Dear Flight Crew,

Our friend, Patrizia Ciava, wrote a review on NOCHE SIN DIA in Italian two days ago.  I found it noteworthy.  It keeps our various takes on the subject in perspective. While maintaining the integrity of our guys, she focuses her opinion on video quality.

I asked her if I could have it google-translated to English for publishing at our Flight Crew Blog to which she agreed. She has further refined the translation and below is her refined translation. I am submitting it to you for featuring on our Flight Crew Blog.

Thank you so much for your kind attention.

Warmly,
Cynthia from the Phillipines

Il Volo: “Noche sin dia”
Patrizia Ciava (Trishadria)  •  27 May 2018

It is no mystery that I think the three singers of Il Volo are among the best vocalists existing today on the international music market, I wrote several articles about them and it seems superfluous to remind it.

On the other hand, I have always tried to be objective and impartial in my reviews and I believe (and I hope) that this feature of mine is appreciated by those who read me.

After the tribute to opera music and to the Three Tenors, with “Notte Magica”, Il Volo have decided to pay homage to Latin American music with the new CD and single just released “Noche sin dia.”

I will not dwell on the decision of the record company to exclude Italy and other countries from the initial launch, which many fans have deemed offensive; there are certainly valid reasons and commercial evaluation or agreements between labels that we cannot know. It often happens that CDs come out in some countries and not in others, and I do not see anything that is disturbing or disrespectful.

I would like to say that I love Spanish and Latin American music, I enjoy listening to the songs of Enrique Iglesias, Alvaro Soler, Marc Anthony and Luis Fonsi, and I certainly contributed to make the over 2 billion views of the video “Bailando” starring Iglesias with Gente de Zona, the same group that dueted with Il Volo in their latest work. 

Regarding the song and the video of “Noche sin dia” I found them pleasant but not of the quality that I would have expected from a great producer like Emilio Estefan and not up to international stars like Il Volo. 

This is obviously a personal opinion that does not question the artistic talent that the three young singers have already widely demonstrated to possess.

To try to explain the reasons for my view, I wondered what attracts me in a music video, pushing me to watch it several times.

My opinion is not based on the lack of emphasis given to the voices of the three singers in the song; I believe that they can indulge in a project that is not mainly based on their vocal talents, which by now everyone is well aware of.

The song has an enjoyable and attractive rhythm but it is all contained in the refrain, it lacks a less rhythmic part that usually tells a “story” and gives meaning to the whole song, creating empathy with the listener. The underlying story is then usually hinted at and “told” through the video, with the background actors and dancers surrounding the protagonist singers. The most famous songs, which became dancing hits thanks to their cheerful and rhythmical refrain, such as “Despacito”, “Sofia” or “Bailando,” also have this feature that helps make them more attractive to a wider audience. 

In the video of “Noche sin dia” instead there is no underlying story or at least a common thread, it just shows the singers singing and dancing along with everyone else, without even a choreography. 

In fact, what seems to be lacking in the video of “Noche sin dia” is the film direction and the scenography, because to ensure the success of a music video the music is obviously important but strangely not fundamental. The music video should be a mini-film with a captivating plot that stirs empathy. Or it could have a spectacular photography, or a choreography that excites and arouses admiration. I did not find any of these features in the video of “Noche sin dia.”

A good video is of paramount importance nowadays to promote a song. It has often helped to make a song famous that otherwise would have gone unnoticed. Just think of “Take me to church” by the Irish singer Hozier, which came out in 2013 and was successful only locally and then became an international hit with the release of the video in 2014, totaling more than 200 million views. 

I have always considered that the management of Il Volo has paid too little attention to this aspect; except for some official videos which have a nice setting and storyline, like “L’amore si muove”, “Canzone per te” and “Grande amore”, the others are rather ordinary and I hoped that this video would mark a turning point in this respect. 

For this reason I was a bit disappointed, but I am sure that the loyal fans that Il Volo has been able to conquer in every corner of the world thanks to their undisputed talent, professionalism and friendliness, will support them with enthusiasm in this project … while waiting for new surprises.

Patrizia

Credit to owners of all photos and video.

I’d like to say a special thank you to our loyal blog reader, Cynthia,  for grabbing and running with this review from Patrizia!  Grazie mille!  Jana