Andrea Bocelli, the globally recognized tenor, release his latest album ‘Sì’, via Sugar/Decca Records/Verve Label Group, on October 26th and within a week it sold 126,000 units and flew to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 all-genre chart; his first-ever time in this position. The top of the Billboard chart had not been conquered by an Italian singer since Domenico Modugno did it in August 1958 with the single ‘Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu’, and it is an absolute first time for an Italian album. The CD also topped the chart in the U.K.; the first time that a classical album reached No. 1 on the U.K. album charts in over 20 years – since the release of the ‘Titanic’ soundtrack in 1997. All of this makes a great celebration of the 25th anniversary of the release of Bocelli’s debut studio album.
‘Sì’ is Bocelli’s 26th charting album and his 9th top ten effort, with two second places, obtained with ‘My Christmas’ in 2009 and ‘Passione’ in 2013. This studio album, which earned glowing reviews from many music critics, is his first musical project of original material in 14 years. It features Bocelli collaborating with many distinguished artists – such as Josh Groban, Dua Lipa, Russian soprano Aida Garifullina, pop superstar Ed Sheeran, his son Matteo Bocelli, and ‘Voices of Haiti’ Choir – and songs sang in English, Italian, Spanish, French, German, Russian and even Mandarin, where he collaborates with Taiwanese pop singer A-Mei on ‘If Only’. The song entitled ‘Fall On Me’, which Bocelli sang with his son, appears in the end credits of the Disney film ‘The Nutcracker and The Four Realms’.
Ilona Catani Scarlett