Welcome to our series that highlights Italian artists — both new and old — that have had an impact in America and are beloved by Italian-Americans.

History and Background

Il Volo, an Italian operatic pop trio, is comprised of baritone Gianluca Ginoble and tenors Piero Barone and Ignazio Boschetto. Its name translated to English is “The Flight.”

Ginoble was born in Abruzzo, Barone was born in Sicily and Boschetto was born in  Emilia-Romagna.

As teenagers, the three participated in an Italian singing competition in 2009 as separate contestants. They were put together by the creator and director of the show, Roberto Cenci.

Italian singer-songwriter and music producer Tony Renis saw the group on Rai International, Italy’s public national broadcaster, while in Los Angeles. 

“I heard such amazing, beautiful voices that I didn’t believe it,” Renis told the New York Times in 2011. “I thought it was fake. They were singing with such mature voices, like men of 50 or 60 years.”

He liked their performance enough to call Cenci to arrange a meeting. It ultimately resulted in a recording deal with Geffen Records, making Il Volo the first Italian artist to directly sign with an American recording label.

The band’s self-titled debut album, composed of covers and original songs, was released in 2010 in Italy. Geffen Records released the international edition in the United States in 2011, with a lead single of “O sole mio.”

It was promoted with performances and appearances on American Idol, The Tonight Show, Good Morning America and The Ellen DeGeneres Show. 

Il Volo’s second album, titled “We Are Love,” was released in 2012 with songs in Italian, English and Spanish. It included a feature by Italian pop singer Eros Ramazzotti on a song called “Cosi.”

The album was released in Spanish speaking countries as “Más Que Amor.”

In November 2012, the band performed at the 80th annual Christmas at Rockefeller Center tree lighting in New York.

The international version of “Buon Natale – The Christmas Album” was released in 2013. It featured popular Christmas songs in English among other languages. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Holiday Albums chart.

That year, advance tickets went on sale for their first concert at the Radio City Music Hall. The band sold 1,600 tickets in eight hours and in a few days the concert was sold out, according to the band’s website. 

In addition to the United States, the tour also visited Canada and Central and South America. Fifty of the concerts were sold-out.

Il Volo’s fourth studio album — “L’amore si muove” — was released in 2015 by Sony Music Latin, in Italian, international and Spanish versions. 

That year, the band was part of the NYC Columbus Day Parade. 

The band, along with Spanish opera singer Placido Domingo, released “Notte Magica – A Tribute to the Three Tenors” in 2016. It is a homage to the band’s inspiration, The Three Tenors.

A year later, the album’s tour was kicked off at Radio City Music Hall in 2017. It also visited other American cities, Italy, Europe and Latin America.

“Ámame,” an album in Spanish, was released in 2018 by Sony Music Latin. 

In February 2019, Il Volo’s fifth studio album, “Musica,” came out. Later that year, it released a compilation album titled “Il Volo: The Best of 10 Years” to celebrate its tenth anniversary.

A world tour began in Japan in 2019, continued in Latin America and came to North America in early 2020.

“Il Volo Sings Morricone” was released in November 2021. 

Most Popular Song

One of Il Volo’s most successful songs is “Grande amore,” which means “Great love” in English. 

Despite being written in 2003 by singer Francesco Boccia, it wasn’t used until the 2015 Sanremo Music Festival, an Italian television song contest held in Sanremo, Liguria. 

When Carlo Conti, the artistic director, heard the song, he assigned it to Il Volo for the contest. 

“Grande amore” won first place. It received 39% of votes on the last round, beating the remaining top three entries.

The song represented Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest, an international songwriting competition, in 2015. It won first on televoting from viewers and third overall.

Its lyrics are a declaration of love. 

“Dimmi perché quando penso, penso solo a te,” Il Volo sings in the chorus. “Dimmi perché quando vedo, vedo solo te. 

Translated into English, these lyrics mean: “Tell me why when I think, I just think of you. Tell me why when I see, I see only you.”

Impact in America

Il Volo has five No. 1 hits and 14 Top 10 hits in the Classical Albums category, according to Billboard. 

Its debut album spent 75 weeks on that chart, four of which were at No.1. The album also spent four weeks at No.1 on the Classical Crossover Albums category. Its peak position on the Billboard 200 chart was No.10.

The band’s first live album, “Il Volo… Takes Flight: Live from the Detroit Opera House,” released in 2012, was recorded during one of their first North American concerts. 

Seven months after its release, 46,000 copies had been sold in the United States. The album spent nine weeks at No.1 on the Classical Albums chart. 

“Grande Amore” spent four weeks at No.1 on the Classical Crossover Albums chart and three weeks on the Classical Albums chart.