THE FIRST 'O SOLE MIO EVER

May 2009. This is the very beginning of their grand journey. All three boys were in the same competition called "Ti Lascio Una Canzone" which translates into "Leavin' You A Song" in English. You can find more information about the show in a Wikipedia page. Anyway, Gianluca, Ignazio and Piero were in the same competition not as a group, but as an aspiring solo singer. I don't know the exact format of the show, but from what I've watched on Youtube it seemed like the contestants are free to parter with another contestant.

Gianluca, Ignazio and Piero formed a team for this performance and the rest is history. They didn't have a group name at this point and I found that in some videos, they were referred as "Il Trio" which means "The Trio." I'm not sure who came up with that name but it is now Il Volo! :)

At the time of the performance, Ignazio and Gianluca were only 14 years old and Piero was 15 years old! Amazing! Thanks to the Italian Wikipedia page of the show (and thanks to Google Translator), I found out how each of them did in the competition in 2009. Before I announce that, this is not an American Idol type of show where they eliminate each contestant as they go. They have 8 episodes and in each season, the candidates are voted based on their performance for that episode. So it's possible that a certain contestant can win a multiple times. Just see how many times they won! 

• Premiere: Il mare calmo della sera - Gianluca Ginoble
• Episode 2: Quando l'amore diventa poesia - Ignazio Boschetto
• Episode 3: La luna che non c'è - Gianluca Ginoble
• Episode 4: Un amore così grande - Piero Barone
• Episode 5: I migliori anni della nostra vita - The entire male contestants
• Episode 6: Perdere l'amore - Gabriele Tufi & Ignazio Boschetto              
                  Mi sono innamorato di te - Manuela Rinaldi e Gianluca Ginoble
• Episode 7: Vivo per lei - Giuliana Danzé & Gianluca Ginoble 
• Episode 8: Perdere l'amore - Gabriele Tufi & Ignazio Boschetto
                   Vivo per lei - Sara Pischedda, Giuliana Danzè & Gianluca Ginoble