Andrea Bocelli’s son Matteo hits own high note with NYC solo debut

nypost.com:

Matteo Bocelli has no issues following in the grande footsteps of his father Andrea Bocelli, the beloved Italian tenor.“I’m proud to be a Bocelli, I’m proud of what my father has achieved in his career,” Bocelli, 27, told The Post. “I feel extremely lucky to have a very strong passion for music, and that’s what basically doesn’t let me really think of being ‘the son of.’ Because if you’re doing something that makes you happy and it satisfies you, you don’t really think of the negative aspects.”And Bocelli is happy to inherit some of his 66-year-old father’s fans with his debut solo album “Matteo” and his “A Night with Matteo” tour that hits Manhattan’s Town Hall on Monday.“I do know that the largest part of my fan base now, it comes from my father,” he admitted. “You want to use that as a positive thing and not as a negative.”Indeed, just as his smoothly as he hits those money notes, Bocelli has been managing the expectations that come with being the son of his famous father. “Obviously, they would love to see you performing opera, more [classical] crossover music, and then you may end up doing pop,” he said. “And so it might be like, ‘Oh, I wish he was doing the same things as his father.’ But in the end, everyone has his own path, his own journey, and that’s great.”In fact, Bocelli brings more of a pop sensibility to “Matteo,” which was released in September 2023.

The album even includes a single written by Ed Sheeran called “Chasing Stars.” “He came for my father’s show in Lajatico [Andrea’s hometown in the Tuscany region of Italy] … and in the most humble way I asked him if he had some songs that could fit with [me],” said Bocelli.