beat. I did not have that technique, so I did it slowly. Then I asked: ‘Roberto, sorry, can I do it my way the ‘ma n’ato sole?’ He answers ‘Yes.’ And I say, ‘Unplug the orchestra when it’s time and come behind me.’
Ignazio tells us about the reaction to their singing it on that Saturday night….
That Saturday night there was a great standing ovation for us, with ‘O Sole Mio.’ I think that that performance marked the real starting point of our career.
When I had agreed to do the auditions, I was aware that it would be a great experience and would last only two months. But I never expected that we could get all this great success.
Gianluca puts the event in the history books…
The theater came down.
Piero on my left, me in the middle, Ignazio on my right. In the history of music no one had ever seen three children of thirteen or fourteen sing these kinds of songs. So, we must also thank Roberto Cenci because, if it wasn’t for him maybe today, we would not be here. It was nice, it was something…. How can I tell you? It was natural. I immediately enjoyed singing together, there was no problem.
But it was also all unexpected.
I thought there were three hundred thousand boys singing like me, and instead that night I discovered that there are only two: Ignazio and Piero.
Before the big night of O Sole Mio, the guys were already being praised by some very famous singers. These singers were in total awe of our guys. It seemed obvious that they were taking over the show! No one else could come close to them.
Piero did a duet with Al Bano.
Ignazio did a duet with Massimo Ranieri.
Gianluca did a duet with Riccardo Cocciante.
Ignazio did a duet with Fausto Leali.
Gianluca did a duet with Sara Pischedda.
Piero did a duet with Simona Collura.
In his book Ricomincio Dai Tre (I Start Again from Three) Michele Torpedine, their manager tells us what happened that night.
Alone in his apartment, Michele Torpedine was sitting on his sofa with the volume off on his TV. The show he was watching was Ti Lascio Una Canzone. He keeps looking at the screen and he suddenly thinks Ignazio reminds him of Luciano Pavaroti, Gianluca seemed similar to Jose Carreras and Piero is similar to Placido Domingo. He still had not heard them sing. Out of curiosity, he raised the volume and Michele says, “Here I am aware of another element, that is even more important than the first. The three casually put together to sing a song of the program possess an incredible vocality for their age.”
At this point Michele’s head is spinning. He’s thinking these guys are good and again repeats it to himself, they’re good! He thinks, “What if I try to put them together seriously? A trio he tells himself. Here’s what I could do….”
Michele says, “The next day I am a volcano. I want to talk to everyone: producers, managers, families.”
They all performed exceptionally well. They all came in first one night during the performance.
Gianluca won the first night with the song “Il Mare Calmo della Sera.”
Ignazio won the second night with “Quando l’amore Diventa Poseia”
Piero won the fourth night with “Un Amore Così Grande.”
And Gianluca won the final episode.
Piero and Ignazio showed great respect for Gianluca who won the final episode. They may have been disappointed, but you would never know it to look at their faces. Their reaction to Gianluca winning was beautiful! Look at the video….
And the biggest win of the night, they walked off the stage, Il Volo! Well maybe they didn’t have the name yet, but they were certainly on the road to stardom!
But this is just the beginning of the story!
We know that the guys got a phenomenal contract with Universal and began an amazing career. They went to America and all the rest is history!
In the beginning I told you that great sacrifices would be made not only by the guys but also by their families.
When I write about the guys I always think about the sacrifice they made when they became Il Volo. They left behind the best years of their lives. Their teenage years. They left their families and there were times when they weren’t home for months.
In the beginning they had a parent with them because they were underage but once they turned eighteen, they were on their own. We all realized that this happened to them, and we all thought this was a great opportunity but what a sacrifice they made. True but what about the sacrifice their families made. When one parent traveled, the other was left at home to care for the other children.
I can’t even imagine how the parent who was left home with the other children felt. Of course, you feel joy for your child but to say goodbye I’ll see you in a few months. That’s got to hurt. And the parent who went with him had to leave his other children at home. That had to hurt too.
This was a big sacrifice that was made by the parents but there were others who probably hurt even more. How about their brothers and sisters? I’m sure some of them didn’t even understand why their brother had to go away!
All around tremendous sacrifices. I remember Ignazio saying in his story that he didn’t see his sister for five months and it really hurt.
Yes, they went around the world and became super stars, but they paid a high price for it. The Big Sacrifice they made is now in the past. But I’m sure that the guys wished they could have back some of those years to spent time with their families. And I’m sure the families wished they had an opportunity to spend more time with them.
On the bright side of the story, they got to spend a year with their families during the pandemic. The Lord certainly had a plan with that pandemic!
One last note before I leave you today. I just started writing a new book and I need to take some time off to do my research. So, for the next few weeks I will post old stories on Wednesdays about the guys.
In the meantime, you can also read some of the old stories in the archives. Just go to www.ilvoloflightcrw.com and you can either go into the search bar and ask for a particular story or a story about a particular guy. Or go into Galleries on the top of the main page and pull up stories by the year.
I promise I will work as fast as I can to get back to you. In the meantime, Daniela will be keeping you up to date with all the latest news including all that is going on in Sanremo. The guys start rehearsals for Sanremo this week!
Be back in a few weeks!
Let me leave you with the first video of O Sole Mio!
Join me next week as I go back Through the Fields of My Mind and find some really great old story for you!
*What I have written here are excerpts from the book the guys wrote about their lives. “Il Volo, Un’avventura Straordinario, La Nostra Storia.” (An Extraordinary Adventure, Our Story) This is just a small piece of each mans’ story. The book is written in Italian. If you can read Italian, I would highly recommend that you read it. It’s wonderful! If not, I can only hope that someday it will be translated into English. Or you can use Google Translate to translate it.
I also recommend you read their second book “IL Volo: Quello Che Porto Nel Cuore” (What I Carry in My Heart)
If you would like to share a story with me, please email: susan.flightcrew@yahoo.com
Gianluca and Jessica Brando.
