You may have noticed three young Italian dudes with really, really big operatic voices on American Idol recently. Then you may have noticed that those three young Italian dudes, named Il Volo, suddenly had a self-titled debut album jet immediately to the Top Ten of Billboard’s Top 200 Albums Chart. And now everybody is talking – even them!
Yep, the trio – Piereo Barone, 17, Ignazio Boschetto, 16, and Gianluca Ginoble, 16 – have translated overnight success in the European boot country into a meteoric rise here. So what do they think of all this chatter? Us Weekly just caught up with them in our NYC office to hear what makes them tick.
UsMagazine.com: When did you first start singing?
Ignazio Boschetto: We started when we were three years old, but started to seriously sing two year ago. We met on an Italian television show and the producer of the program decided to put our voices together and from there our group was born. Our first song was "Il Sole Mio"
Us: Why did you choose the name Il Volo?
Piero Barone: Because the music makes us fly.
Us: What makes your group unique?
Gianluca Ginoble: This is the first time that young boys are singing this kind of music.
IB: The voice. Because we are three different voices put together as one group.
Us: Is this your favorite type of music?
IB: No, we listen to every kind of music. We listen to everything from Elvis Presley to Pavarotti. We hope to bring our music to the younger generations.
GG: Lady Gaga, Eminem, Black Eyed Peas. Every kind. Again, we are sixteen years old so we are young.
Us: You are on the same label as Lady Gaga and Eminem. What is it like being a part of Interscope?
IB: We met Lady Gaga and it was incredible.
PB: It is a great opportunity and we are so lucky because we have the same contract as Lady Gaga and Eminem. We were asked to sing at a party after the Grammy's and Puff Daddy came up to us and said 'welcome to our family.' It was incredible and so beautiful.
Us: Do you have any musical inspirations of your own?
IB: Not really.
Us: You recently performed on American Idol. What was that like? (Watch their performance here.)
PB: One word, Jennifer Lopez!
IB: The standing ovation was incredible.
Us: Did you watch the show prior to performing?
IB: Yes because in New York it was live but in Italy it was not.
Us: Do you have a favorite contestant on the show? Do you have any predictions who will win tonight?
PB: I like the boy, Scotty [McCreery].
GG: No for me it is Lauren Alaina. I voted for her
IB: I like Lauren too.
Us: You are so successful at such a young age, do you have any advice that you would give to your fans who are looking to fulfill their dreams?
IB: Always believe in your dreams. Don't lose sight of your dreams because it is very important to have new artists and new talent in this industry.
GG: Especially because there are many new and young artists like Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus, Jonas Brothers, and now Il Volo.
By Ian Drew for Us Weekly. To read more of Ian's blog, click here.
