For the most part, teen singers get a bad rap, especially if they perform pop music. But I have a feeling the new teen Italian classical trio Il Volo won't have this problem.
Thursday night, the powerful young, opera singers amazed the "American Idol" audience when they performed on the U.S. singing competition. Though they were there to promote the American release of their self-titled debut -- out this week -- they can actually relate to the contestants.
Seventeen-year-old Piero Barone, Ignazio Boschetto,16, and Gianluca Ginoble,16, started singing in school and church when they were toddlers. In 2009, they ended up on "Ti Lascio Una Canzone," a televised Italian talent show for kids 7 to 15.
"The producers decided to put our voices together," Gianluca said when the group recently visited Yahoo! Music.
Tony Renis, one of their current producers, actually discovered the group after seeing them on the program. After assembling a team of managers and producers, and making contact with the group, he presented them to Interscope Geffen A&M head Jimmy Iovine, and they were immediately offered a record deal.
The talented tenors, who began learning to speak English last summer, also impressed Quincy Jones, who featured them last year on the single "We Are The World: 25 To Haiti."
While their mature voices have garnered comparisons to one of their idols, Andrea Bocelli, they are still-fun loving teens at heart. They dress like normal kids and joke around like their peers. When they sang a capella for the Yahoo! Music staff, they needed to do several takes because they kept laughing at each other. When they were asked if they use their vocal skills to impress girls, they erupted in more laughter.
When they met some of their label mates at a Grammy afterparty in February they were just as ecstatic as anyone their age would be. "We were so nervous," said Piero. "We did a party after the Grammys. We were in there with Eminem, Lady Gaga, Black Eyed Peas, Puff Daddy, and Rihanna. ... When we met them, everybody said, 'Hi. Welcome to our family.' "
The members of Il Volo, which means flight in Italian, seem no different than Justin Bieber or Miley Cyrus. They just so happen to sing classical music.
But they made sure their album showcases multiple musical styles. "On our album, there are some romantic songs, love songs," Ignazio said. "If you want to listen to pop music, you can listen this time to 'Painfully Beautiful' -- something classical, 'O Sole Mio.' "
15 окт 2024
