Biography

The Il Volo band consists of three members, Piero Barone, Ignazio Boschetto and Gianluca Ginoble. Piero Barone was born in Naro, Sicily; Ignazio Boschetto was born in Bologna, Italy; and Gianluca Ginoble was born in Roseto degli Abruzzi, Italy.

These three pop-opera singers began their career when they met on the second edition of the Italian RAI TV music competition show ''Ti lascio una canzone'' (English: Leavin' You a Song), held at the Ariston Theater in Sanremo. On May 2, 2009, Gianluca Ginoble won the competition, singing Andrea Bocelli's "Il mare calmo della sera". During the competition, the three singers were chosen to perform, as a trio, the Neapolitan classic "'O Sole Mio". After the competition, they continued to perform together under the names The Tryo, Il Trio, and finally Il Volo.

In 2010, the trio participated in the charity single, "We Are the World 25 for Haiti", remake of the 1985 hit song, "We Are the World". In February 2010, they performed the songs, "Granada" and "Un Amore Cosi Grande", during the 60th Sanremo Festival. Also at that festival, the trio performed for Queen Rania of Jordan (Regina Rania di Giordania).

Their first self-titled album was recorded in 2010 in the Abbey Road Studios in London and produced by Tony Renis and Humberto Gatica. It was released in Italy on November 30, 2010 and peaked at number 6 on the Italian Albums Chart, receiving the Gold certification by the Federation of the Italian Music Industry.

The international edition of the album was released on April 12, 2011 and was promoted in the United States with a performance during the final 3 results show of the American Idol's tenth season. The group sang "'O Sole Mio", which was released as a single in the United States in early 2011. The album debuted at number 10 on the Billboard 200 and at number 1 on the Classical Albums, selling 23,000 copies in its first week. The album is also entered at the Top 10 in other countries, such as Belgium, France and the Netherlands and topped in Austria.

Although called three young tenors, Il Volo is composed of two Tenors (Ignazio Boschetto and Piero Barone) and one Baritone (Gianluca Ginoble), as stated on many interviews with the group. It is likely that Piero Barone is a Spinto Tenor (easily reaches the high tenor notes), Ignazio Boschetto is a Lyric Tenor (a full rich tenor that can be heard over an orchestra), and Gianluca Ginoble, while technically a Baritone, can also be labeled a Heldentenor (a Baritone with a strong upper register, common among Wagner operas).