Il Volo

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 its 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. The CD/DVD Il Volo Takes Flight: Live from the Detroit Opera House arrived in February 2012, followed closely by their second studio album, We Are Love, in November. ~ Heather Phares, Rovi