September 30, 2011

Italian teen tenors to visit benefit dinner

Il Volo will attend a benefit dinner Sunday Oct. 16 at the Detroit Opera House after performing at the Fox Theatre.

The first time Anthony Rugiero heard Il Volo sing, he was struck by the group's similarity to both opera's The Three Tenors and the pop music world's Jonas Brothers.

“I was amazed,” said Rugiero, who owns a home abroad. “It was, like wow! They are treating these kids like the Jonas Brothers in Italy and they're singing opera, like The Three Tenors. You look at them and it's like, these guys have it all. It's too good to be true.”

The trio, Piero Barone, 17, Gianluca Ginoble, 16, and Ignazio Boschetto, 16, won a televised talent competition with their rendition of O Sole Mio in May 2009. Since then, the three young tenors — who put a pop spin on classical music, opera and standards — have watched their careers take flight. They released an album last year in Italy, signed a recording contract with Geffen Records in the United States, sang on American Idol in May and are on a tour that will bring them to the Fox Theatre in Detroit next month.

Rugiero, who heard the group sing in Italy, knew Il Volo could help his charitable endeavors soar, too. The president and CEO of Antonio's Corp — which includes his family's restaurants, Antonio's Cucina Italiana in Canton, Dearborn Heights and Farmington Hills, and Roman Village Cucina Italiana in Dearborn — Rugiero had been looking for a way to raise funds for Boys' Town of Italy, Italian Language Inter-Cultural Alliance and the Volterra-Detroit.

“I was thinking, how can I get a group together that's big enough that it would reach all age levels? I thought about singing groups and was trying to think of who I could get, when I see these young kids in Italy,” Rugiero recalled. “They take classical music and put a little something into it. These kids are wonderful.”

Producing a concert

Rugiero, who also is a board member of the Detroit Opera House, was determined to bring the group to Detroit as a fundraiser for the three organizations and began working on a plan to produce the concert himself. After Live Nation bought the group's North American concert tour, Rugiero suggested a benefit dinner that would be held in conjunction with the show on Sunday, Oct. 16. Concert promoters liked the idea.

The benefit will start with a cafe and biscotti reception at The Detroit Opera House. Shuttle buses will take ticket-holders to the Fox Theatre for Il Volo's concert at 4 p.m. They'll return via shuttle to the Detroit Opera House for the dinner, which Il Volo will attend.

“I purchased the first 20 rows, center section, all premium seats,” Rugiero said, describing seats at the Fox Theatre. “We hope to have a great evening.”

Fiat is a sponsor of the event, along with several Italian-American business leaders including Tom Celani and Anthony Soave.

Benefiting organizations

The Volterra-Detroit Foundation supports The University of Detroit Mercy School of Architecture and Comune di Volterra, which have formed a partnership to provide a new educational opportunity in the City of Volterra, Italy, for students in metro Detroit. Through the partnership, U.S. students can study in Italy for no additional fee, after paying their regular college tuition.

“I love programs that bridge the gap between Italy and the U.S.,” Rugiero said.

Italian Language Inter-Cultural Alliance (ILICA) is a worldwide organization that opens doors for many students around the world to learn more about Italy, its language and its culture through programs and activities that support the value of Italian heritage. The organization is a leader in promoting and facilitating the study of Italian language in American schools.

Boys' Town of Italy has funded the development of more than 60 child care centers for communities throughout the globe, and has been the primary sponsor of the Boys' Towns and Girls' Town in Rome and United States.


Source: http://www.hometownlife.com/article/20110929/ENT/109290479/Italian-teen-tenors-visit-benefit-dinner?odyssey=nav|head


Il Volo Chicago Concert (9/28)



Intro. Beginning of the concert.



Il Mondo



El Reloj



E Piu' Ti Penso



Granada



O Sole Mio





Notte Stellata



La Mattinata



Mamma



Finiculi Finicula



Sample of Il Volo's upcoming Christmas Album

Love Piero's bowtie! :D So classic.

September 29, 2011

Il Volo Toronto Concert (9/25)

Il Volo Toronto Concert @ Roy Thompson Hall. 9/25/2011.



O Sole Mio / Now or Never



Funiculi, Funicula



Notte Stellata



Mamma



This Time



Mi Vida

Il Volo on New York Times!!!!


They’re, Like, Awesome Opera Singers



On the last day of summer three tenors were taping the “Today” show.

No, not those Three Tenors. These were mere boys, baby-faced Italian teenagers calling themselves Il Volo and belting the red-sauce favorite “O Sole Mio” in front of projections of stained-glass windows. Channeling an unlikely mixture of Andrea Bocelli and the Jonas Brothers, the appearance capped a few months that brought them from “American Idol” to the morning talk shows to the final episode of “Entourage,” a circuit carefully designed to expose them to both mothers and daughters, PBS and MTV demographics, before their first North American tour, which arrives at the Beacon Theater in Manhattan on Monday.

In the NBC studio at Rockefeller Center, as the sleepy-eyed Gianluca Ginoble, 16, crooned the opening verse, and Piero Barone, 18, and Ignazio Boschetto, who turns 17 on Tuesday, released ringing high notes, Hoda Kotb, a “Today” co-host, put her hand on her heart and smiled wistfully behind the cameras.

“We are Il Volo,” Ignazio said at the end with a heavy accent and a dimpled grin. “It means ‘flight.’ Thank you for flying with us.”

After the taping Ms. Kotb towered over the boys in spiked heels. “Believe me, everyone’s going to come running,” she said. “They’re going to beat down the door.”

Arias for teenagers? That’s the theory, the crossover dream being masterminded by some of the most savvy executives in the music business: Jimmy Iovine, who helped turn Eminem and Lady Gaga into superstars; Ron Fair, who nurtured the careers of Christina Aguilera and the Black Eyed Peas; and Steve Leber, a management legend who worked with the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith and AC/DC and has come out of pop retirement to try to make Il Volo explode.

The group inhabits the intersection of the Italian pop standard and the soaring power ballad, the same sweet spot that has carried performers like Mr. Bocelli and Il Divo to superstardom. The difference, of course, is age: theirs, and that of their potential audience. The success of a show like “Glee” has introduced the tantalizing possibility that genres like musical theater or, say, pop-opera can inspire screaming girls willing to buy concert tickets and T-shirts, as long as the interpreters are young and adorable.


“In the beginning all of us thought that because of their kind of music, the audience would be from 35 up,” said Tony Renis, the producer who discovered Il Volo, in a telephone interview from his home in Rome. “But now we realize that they can conquer the kids. The younger generation all over the world, they’re used to rap. They never had the chance to listen to this kind of music. But now Il Volo is spreading a new kind of feeling. They are conquering every age.”

The group caught Mr. Renis’s eye in the spring of 2009, when the three boys, none of whom had formal training, were competing individually on “Ti Lascio una Canzone,” an Italian version of “American Idol.” In a more-is-more epiphany a shrewd producer on the show suggested they combine forces, and their full-throated renditions of modern classics were hits.

“These kids were singing ‘O Sole Mio,’ and I heard such amazing, beautiful voices that I didn’t believe it,” Mr. Renis said. “I thought it was fake. They were singing with such mature voices, like men of 50 or 60 years.”

Mr. Renis played the clip for Mr. Iovine and Mr. Fair, who signed the group to Geffen Records. Its debut album, “Il Volo,” a mélange of songs in Italian, English and Spanish calibrated for the widest possible appeal, was assembled over the next year and released in Italy in November.

The label’s connections with “American Idol” landed the singers a coveted spot on that show in May. Last month they had a cameo on the final episode of “Entourage,” in which their song “Un Amore Così Grande,” blasting through a Los Angeles talent agency, persuaded Ari Gold to quit his job and escape to Italy. Ari’s teenage daughter sums up the group as well as anyone: “They’re, like, opera singers, and they’re amazing.”

The “Today” stop was only the latest of the singers’ talk-show appearances. They were on “The Tonight Show,” “Good Morning America,” “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and CBS’s “Early Show” in May, when their album was released in the United States, pegged to the “Idol” appearance. (Mr. Leber said they were discussing other possibilities with MTV and Nickelodeon, while a PBS special scheduled for March will continue to cultivate an older audience.)

The album made its debut on the Billboard 100 chart at No. 10, with sales that were respectable but hardly earth shattering. The Italian and American management teams butted heads about where, when and how to spend the boys’ time. Should they stay in America a full year and play smallish clubs? Make one-off appearances all over the world? Play theaters seating 1,000 or 3,000?

“No one had a real game plan,” said Mr. Leber, who persuaded the families to bring him and his son, Jordan, on to help manage the group as it rolled out. “They need to tour, tour, tour, tour. The kids and the parents were nervous about going on the road. But the most important thing is not to give up on this CD. Bite the bullet and go on the road.”


So on the road they were. Each of the boys was accompanied by one parent, a substantial sacrifice, since all three left their jobs to join their sons, and none are wealthy: Piero’s father is an auto-body mechanic, Gianluca’s a truck driver, and Ignazio’s mother owns a pizzeria that her 25-year-old daughter is running in her absence. None of the three speak English.

Piero hummed the “Brindisi” from Verdi’s “Traviata” as the group’s van sped up the Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive toward the Dolce & Gabbana boutique on Madison Avenue to shop for a tour wardrobe. (Il Volo shares a publicist with Madonna, whose connection to the fashion label runs deep.) On his iPad he scrolled through photos of places the group had already been: Singapore, New Zealand, Sydney, Miami, jumping on the red carpet at the Venice Film Festival. When they arrived at the store, Barbara Vitali, one of the singers’ Italian managers and a big-sister figure to the boys, told the sales associate, “We have to balance the repertory they are performing with the teenagers that they are.”

A series of slim blazers failed to fit Ignazio, who has lost more than 30 pounds but remains wide in the shoulders. The outgoing comedian to Gianluca’s quiet heartthrob and Piero’s earnest leader, Ignazio sang “All Nylon” to the tune of “All Night Long.” Gianluca emerged from the dressing room in tight black velvet pants and a shiny black blazer. Piero ended up with boots spattered Pollock style.



“They’re very, very different from one another,” Mr. Fair said. “Gianluca’s like a young Tony Curtis or a Mario Lanza, almost a Presley character, handsome and dark and Italian with fabulous hair. And Ignazio, he’s the big guy, a crowd pleaser and a people person, adorable and funny. Piero is more studious, very serious.”

Three hours and well into five figures’ worth of clothing later, the group headed to the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, site of the tour’s first performance and the trio’s first full concert ever. The singers had allotted two days for preparation.

The following morning’s rehearsal began well. The boys sounded fresh as they warmed up; the echo of one of Ignazio’s high notes stayed in the ice-cold air of the theater for five full seconds. But Gianluca missed an entrance — he had, as usual, been on his cellphone with his girlfriend — and things quickly dissolved into backstage shouting.

The next day was the opening show, and the boys had still not run a single song all the way through. Mr. Leber arrived, doling out hugs. “This is not music,” he said. “This is a happening. This is an event.”

And it was. It got off to a rough start. The lighting careened from darkness to glare. The sound mix, including the vocal track augmenting some of the group’s harmonies, was murky; the video projections — a mixture of slow-motion Italian film clips and animations — were distracting. The boys seemed unsure of exactly where to stand and how to move.

Then they opened their mouths. The first song was “Il Mondo,” a sweeping heart tugger. Like many of the numbers in Il Volo’s playbook, it started quietly, with a dusky verse from Gianluca. It built and built, until Ignazio, oozing delight at being onstage, let loose a startlingly full and mature high note.

A girl literally screamed with delight.

Gianluca glanced at Piero with relief in his eyes. The audience gave standing ovation after standing ovation despite the awkward atmospherics and stilted banter.

A chaotic morning took the boys, but not their luggage, to their second stop, Toronto. In contrast to the Borgata show — which, like much of the tour, was organized by the American concert-promotion monolith Live Nation — the Toronto appearance was the work of a local promoter, Mimmo Pellegrino. It was at Roy Thomson Hall, where the Toronto Symphony Orchestra plays and which is about three times the size of the Borgata theater.



The Borgata show had, as Mr. Leber had predicted, the feel of an event: sold out, electric. In Toronto about a quarter of the seats remained empty. Some odd scenic elements had been added, like three enormous white masks that were revealed at the end to be swivel chairs. The audience response was warm, but it was hard for even the loudest of the recorded string arrangements to fill the big space. There were faint warning signs about the boys’ aggressive vocal style, which depends on belting brassy high notes. Ignazio, so free and easy at the Borgata show, sounded rougher and more tired in Toronto, and he avoided some high notes entirely.
The audience at both shows was mostly older, but there were the seeds of what could become a classic boy-band phenomenon: that girl screaming in the audience at the Borgata, high-pitched shrieks of “We love you!” in Toronto, a high school senior who asked Piero to be her date for homecoming. (He said yes.) And maybe, just maybe, they will inspire young people to try “real” opera, whose long-term prognosis remains worrisome. If Il Volo can persuade teenagers to notice and care about vocal production in a classical — or at least classic — style, who knows?
“By January we will have sold 1.5 million records around the world,” predicted Mr. Fair, who arrived at the theater in Toronto just as the boys were exiting the stage. “Everyone will know who Il Volo is. It’s going to be a gigantic live act. Tickets are going to sell like crazy. And then a song will come along, like a Coldplay-type song, a pop record that’s introspective and beautiful, and everyone on the more pop end of things will know them.”
But before everyone knows them, only some people do, a degree of fame as pleasant as it is temporary. There was some discussion after the Borgata show about whether the boys should exit through a back door. They decided instead to greet the public, and as they walked into the lobby, what can only be called a polite mob ensued, just the right size and just the right amount of enthusiasm. The boys thanked everyone graciously as they signed autographs and posed for photos.
Earlier in the day Ignazio was sound-checking onstage with the band as Steve Leber watched from the seats. As if on cue, Ignazio hit one of his shining high notes. Mr. Leber smiled. “Our game plan is working,” he said.

September 28, 2011

Il Volo - EF Interview


Il Volo sit down with EF's Bargi after their recent London showcase.

21 Under 21: Il Volo

Il Volo ranked #12 on Billboard 21 Under 21 :D



Birthdates: Gianluca Ginoble - Feb. 1, 1995 (age 16); Piero Barone - June 24, 1993 (age 18); Ignazio Boschetto - Oct. 4, 1994 (age 16)

Why They're Hot: After appearing on 'American Idol' in May 2011, the young operatic tenors of Italian trio II Volo set themselves up for a media whirlwind that included an appearance on 'Ellen' and a coveted spot on the series finale of the HBO smash 'Entourage.' Consisting of Piero Barone, Ignazio Boschetto & Gianluca Ginoble, the classically trained trio is currently on a U.S. tour. But the proof of the group's success is really in the charts: partially on the strength of single "O Sole Mio," the boys' self-titled album hit No. 1 on Billboard's Classical Albums chart in September, and sales are still going strong.

September 25, 2011

Il Volo New Jersey Concert (9/24)

I can't believe some clips are already up on YouTube! O_O So fast!!



Il Mondo



Faniculi Fanicula



Smile



O Sole Mio (They did two versions of it. This one is mixed with the English verse)



O Sole mio



This Time



Mamma

September 23, 2011

Talking to Il Volo: interview to Italian talented singer Gianluca Ginoble


As Italy Magazine, we have been following the young trio of tenors "Il Volo" since they released their first album at the end of November 2010 in Italy.

Their very first steps to stardom were taken on the stage of popular RAI 1 TV Show “Ti Lascio una canzone” in 2009. While they immediately stood out back then, few would have ever thought that just two years later Piero (Barone), Ignazio (Boschetto) and Gianluca (Ginoble) would have reached international fame with their album Il Volo becoming the third best selling album of an Italian artist in the USA after Domenico Modugno and Andrea Bocelli?

Well even the guys find this success incredible and while their voices keep flying high in the music scene, they seem to be really grounded, getting their strength from their friends, families and beloved country, Italy.

We talked to Gianluca Ginoble who was enthusiastic about answering some of our questions.

As soon as we got started, he stopped me right away and asked “Ma sei Siciliana?" ('Are you Sicilian’). Immediately spotted! After all, Gianluca, who is from Roseto Degli Abruzzi, is sharing this incredible success with two Sicilians, Piero and Ignazio, so I am sure he knows all about Sicily by now.


From "Ti Lascio Una Canzone" to your world tour. Would you have ever expected this success?

Honestly we did not. We thought "Ti Lascio Una Canzone" was a dream come true, three kids singing on RAI 1 (Italian National TV), but thought that after that experience we would go back to studying with the idea and the dream of becoming professional singer later in life. While instead we had this amazing opportunity to reach an international audience and start immediately a singing career in the best possible way.

You have been on American Idol, Jay Leno’s The Tonight Show, The Early Show, The Ellen Degeneres Show, sang at the Arena di Verona and San Remo Music festival, recorded We are the World for Haiti. Recently you also received two Latin GRAMMY Nominations for Best New Artist and Best Pop Album By A Duo Or Group. Which one of these amazing experiences has contributed the most to your personal and professional growth?

As I said, this is all amazing, considering it all happened in four months, but if I had to pick one it would be American Idol. It was our first TV appearance on American television, one of the most important shows, we were anxious, tense, excited. We didn’t know how the audience could react to our performance. When we realised how much they liked our voices, it gave us such a fantastic energy. Even Ellen and Jay Leno’s were great experiences, we had standing ovations in all the shows, but the first experience at American Idol is simply unforgettable!

How does it feel to follow in the foot steps of great singers such as Modugno and Bocelli?

Absolutely amazing. And at such a young age! After all I am only 16, Ignazio is 17 and Piero just turned 18. A great honour! That’s all I can say. We sold over 600.000 copies in 4 months, we are so grateful! And we are not only loved by Italians abroad, but even by Americans, we are golden album in France, number two in South America after Enrique Iglesias, number one in New Zeland.


What do you miss from Italy? What is the Italian thing that should never miss in your dressing room?

Food, food, food! Italian food is the best in the world. Of course we miss our families, our parents. I miss my brother and my grandparents too, our friends. And, did I say, we miss Italian food?

Your parents must be really proud of you, but worried at the same time about this sudden success of yours? What is the thing they warn you more frequently about?

Of course, they keep us grounded. They remind us that this success might end at any moment and we need to be prepared. Obviously, we all hope it will continue and we are working hard towards this. They also know we are in excellent hands, our producers Tony Renis and Humberto Gatica are the best producers we could ever have.

Our manager, Michele Torpedine, is the one who looked after the careers of Bocelli, Zucchero, Giorgia, Antonacci.

You see, for a singer having a great voice is not enough, the work behind an album or a tour is so important!

How is your English going?

Mhhh! “Insomma, dobbiamo studiare di più”! ('Well, we need to study more!')

If you had to suggest to someone three things not to miss when visiting Italy, what would they be?

Rome. Rome, with Paris, is the best city in the world. You cannot miss Rome. Italian food, that is obvious!

Then he stopped thinking for a minute and started with an endless list:

… Le città d’arte, Venice, Florence, and Naples, “Le bellezze naturali”, nature, etc etc etc

“Ma tutta l’Italia è bella!”

“O sole mio!” seems to be your lucky song, the one that brought you all the attention and catapulted you to world fame, but which other song of your album is in your heart and you would like to dedicate to our readers?

Of course “O sole mio!” was our first single and we love it. But there is something I would like to clarify. We are not the three young tenors that go to America to sing Neapolitan songs. That is what some people in Italy think about us. Nothing wrong with that, we love Neapolitan music, but we are simply something else. As we are not Opera singers, like Pavarotti or Bocelli, we are closer to Il Divo and Josh Groban, we are all about “Il Bel Canto”. Out of twelve songs in our album, only “O sole mio!” is Neapolitan, then we have another two Italian classics, followed by Spanish and English songs. We also have two songs, “La Luna Hizo Esto” and “Painfully Beautiful”, both written for us by multi-platinum songwriter Diane Warren. The one song I love the most and would like to dedicate to your readers is “Smile”, that we recently performed at the 2011 MDA Telethon in Las Vegas.

I think this chat with Gianluca just shows that besides talent, these three young singers are also modest and grounded. Indispensable ingredients for a long lasting career.

Buona Fortuna Ragazzi.


Album and Tour

The “Il Volo” track listing was carefully produced and assembled by hitmaker Humberto Gatica and longtime champion of Italian music Tony Renis to strike the right balance of traditional, classical and pop fare. “If there were too many traditional songs, you’d flip it over and say, ‘Ah, nice little boys from Italy,’ ” Gatica says. “And that’s not what I wanted.”

In addition to a customized arrangement of the song that launched the trio’s career (“O Sole Mio”) and Italian classic “Un Amore Cosi Grande,” the album features two new Diane Warren originals, “La Luna Hizo Esto” and “Painfully Beautiful”; “Smile,” made popular by Nat “King” Cole; and “Per Te,” originally performed by Groban. A Spanish-language version of the album will include seven additional Spanish songs.

The album will be soon released also in the UK and Spain.

Click Here to Order the Album


Tour dates:

You can find all the details about Il Volo international tour dates on their website.

The North America tour will start on the 23d of September in Atlantic City while the Europe tour will start on the 3rd of November in Paris.


Source: Italy Magazine

Speaking With: Piero Barone of Il Volo

Somewhere between Andrea Bocelli and Justin Bieber lies Il Volo, a trio of baby-faced Italian tenors who are embarking on their first U.S. tour in the wake of powerhouse performances on “American Idol,” “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “Good Morning America” and, most recently, “Entourage.”

Listening to their self-titled debut album, it’s easy to imagine three fortysomething, portly and quite seasoned tenors. Take in their gorgeous three-part harmonies on the classic “Il Solo Mio” or their beautiful and emotional journey through “Smile,” for example, and you wonder where have these guys been hiding all these years?

Turns out, it hasn’t been all that many years, and the trio — Piero Barone, 18, Ignazio Boschetto, 17, and Gianluca Ginoble, 16, are nowhere near 40, or even 30. “Discovered” just three years ago when they were appearing as solo artists on the popular Italian television show “Ti Lascio Una Canzone” (“I Leave You a Song”), the singers’ youth belies the impossibly powerful voices they command.

Barone, with a lovely Italian accent peppering his remarks, spoke to the Sun-Times recently from a tour stop in Rome.

Question: How did Il Volo come to be?

Piero Barone: We met on the Italian TV show and the producer of the program decided to put our voices together. And we sang “Il Solo Mio” and the people loved what we did.

Q: When did all of you start singing?

PB: I started to sing when I was 3 years old with my grandpa. Later, I really started to study and to train with a music teacher in Bologna. Gianluca would sing with his father in the town square where he was growing up. Ignazio started to sing when he was just a young boy in Sicily.

Q: You sing classical/pop, mostly. Do you want to sing opera, as well?

PB: We can’t sing opera right now because we are too young. We have to study a lot of years to do that. So we love to sing classical songs and traditional Italian songs and pop music. We sing in five languages: Italian, Spanish, English, French when we are in concert. And we have just finished recording our Christmas album where we sing in German, too.

Q: What was it like to sing on “American Idol”?

PB: [The show] changed our lives. After that, everything was different for us. Before, I was home all the time; now, every day we are somewhere all over the world, traveling every day. [Laughs] This is not a normal life anymore. But it is something so wonderful.

Q: Everyone talks about the cool glasses you always wear. Do you need to wear them or are they a fashion statement?


PB: [Laughs] I can see without glasses, but they are the most beautiful things that I wear. I have 25 or 30 pairs. I think I’m crazy sometimes for wearing them, but I need to do it.

Q: What music do you guys listen to?

PB: Elvis Presley, Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, opera, jazz, blues. My favorite singer is Luciano Pavarotti. If you are making music, then you should like all kinds of music.

† Il Volo, 8 p.m. Sept. 28, Chicago Theatre, 175. N. State. Tickets, $29.50-$69.50. Call (800) 745-3000; ticketmaster.com.


Source: Chicago Sun-Times

Italian teens dream of Celine duet

Italian teen opera stars Il Volo have revealed their dream of collaborating with Celine Dion and Britney Spears. Piero, 17, Ignazio, 16, and Gianluca, 16, met on an Italian talent show two years ago and became pop opera group Il Volo, dubbed "the Italian Jonas brothers".

They have since performed on American Idol and won the admiration of pop princess Britney, who has tweeted she is a fan. Piero revealed: "I love Britney. We need to meet her! I would love to sing with her."
But he added that the group would most like to sing with Celine Dion, after meeting her when they sang alongside her on charity single We Are The World: 25 For Haiti, representing Italy.

Piero said: "I would like to sing with and collaborate with Celine Dion. "I always loved her and when I met her I said 'Wow! I love her.' When we met her she told us 'Guys stay humble and please study and study, Don't forget to study'."

The band, whose debut album Il Volo is released on October 31, are keen to sing on The X Factor and are big fans of TV talent shows. Piero revealed: "The producer of the programme decided to put our voices together and from there was born Il Volo. "The first impact with them was incredible because I didn't think I could find two such beautiful guys. We started like friends and now I can say we are like brothers."

Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5irwhFaShWraa8V2uwhBbPOKu1a9g?docId=N0473061316444991355A

Il Volo Come To The UK

Il Volo are three Italian Teen Sensations who sing operatic pop– Piero (17), Ignaizo (16) and Gianluca (16). Be prepared to be wowed with their undeniable vocal talent – they are already Italian teen Idols who are taking the world by storm with their debut album Il Volo, released October 31st on Polydor.

Being described as the Italian Jonas Brothers’ – Il Volo are No 1 in Austria. Top 10 in France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Belgium, Singapore, Taiwan, New Zealand and Mexico. They performed on American Idol and dazzled the judges and the public earlier this year and their album went Top 10 in the Billboard 200 album charts and No.1 on ITunes. With the craziness in the US- a tour is in the pipeline and the hysteria is now moving over to the UK.

Il Volo’s 12 tracks produced by the legendary Humberto Gatica (Andrea Bocelli, Celine Dion) and the world renowned Italian Composer Tony Renis. The album was recorded in Los Angeles and Rome; musicians from the London Symphony Orchestra recorded at Abbey Road Studios and the album includes traditional Italian standards. Their version of O Sole Mio,- the lead off track; Un Amore Cosi' Grande, E Più Ti Penso (a medley of Ennio Morricone songs from the soundtracks to Once Upon a Time in America and Malena), Smile (by Charlie Chaplin) and two tracks written especially for Il Volo by multi-platinum songwriter Diane Warren La Luna Hizo Esto and Painfully Beautiful - to name a few.

Not only have they had celebrity fans tweeting about them including Britney Spears and JLO - legendary rock manager Steve Leber (of Aerosmtih and AC/DC fame) came out of retirement to share management duties with Michele Torpedine (Andrea Bocelli and Zucchero).

Source: http://www.entertainment-focus.com/news/il-volo-come-to-the-uk

Il Volo on Today Show!



Il Volo performed O Sole Mio on Today Show!
You can see that the ladies are absolutely adoring the boys xD

Il Volo on The Alan Titchmarsh Show



Il Volo performed O Sole Mio on the Alan Titchmarsh Show, which is a British daytime TV program. Ever since I started this blog, I think I heard O Sole Mio for about 500 times, easy. It's almost weird that I can never get tired of this song!

September 21, 2011

Are you going to an Il Volo concert?


Are you going to an Il Volo concert? 
Did you have the best time of your life? 
E-mail me your special concert review 
and I will post it on this blog!

dearmadine@gmail.com


September 19, 2011

Il Volo sings O Sole Mio and Tous Les Visages de L'amour


Il Volo performs O Sole Mio and Tous Les Visages de L'amour in Quebec, Canada! (I think). I love how they sang O Sole Mio in English in the middle. It's usually Ignazio who does that part but this time all three of them did it together! Lovely :) :) :)

Lyrics:
Toi, par tes mille et un attraits
Je ne sais jamais qui tu es
Tu changes si souvent de visage et d'aspect
Toi quelque soit ton âge et ton nom
Tu es un ange ou le démon
Quand pour moi tu prends tour à tour
Tous les visages de l'amour

Toi, si Dieu ne t'avait modelé
Il m'aurait fallu te créer
Pour donner à ma vie sa raison d'exister
Toi qui est ma joie et mon tourment
Tantôt femme et tantôt enfant
Tu offres à mon cœur chaque jour
Tous les visages de l'amour

Moi, je suis le feu qui grandit ou qui meure
Je suis le vent qui rugit ou qui pleure
Je suis la force ou la faiblesse
Moi, je pourrais défier le ciel et l'enfer
Je pourrais dompter la terre et la mer
Et réinventer la jeunesse

Toi, viens fais moi ce que tu veux
Un homme heureux ou malheureux
Un mot de toi je suis poussière ou je suis Dieu
Toi, sois mon espoir, sois mon destin
J'ai si peur de mes lendemains
Montre à mon âme sans secours
Tous les visages de l'amour
Toi !

Il Volo interview in Germany



Yep. I don't speak German but here is Il Volo's interview with Wetten Dass in Germany. Il Volo answers in Italian so those who speak Italian might understand what's going on.

I believe this interview goes with this performance:
http://ilvolotheflight.blogspot.com/2011/06/il-volo-sing-o-sole-mio-in-spain.html

September 16, 2011

Il Volo on Entourage Finale!



Finally here is the clip of Il Volo on the final episode of Entourage :D

September 14, 2011

Il Volo at 2011 MDA Telethon Extras


Italian trio Il Volo with MDA Telethon Extras host Brandon Barash on the 2011 MDA Telethon, Sunday, Sept. 4, live from the South Point Hotel in Las Vegas. The show's theme this year was "Make a Muscle, Make a Difference" for MDA.

Il Volo sings Tous les visages de l'amour


I LOVE THIS SONG. OMG. They are singing in French!!
I believe Il Volo performed this song recently (September 12, 2011) in Quebec, Canada.

Lyrics:
Toi, par tes mille et un attraits
Je ne sais jamais qui tu es
Tu changes si souvent de visage et d'aspect
Toi quelque soit ton âge et ton nom
Tu es un ange ou le démon
Quand pour moi tu prends tour à tour
Tous les visages de l'amour

Toi, si Dieu ne t'avait modelé
Il m'aurait fallu te créer
Pour donner à ma vie sa raison d'exister
Toi qui est ma joie et mon tourment
Tantôt femme et tantôt enfant
Tu offres à mon cœur chaque jour
Tous les visages de l'amour

Moi, je suis le feu qui grandit ou qui meure
Je suis le vent qui rugit ou qui pleure
Je suis la force ou la faiblesse
Moi, je pourrais défier le ciel et l'enfer
Je pourrais dompter la terre et la mer
Et réinventer la jeunesse

Toi, viens fais moi ce que tu veux
Un homme heureux ou malheureux
Un mot de toi je suis poussière ou je suis Dieu
Toi, sois mon espoir, sois mon destin
J'ai si peur de mes lendemains
Montre à mon âme sans secours
Tous les visages de l'amour
Toi !

IL VOLO RECEIVES TWO LATIN GRAMMY NOMINATIONS!


Please join us in congratulating Il Volo on their TWO Latin GRAMMY Nominations for:

  • Best New Artist
  • Best Pop Album By A Duo Or Group

The Latin GRAMMYS will take place Nov. 10 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas and will be broadcast live on the Univision Network from 8 – 11 p.m. ET/PT (7 p.m. Central).


Source: Official Il Volo website

September 13, 2011

Il Volo at UNICEF Gala Dinner






Il Volo attended the UNICEF Gala Dinner at Lancia Cafe on September 6, 2011 in Venice, Italy.

Il Volo at Venice Film Festival








Il Volo attended the "Il Villaggio Di Cartone" premiere during 68th Venice Film Festival at Palazzo del Cinema on September 6, 2011 in Venice, Italy. 

September 9, 2011

Il Volo interview in New Zealand


Il Volo had an interview with New Zealand's iAMTV. Yup, it's in English. I like :)

Il Volo T-shirt


I WANT THIS IL VOLO T-SHIRT RIGHT NOW
Dear management, please provide a link to purchase

September 8, 2011

Il Volo - 'O Sole Mio



I believe this is a Taiwanese TV show. Please correct me if I'm wrong! 

Il Volo at 2011 MDA Telethon Performance



Winners of Italy's popular talent show "Ti Lascio Una Canzone," Il Volo are bringing their music stateside with their new self titled album. Here, Il Volo perform "O Sole Mio" & "Smile"on the 2011 MDA Telethon, Sunday, Sept. 4, live from the South Point Hotel in Las Vegas. The show's theme this year was "Make a Muscle, Make a Difference" for MDA.


Il Volo with Greyson Chance


Il Volo on Entourage Finale

Il Volo will have special guest appearance and perform of 'Un Amore Cosi Grande' on the series finale of HBO's Entourage this coming Sunday, September 11, 2011.

Now here are pictures from Il Volo's Facebook page. They were taken from their recent trip to Venice!





I like Ignazio's glasses. It kinda matches with mine! ;)