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All Music Guide:
The young Italian tenor trio Il Volo consists of Piero Barone, Ignazio Boschetto, and Gianluca Ginoble, all of whom were contestants on the talent show Ti Lascio Una Canzone (Leaving You with a Song) in 2009. The singers, who were in their mid-teens at the time, were individual contestants on the show. However, the producers decided they should sing O Sole Mio together on an episode of the show in May of that year, and Il Volo -- which means flight -- was born. The trio won the competition and quickly became popular in Europe, representing Italy on Quincy Jones' charity single We Are the World: 25 for Haiti and performing at the 60th Annual Sanremo Music Festival in February 2010. The trio recorded their first album in London, Los Angeles, and Rome with producer Humberto Gatica, opting for a mix of standards, classic Italian songs, and material penned by contemporary songwriters such as Diane Warren. Il Volo's self-titled debut was released in Europe in November 2010 and earned platinum status; it arrived in the U.S. in May 2011, when the group also performed on American Idol.
Wikipedia:
Il Volo (English: The Flight) is a trio of Italian operatic pop teenage tenors, consisting of Piero Barone, Ignazio Boschetto, and Gianluca Ginoble.
Personal
Piero Barone was born on June 24, 1993, in Naro (pop. 8,700) near Agrigento, Sicily, and still lives there with his family. Ignazio Boschetto was born in Bologna on October 4, 1994, but grew up and continues to live in Marsala, Sicily (pop. 82,700). Gianluca Ginoble was born on February 11, 1995, in Roseto degli Abruzzi (province of Teramo), in the Abruzzo region of central Italy. He grew up and continues to live in the nearby hilltop town of Montepagano (pop. 1,207).
Their backgrounds are strikingly similar. Each displayed remarkable vocal ability from childhood onward; each drew favorable attention, including winning the leading roles in their music programs and plays. Also, each was popular in school, foreshadowing the charm they are noted for today. Yet their paths never crossed until they competed against each other in a famous singing contest.
Career
Ti Lascio Una Canzone (2009-10)
The three pop-opera singers started their career in 2009, when they met on the second edition of the Italian RAI TV music competition show Ti lascio una canzone, held at the Ariston Theater in Sanremo.
On May 2, 2009, Gianluca Ginoble won the competition, singing Andrea Bocelli's "Il mare calmo della sera".
During the competition, the three singers were chosen to perform, as a trio, the Neapolitan classic "'O Sole Mio". After the competition, they continued to perform together under the names The Tryo, Il Trio, and finally Il Volo.
In 2010 the trio participated in the charity single "We Are the World 25 for Haiti", a remake of the 1985 hit song "We Are the World". In February 2010 they performed the songs "Granada" and "Un Amore Così Grande" during the 60th Sanremo Music Festival. Also at that festival the trio performed for Queen Rania of Jordan (Regina Rania di Giordania).
Il Volo (2010-present)
The name of the trio was changed to Il Volo in the fall of 2010.
Their first self-titled album was recorded in 2010 in the Abbey Road Studios in London and produced by Tony Renis and Humberto Gatica. It was released in Italy on November 30, 2010, and peaked at number 6 on the Italian Albums Chart, receiving the Gold certification by the Federation of the Italian Music Industry.
The international edition of the album was released on April 12, 2011, and was promoted in the United States with a performance during the final three results show of American Idol's tenth season. The group sang "'O Sole Mio", which was released as a single in the United States in early 2011. The album debuted at number 10 on the Billboard 200 and at number 1 on the Classical Albums, selling 23,000 copies in its first week. The album is also entered in the Top 10 in other countries, such as Belgium, France, and the Netherlands and topped in Austria.
A Spanish version of the album was released and peaked at number 6 in Mexico, at number 3 on the Billboard Classical Albums chart, at number 4 on the Top Latin Albums chart, and at number 1 on the Latin Pop Albums chart. This version was certified Gold in Mexico by AMPROFON for the sale of 30,000 copies and won an RIAA Latin Gold Award for the sale of 50,000 copies in US.
The trio performed for the TV show The Talk in February 2011 and on October 13, 2011.
On May 19, 2011, the trio dazzled the American Idol audience and viewers with their flawless rendition of the Neapolitan standard "'O Sole Mio".
On July 31, 2011, the trio performed "'O Sole Mio" and "This Time" for the President's Star Charity show in Singapore to help raise funds for the handicapped.
On September 4, 2011, the trio performed "'O Sole Mio" and "Smile" for the MDA Labor Day Telethon.
On September 11, 2011, the trio made a cameo appearance on the series finale of Entourage.
Il Volo was nominated for two Latin Grammy Awards in Best Pop Album by a Duo or Group with Vocal for Il Volo (Edicion en espanol) and in Best New Artist.
On October 27, 2011, Il Volo performed live at the Detroit Opera House to tape their first concert DVD titled "Il Volo - Takes Flight - Live from the Detroit Opera House". This concert premiered on December 7, 2011, in Detroit (on PBS Channel WTVS) and 1,000 cities across Canada (that receive Detroit's PBS on their cable system).
On November 21, 2011, Il Volo released, only in digital format, their first EP called Christmas Favorites, which contains a duet with Pia Toscano. On the same date, their debut album was re-released in a special edition that also includes the tracks from Christmas Favorites.
On December 22, 2011, Il Volo was the closing guest for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, singing "The Christmas Song".
On February 28, 2012, Il Volo's new CD and DVD titled "Il Volo - Takes Flight - Live from the Detroit Opera House" was released on Amazon.com. This concert was shown on PBS stations across the USA and Canada.
In April 2012 on Italian TV, Il Volo announced that they will be performing in concert with Barbra Streisand in October 2012.
Voice type
Although referred to as three young tenors, Il Volo is actually composed of two tenors (Piero Barone and Ignazio Boschetto) and one baritone (Gianluca Ginoble), as stated in many interviews with the group. It is likely that Barone is a spinto tenor (easily reaches the high tenor notes); Boschetto is a lyric tenor (a full rich tenor that can be heard over an orchestra); and Ginoble, while technically a baritone, can also be labeled a heldentenor (a baritone with a strong upper register, common among Wagner operas).
