Andrea Bocelli is one of Italy’s most renowned singers, who has become one of the most famous in the world. The tenor was first recognised by Luciano Pavarotti, and since his career has soared. A song on his latest album saw him sing with his son, Matteo, but how did the pair come to sing together?
Andrea Bocelli has sung with many incredible singers in his time, from popstars Ed Sheeran, Mary J Blige and Dua Lipa, to sopranos Sarah Brightman and Katherine Jenkins.
But his journey to singing with his son, however, was as much a surprise to him as to anyone else.
Speaking in 2018 on US-based TV show This Morning, Andrea revealed he only realised his singing genes ran in the family in 2016.
He told host Gayle King: “Because he stayed at the piano, he knows music just for this.
“And one time his mother came to me and said, ‘Have you heard Matteo sing?’ And I said no.
“And she said, ‘Listen to him because he’s very nice’”.
Matteo, who is just 22, would have only been a teenager when his father realised he had a great voice.
The song, Fall On Me, acted as Matteo’s debut single, and had a family focus on the “relation that many sons have with their parents.”
The pair sing the heartfelt tribute to one another in both English and Italian.
Speaking to Billboard about his son’s voice, and how they worked together, Andrea said: “Technically they are very different, but there is one thing that makes them most similar: the attitude.
“That characteristic way of expressing yourself through your voice.
“This makes Matteo and I very similar. But that is something that you cannot learn, that cannot be taught. That is something you are born with.”
Matteo also sings on the album track Ven a Mi with his father, which also features on Si.
Matteo is not the only Bocelli with musical genes, however, as his brother Amos also performs on the record.
He plays piano on the acoustic versions of Sono Qui (I am Here) as well as Ali de Liberta (Wings of Freedom.
Their song Fall on Me appeared in the 2018 movie The Nutcracker and The Four Realms, while they also sang together on Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing with the Stars.
In the Sunday Times in 2018, he continued: “What is special is finding ways to do things together with our children, use our time wisely.