- 17 hours ago
At just 28 years old, Italian singer Matteo Bocelli is already carving out a remarkable place on the global music stage. He's performed in some of the world's most iconic venues, often alongside his father, the legendary Andrea Bocelli. While that legacy may have opened doors, Matteo's artistry is very much his own--defined by a powerful voice and emotional honesty that resonates with a new generation of listeners. Now, Matteo steps further into the spotlight with his new album, Falling in Love . The project is a deeply personal exploration of emotion, connection, and vulnerability, showcasing an artist who isn't afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve. Blending classical influences with contemporary pop, the album reflects both his musical roots and his evolving identity as a solo artist. Matteo sat down with LifeMinute editor-in-chief Joann Butler recently to talk life, music, and more. This is a LifeMinute with Matteo Bocelli.
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00:00Hi everyone, this is Matteo Bocelli and you're watching Life Minute TV. Ciao!
00:09At just 28 years old, Italian singer Matteo Bocelli has already graced some of the world's biggest stages,
00:17often alongside his famous father, the legendary Andrea Bocelli.
00:21Now he brings his powerful voice and heartfelt spirit to his new album, Falling in Love.
00:26He stopped by the Life Minute studios to share the music and the inspiration behind it.
00:31This is a Life Minute with Matteo Bocelli.
00:34Woohoo! Matteo Bocelli in the house! Thanks for joining us!
00:37Here we are. No, thank you for having me.
00:39So glad to have you here. So you've been busy here in New York.
00:42Yes, very busy. Actually, I started my tour here in New York with the Thanksgiving Parade.
00:49Yes.
00:49And I'm ending the tour here because tomorrow I'll have my last show in Huntington.
00:55Yes. That's a beautiful theater.
00:56It's going to be, yeah. I played there already once, what was last year or two years ago.
01:02And it was also a beautiful venue. I loved it very much.
01:04Yeah. And then you played a little bit at MSG last night?
01:08Yeah, exactly. MSG is always, it's always very special to be on stage with my father.
01:14And I mean, the venue holds many memories of, of ours, but also you can feel the energy of all the artists that perform there.
01:22So it's, it's always great to be there.
01:24And tell us about your new album. It's fantastic, by the way. Beautiful.
01:28Falling in Love.
01:30It's been a long journey in the sense that, you know, you never actually stop working on albums in the sense that, you know,
01:37since I released my, my first album, I kept like riding on the road, at home, anywhere I was.
01:43And then we produced the record actually at home at my place in Tuscany.
01:47That was special. It was like a very important thing for me because, you know, in the, in the first album,
01:53unfortunately we were experiencing this COVID time.
01:56And so it wasn't easy to always be like connected with, you know, with the producer and to be in the room together.
02:03And with this record, that's what I really wanted, you know, like to be always together.
02:07So we spent, you know, weeks with a producer and, and different musicians.
02:11We were spending every day, you know, all together.
02:13And sometimes I was cooking for them because at the end, you know, music wants connections, you know,
02:20you must be connected with who you're making music to then be able to deliver, you know, to the, to, to the audience.
02:26So I'm very proud of the work, honestly. I loved it.
02:29It's beautiful. What's the inspiration behind it? Are you in love?
02:33Why this question? Ah, this is a tricky question. It's a secret.
02:37No, but I, you know, what I, what I always say is that at the end we chose a title of the album,
02:43Falling in Love is on one of the tracks in the album because I do believe that, you know,
02:48love, it is the engine of the world. I think it's the reason we live.
02:52I feel like a life without love is not worth it to believe.
02:55And in particularly, you know, like falling in love, I feel like keeps us alive, keeps us young.
03:00And it's something that we should try to do, you know, every day of our life, you know,
03:04so not basically, you know, just for, you know, for your partner, you know,
03:07but also for the nature that is around you to be, you know, to be grateful for the things we, we have.
03:13And yeah, to me, it's very important.
03:15I see how he evaded that question.
03:18Very good. Very good, Mateo.
03:25It's a little more poppy, would you say, than before? More pop?
03:29It's not more pop than the previous album.
03:31To describe your music, it's never easy.
03:33I'd rather let the people that follow my music judge.
03:37But definitely it's way more organic in the sense that we basically started to produce the record
03:42with obviously all the songs done, almost all the songs done.
03:45And we started to jam every demo with all the musicians.
03:49And basically the biggest part of the production of every song
03:53was the jam that we did all together, you know, like the jamming.
03:56And so it feels organic because I wanted a record where the structure itself was made by real musicians playing
04:05and not really like sounds from playlists, you know.
04:07And yes, that's why to me it feels organic, it feels real.
04:12There might be, you know, mistakes as well.
04:14There might be also like, not mistakes in the recording, but, you know, you can feel a lot of the room
04:20because basically we're approaching every song all together playing it.
04:24And because to me, that's the best way to feel the songs.
04:27Glimpse of Happiness has John Batiste in it.
04:38Yeah, Glimpse of Happiness is a song that I love so much from the record.
04:41It's definitely something different compared to what I've been doing so far.
04:45And I remember the day that I started to write the song.
04:48I was, again, home in Tuscany and I woke up and I was having this feeling of happiness
04:52that sometimes, not every morning you wake up and you have that strong feeling of, you know, joy.
04:58And so I went downstairs, I took my guitar, started to play, you know, a few chords.
05:01I improvised a melody, I recorded it with my phone.
05:04And after 10, 15 minutes playing, I was like, I actually really love this idea, you know.
05:08So, you know, you don't always love what you do, you know.
05:12Sometimes you write, but it's, you know, it's things that you keep in the, just recorded in the phone.
05:19And so it was like, I was going to see John in a few weeks.
05:23And so I played in the idea and he was like, you know, I love it.
05:27Let's make it a song, you know.
05:29And from there we, you know, we gave to the song the title of Glimpse of Happiness
05:34because at the end, again, happiness is made of moments, you know.
05:40It cannot be happiness the entire day, you know.
05:43Definitely we have to aim for serenity in our lives.
05:46But happiness is something that comes and goes.
05:49And it may last, you know, a few seconds, a few minutes.
05:52But it's also the beauty of it, you know.
05:54And so I try to catch that feeling that I had that morning and I hope that I've been able to, you know, to deliver it to everyone.
06:00You did, you did.
06:01It's beautiful, I love it.
06:03How does the creative process work for you?
06:05Do you just, like, get an idea and then you have to, like, go get to it?
06:08I feel like songs definitely comes from moments where you're particularly inspired, definitely.
06:13But I think it's good to write in general.
06:15Like, writing is also an exercise.
06:17The better it is in the sense that the more you do, the easiest is to make a song whenever you're truly inspired, you know.
06:23Because if you think you're gonna, you know, do great songs only when you're inspired, I think it's harder.
06:29So definitely it's important to be inspired, but it's also important to be ready and to be practical with making a song.
06:36And you said after it was done, you cook for people?
06:39Yeah.
06:40What do you cook?
06:42You know, I'm Italian, so we kind of, like, definitely, like, give importance to the cooking, to the, you know, good quality food.
06:49And it's something that I love to do when I'm home, to feel the days.
06:53In my days, there's not just music, you know.
06:55Sometimes I try to do something different.
06:57And cooking is definitely something that relaxes me a lot.
06:59And the things that I love to do the most, obviously, are main dishes, so, like, pasta, risotto, it can be any type.
07:07So I also prepare all the sauces, and it's fun.
07:11It's fun.
07:11And also, it's a way to, you know, to gather also with friends, because it's something that I also do a lot with friends.
07:16Like, when I'm home, for me, the best way to spend time is with friends, because it's, I don't know, to me, that's the meaning of life, honestly.
07:23I'm Italian, too.
07:24We say food is love.
07:26It's always food.
07:26Yeah.
07:29And you've collaborated with so many people.
07:36Sophia Carson, Ed Sheeran, Leopold Verlano-Ritchie, you've performed for the Pope and Presidents and Kardashians.
07:43What are some of your favorite moments of performing?
07:47I feel like those are all, you know, great moments.
07:50It's fun.
07:51It's, you know, I'm honored to be able to, you know, to perform for all these, you know, celebrities.
07:56But at the end, a performance is a performance.
07:58And no matter who you have in front, whenever your music is appreciated, that's the most beautiful thing.
08:04So that's what counts, you know, and that's what makes you feel, you know, satisfied and accomplished.
08:10So no matter what's the audience, you know, I always enjoy making music.
08:16Like, again, definitely, it's a big, no, no, it's a big honor, obviously, to be playing for presidents, for popes.
08:22And, but again, it's not really about who you have in front, you know, it's, it's about be able to deliver your emotions and to be able to connect with who you have in front of you.
08:32So, I have beautiful memories, you know, like, for example, with Biden, out of cameras, we performed, me and my father for him, Fall On Me.
08:41He started, you know, like, to cry and, you know, that's when you're like, I'm not singing to a president, I'm singing to a human being, you know, and that's what counts.
08:58Did you always know you wanted to be a musician?
09:17I've always known that I, that I would have wanted to make music in my life, that for sure, because I, I grew up with music and I, I spent my old, my old days.
09:28You know, with music, so, but obviously, you never have the, the guarantee that you're going to be, you know, like on a stage one day, you know, it's, it's never certain.
09:37But definitely, yeah, we, like, growing up, I felt that, you know, I always wanted to go to the studio and I was stressing my father, sound engineer, to record myself, you know, to hear my, myself back and trying to understand what I could, where I could, you know, get, get better, you know, in many things, definitely.
09:55And then, yes, I was trying to convince my father to, you know, to, to start, you know, releasing something, no, even though he was very scared for me, because he knows how challenging is the music industry.
10:07And I, I always tell the story that when I was 16, actually, David Foster asked me to make a record with him.
10:14And my father was, no, you're too young, you're not ready, you have to go to school, all these things, no.
10:19So I was a little bit sad, because definitely that would have been an incredible, you know, chance to, to start.
10:24But, you know, I, I think, I think that things don't, don't happen randomly.
10:30I'm very happy to be where I am today.
10:33Yeah, I feel very grateful and privileged to be able to bring my music, you know, almost everywhere.
10:38We're so grateful, too.
10:39It's so beautiful.
10:41When did your dad become supportive of it and realize, oh, wow, yeah, this kid had done that something?
10:47No, I must say, he's always been supportive.
10:49You know, at the end, music, it's been one of the most important things in his, in his life, no.
10:53So definitely he was happy for us to get to know about music.
10:57But from one side, he was happy to see me, like, playing the piano, but not to see me, like, singing in the sense that he was proud of it.
11:06But it was like, I'm scared for him, you know, because, again, I know what, what the music industry is about.
11:11But definitely, yeah, I remember the first time that I was, like, for example, singing for him in a more, like, operatic voice.
11:17And that's always been his biggest passion, you know, opera.
11:20He was, he was very proud.
11:22He was very proud.
11:23He loved it.
11:24What are some of the biggest things or advice that he's given you that's stuck with you?
11:28Vocally, a lot.
11:30And he keeps, you know, giving me suggestions now and then.
11:34Because, you know, you never stop learning.
11:36And definitely at the beginning, when I released, especially Follow Me with him, that was my first ever, you know, release.
11:43You know, how to approach, you know, a stage or TV or radio or, like, you know, anything that a career puts you in front of, you know, because it's not just about the performance.
11:53It's everything that goes around.
11:55And so, yeah, I learned a lot from him, definitely.
11:59I bet.
11:59Do you do anything to hone your voice or exercise it or?
12:03The number one thing, it's always the rest.
12:07There's nothing better for the voice.
12:09Also, the second thing, your diet, in the sense that I have to stay light.
12:14So, the more I eat plain, so, like, plain rice, plain pasta, plain, plain everything, I just add a little bit of olive oil.
12:21And very important is, is the time, like, when you eat.
12:24So, for example, I always, like, eat at least five hours before the performance because you want to be, like, digested because otherwise when you sing, you may, sorry for the word, but you may burp.
12:39Yeah, yeah, yeah.
12:40And also, like, if you sing right away after eating, you may become afono, that means, like, when you lose the voice because you're on the digestion.
12:50And same thing, like, when you, like, before going to bed.
12:53Like, so, if I want to have dinner after the show, then, like, if I eat at, I don't know, 10.30, 11, usually I go to bed late.
13:01I go to bed, like, at 3 a.m., sometimes 4.
13:05So, you know, at the end of, on the tour, the most important thing is always the show, and the show is always at night.
13:11So, unfortunately, I get into this routine of going to bed very late.
13:15Right, right.
13:16But, yes, rest and what you eat and the times.
13:20That's so interesting.
13:21You're the first person who ever said that.
13:23It makes a lot of sense.
13:24Yeah, then vocal rest, it's personal.
13:25Like, I do a lot of vocal rest in the sense that it's not that I don't talk at all, but I talk less, and when I talk, I talk very softly.
13:34Right.
13:34Nothing, that's it.
13:36Yeah, that's awesome.
13:37No other secrets.
13:38Keep it up.
13:39Keep doing what you're doing.
13:40Who were your influences growing up?
13:42My influences?
13:43I've always been, obviously, chasing the best, you know, I've been chasing the best.
13:47So, I would say, you know, to me, like, Lionel Richie and Elton John have been probably the greatest singer-songwriters.
13:55So, definitely, they were, like, great examples for me.
13:59And, you know, both of them were very much into the, I mean, the piano.
14:03They've been, you know, the main theme for their career, you know.
14:07And, you know, growing up studying the piano for me, that was, you know, again, a great example.
14:12But, you know, I've been following a lot also Ed Sheeran.
14:15I've always been impressed by his skill in entertaining, you know, a full stadium with just, you know, his voice and a guitar.
14:23I feel like that's incredible.
14:25But, again, it's not good to say that just few names, no, because there are so many incredible talents out there.
14:31So, yeah, I have to learn from all of them.
14:33It's evident in your sound.
14:35When did you start playing the piano?
14:37Playing the piano I was six, seven years old.
14:40Yeah, six, seven years old.
14:41Without any good results, but still.
14:43Oh, and guitar too, huh?
14:46No, guitar, look, I did two days ago.
14:50Because in this last tour I started to play the guitar on stage.
14:54And we did, I don't know, like something like 14 shows.
14:58And then the 15th I made a bad mistake on the guitar.
15:01But, I mean, people know in the sense that I just bought my first real, like, beautiful acoustic guitar in LA, you know, a few weeks ago.
15:11And I started to practice, practice, practice.
15:13Then on stage I had a different guitar.
15:16So that's also, it's not, like, the easiest to, you know, to change instrument when you get used to, like, one specific.
15:22Yeah, yeah.
15:22And plus, again, I never started guitar.
15:24So I literally, like, started now to learn all the technique.
15:29And let's see.
15:30I mean, I think it's good to always have a challenge, you know, to learn something.
15:35Yeah.
15:35And people like it, like you said, the organic and the little bit of mistakes.
15:39And it's real.
15:40Yeah, yeah, that's true.
15:40Definitely wasn't full playback.
15:43I love it.
15:45Well, you told us you like to cook.
15:46What else do you do when you're not working?
15:48When I'm not working, honestly, I love to spend a lot of time in nature.
15:53So, you know, living in the countryside gives you a lot of activities.
15:58Like, when it's, depending on the season, you know, you go, like, mushroom hunting, you go truffle hunting,
16:04like, walks in general, you know, in the, like, in the forest, I think you say in English.
16:11And I love it.
16:11Yeah, I feel like it's a way to reconnect, you know.
16:16Yeah.
16:16And to stay grounded and to relax.
16:21I love that.
16:21What have been some of your favorite things to do when you're not working when you're in the city, New York City?
16:26Well, it's a city that gives you, you know, so many things to do, like musicals, a lot of things in the, you know, in the show business.
16:34But definitely, you know, again, lots of walks in Central Park.
16:37There's, again, like, lately, for example, I was obsessed with guitars.
16:40I've been, you know, like, chasing guitars and go see, like, guitar shops, like this one called Rudy's Guitar.
16:48Then in New York, I found, to me, one of the greatest, because my, I'm not celiac, but I have a preference, like, I eat gluten-free.
16:57And there's this place called Pizzarte that, to me, makes one of the best, like, gluten-free pizza that I've ever had.
17:04So that's one thing that we always do when we come here to New York.
17:08It's tradition.
17:10And many other things.
17:11You know, again, like, New York has so many beautiful, you know, places to go and visit.
17:17Awesome.
17:17What was the first record you ever got?
17:20Probably was Jennifer Lopez.
17:22Really?
17:23Yeah, like, like, buying, like, on my own.
17:26But, yeah, since I was a little kid, I was, like, I remember I had the super famous, what do you say, compilation?
17:33How do you say that?
17:34Of Queen.
17:35Like, I've always been obsessed with Queen since I was a little, like, since I was little.
17:39Yeah, I was listening to David Bowie, Michael Jackson.
17:44Yeah, I remember all, you know, all the greatest.
17:46That's so cool.
17:47You really are eclectic.
17:49What does music do for people?
17:51They say music can heal.
17:53I don't know scientifically if that's real, but definitely I feel like it plays a very important role in, I don't want to say everyone's life, but most of the people's life.
18:02I mean, again, I cannot imagine a life without music, you know?
18:06Like, I feel like for artists, there's, like, a very important role in this world because definitely through music you can deliver a lot of messages, you know?
18:14And I always try to simply bring, you know, like, definitely, like, fun, joy, happiness, but also, you know, like, hope.
18:21Because at the end, we're living in a world that feels sometimes a little bit too, like, artificial, too, you know, no, sorry, superficial also.
18:29And nothing, again, I think it's, you know, one of the most beautiful things of music is also that it brings people together, you know?
18:37And I think, I feel like that the more we're able to, you know, to be together, to be united, and the better, you know, it's going to be.
18:44And what's next for you?
18:45What's something you want to do?
18:46I'm starting the year with my tour in South America, so I'll be in Vina del Mar for the festival.
18:53I'll be playing in Mexico, in Argentina, but also I'm coming back in the U.S.
18:58Well, actually, before I have to go to Australia for other five to seven shows in Australia.
19:04And then, yes, I'm coming back to U.S. in the summer because finally I'm playing in open door venues in the summer in 2026 here in USA.
19:12So I'm very, very excited for that on this day.
19:15Awesome.
19:16That's so great.
19:16It was such a pleasure to have you.
19:18Congratulations with all you're doing.
19:20No, no, thank you.
19:20Thanks for your beautiful work and your beautiful voice.
19:23To hear more of this interview, visit our podcast, Life Minute TV on iTunes, and all streaming podcast platforms.
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