The Star Online: Entertainment: Music
The Star Online: Entertainment: Music |
| Posted: 11 Aug 2011 01:17 AM PDT Italian pop opera teenage singers Il Volo intend to dominate the world with their strong, deep opera-style vocals. IN a world dominated by mainstream music, it does raise an eyebrow (or two) to come across Il Volo – an Italian teenage group that has ventured into classical cross-over music. While these fresh-faced tenors comprising Piero Barone, 18, Ignazio Boschetto, 17, and Gianluca Ginoble, 16, might not be your typical run-of-the mill boy band, they are raring to make an impact with their opera leanings. "Our music is a cross between pop and opera. We hope to introduce this new style to younger audiences," said Boschetto during the band's promotional tour in Kuala Lumpur recently. For accented aspiring pop stars from the EU and beyond, the career ambition is to build a following in relatively new markets. The United States, arguably, is a big target and market, but with Swedish singer Robyn grabbing the headlines in 2010 and Denmark's Medina set to follow suit soon, the pop route seems like a long haul. Add Estonia's Kerli, Italy's Marco Bosco, t.A.T.u.'s Lena Katina from Russia, Slovakia's TWiiNS and Austria's Fawni to the growing European list of mainstream pop contenders this year. Perhaps, it's best to ditch mainstream pop and try something different. Although Il Volo's virtuoso blending of classical technique with popular songs might only attract a particular niche market of listeners, these teen vocal powerhouses don't seem too worried. In fact, they seem confident they were "invented" to fill a gap in the market. "This is a relatively new music genre and there are few such artistes in this field. Our selling point is that we are teenagers who sing pop operatic music. Pop artistes have an even riskier shelf life, they are a dime a dozen," said the youngest band member Ginoble in his thick Italian drawl. While they might not sport the smart suit treatment like successful crossover cosmopolitan group Il Divo, there is no denying Il Volo's teen appeal and the boyish charm have helped the trio in winning a lot of fans in recent months. This was apparent after their jaw dropping performance on American Idol in May, where they mesmerised millions on TV around the globe. "Singing in front of millions was an amazing experience. Prior to that, we were three young Italian boys who sang pop opera songs. After our performance, the world knew us," said the bespectacled Barone with a warm smile. On July 30, Il Volo even packed up the Bentley Auditorium hall in Petaling Jaya, Selangor. The newcomer group's promo visit and performance attracted nearly 1,000 fans to the venue. Not a bad start in this region. The boys, shot to fame, after winning Italian talent TV show Ti Lascio Una Canzone in 2009 where they dazzled viewers with their flawless rendition of the Neapolitan standard O Sole Mio. The lads named themselves Il Volo (meaning 'flight') to signify the feeling that they were about to spread their wings and fly. Out-of-the-world sojourn Besides American Idol, the three tenors further made their mark after appearing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and The Tonight Show With Jay Leno. Their presence on both shows has, undoubtedly, escalated their music career to greater heights in the United States. "When we won the competition, we thought our career had ended. But our life has soared to a different level after obtaining our recording contract. Now, we are travelling around the world, meeting fans. It is surreal," said Barone. Last February, legendary producer Quincy Jones invited the boys to represent Italy by singing on the charity single We Are The World: 25 For Haiti where they impressed superstars Josh Groban, Barbra Streisand, Lionel Richie and Celine Dion. Among all, their greatest joy was performing alongside their idol, Dion. "Who would have ever imagined rubbing shoulders with Celine (Dion)? We have always admired her talent so it felt out-of-the-world meeting her in person. Besides commending our talents, Celine advised us to remain humble, study hard and never forget our roots," recalled Boschetto, who was beaming ear-to-ear at the mention of Dion's name. Last November, they added another feather to their cap by releasing their self-titled debut Italian album under American label Geffen Records (the group became the first Italian artistes to sign with the label). The 12-track album, produced by Humberto Gatica and Tony Renis, features O Sole Mio, Smile (written by Charlie Chaplin for his film Modern Times and later popularised by Nat King Cole), Notte Stellata/The Swan (from the well-known musical theme composed by French composer Camille Saint-Saëns) and new songs like La Luna Hizo Esto (written by songwriter Diane Warren), Per Te (Walter Afanasieff) and Spanish number El Reloj. Back in May, the boys enjoyed the fruits of their labour when the album debuted at No.10 on the Billboard 200 and at No.1 on the Classical Albums chart, selling 23,000 copies in its first week. It also secured the Top 10 spot in Belgium, France, Austria and the Netherlands. While pop operatic music might be their cup of tea, these boys are still rather precocious teens at heart. "We listen to various genres of music, download songs on our phones (ranging from Lady Gaga, Katy Perry to George Michael) and play football with friends. Having family members and close friends nearby also helps us feel normal," said Ginoble, adding the trio will be starting their US and European tours soon. Il Volo's self-titled debut album is released by Universal Music Malaysia. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. |
| Posted: 11 Aug 2011 01:16 AM PDT Eels star E gets by with help from heroes. It's been an exciting summer for the musician known simply as E. He may be 48 and a long-established master of melodic, delightfully odd rock music, most famous for his hit song Novocaine For The Soul. But even after releasing nine albums with his band Eels and chronicling the loss of several loved ones on the acclaimed album Electroshock Blues – and then again in his memoir, Things The Grandchildren Should Know – there's still plenty that can humble the man born as Mark Oliver Everett. Like meeting and performing with boyhood idol Ringo Starr. E told the tale of his first meeting with a former Beatle just after returning from Europe and his first trip to China for a brief North American tour. "Ringo is such a sweetheart," he said. "He saw me watching his show in Norway, and he came over and said 'Would you like to sing with me, it's this song called With A Little Help From My Friends. And he started singing the song to me and I stopped him and said, 'Yeah, I know it!"' E realised, to his chagrin, that he had interrupted a private performance by his own hero. Still, he was touched. "He inspired me to play the drums at six, so it was a very moving experience for me," he said. E also endured the humbling experience of playing guitar before Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page in London. "It's a little intimidating," he said. "I found out he uses the same pick as me, but I think he's had better results." These weren't E's first awkward encounters with his heroes. In his memoir, published in 2008, he recounts his collaboration with singer Tom Waits, who sent him a tape of himself crying like a baby that later appeared on the song Going Fetal. Waits thrilled E by offering to do yard work for him to make up for accidentally erasing E's vocals on the tape. Then there was the first time he met Neil Young. E was horrified to hear himself blurt out, "I like your beard." Now, ironically, E probably hears that exact comment from his own fans, after famously growing a very long beard while on tour. He was forced to shave it after drawing scrutiny from airport security officials following the Sept 11, 2001, attacks. And last year, his long beard drew the attention of London police while he was in Hyde Park. E normally gets a friendlier reception in Britain, where the Eels have scored several hits. Their first appearance at the famed Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts this summer earned high praise from critics. Europe can sometimes be more receptive to a musician known for his sound-collage recording style, blunt lyrics and fascination with all manner of instruments. That idiosyncratic approach was apparent on his recent trilogy of concept albums – Hombre Lobo, End Times and Tomorrow Morning – which dealt with desire, breakups and renewal. "There's more of an audience for music in Europe than America," he said. "In Europe, music is still an important part of everyone's day, unlike in America, where it's slowly being replaced by video games or whatever." E stressed that he appreciates the Eels' cult following in the US, where the band just made its fifth appearance for an enthusiastic David Letterman on his Late Show. But it was a British network, the BBC, that decided to make a documentary about E after he published his memoir, which recounted how he channeled the loss of his family – his father to a heart attack, his sister to suicide and his mother to cancer – into his music. The award-winning documentary, called Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives and broadcast in the US on the Public Broadcasting Service program NOVA, focuses on E's attempts to understand his emotionally distant father, the celebrated quantum physicist Hugh Everett, whose lifeless body was found by E when he was only 18. Everett, author of the "many worlds" theory of parallel universes, earned both scorn and a devoted following. The same could be said for E himself, who has been savaged by some critics who say his music is alternatively too frivolous or too dark. E dismisses the critics and says anyone who comes to an Eels show will find it "undeniably fun." "It's all very misguided," he said. "All I'm trying to do as an artiste is reflect life in all its different shapes and colours, and anyone paying attention knows there are all sorts of ups and downs in a song. It might get pretty dark but it's always in the name of getting somewhere positive, and our shows are all about positivity. "The whole goal is about feeling good about life and rejuvenated." – AP Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. |
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