Matteo Bocelli was born into the spotlight.
The son of Italian opera singer Andrea Bocelli, Matteo has followed in his father’s footsteps; he stepped into the music scene alongside Bocelli in 2018 with the duet “Fall on Me.” But he’s now on his own after releasing his first solo project last September — “Matteo,” via Capitol Records.
“‘Anything you do, you do it with love,’” Matteo says of advice he’s received from his father. “No matter what you do.”
His sound is a blend of what he’s always known, opera and classical music, with what he’s personally gravitated toward, pop. He recorded the new album between his hometown in Tuscany, Milan and Los Angeles.
“In life, not always can you do what you love, but you also have to learn to love what you do,” he continues. “Luckily, I had the chance to do in life what I love.”
He knew he wanted to pursue music from a young age. “Always, since I was a kid,” he says, adding that he began to take it seriously as a career from around the age of 16.
A decade later at 26, he’s experiencing life on tour as a solo artist for the first time.
“To be honest, in the beginning I was a little bit scared because I’m one of those people that really enjoys to be home with, you know, with his friends, etc.,” he says of life on the road. “So I was worried to be missing those people, traveling a lot. Instead, I’ve been enjoying it way more than what I expected.”
Still, touring can be lonely, and he’s been learning to adapt. The two hours he’s been spending on stage each night are the highlights, he says. “But then the rest of the day, it’s just you in a hotel room or in a tour bus,” he goes on. “And you have to deal with the free time and you have to fill it and try to not, you know, feel that alone.”
His off time between cities is spent relaxing and prepping for the stage. (His last stop on tour was in Dubai before he’ll head to Australia next year.) “I’ve been positively surprised, because I’ve enjoyed almost every minute. Obviously, yes, sometimes it’s very tiring in the sense that it takes a lot of effort. But it’s cool.”
When performing, he gravitates toward “a classic” look, often donning Stefano Ricci suits. “I think it’s one of the highest quality brands. And they have amazing tailoring.”
His own fashion sense is his “weak point,” he admits. He leaves styling to the experts. “It’s a talent.”
He’s currently the face of Guess, appearing in its holiday campaign, which was shot in seaside Tuscany. It’s his second time working with the brand after modeling alongside Jennifer Lopez when he was 18.
“I was like, ‘What do you mean?‘” he says of being approached by Guess at the time. “’I never did any modeling experiences. And I don’t feel like a model, especially when I look at the mirror…They said, ‘JLo will be there.’ Then I was like, ‘This is a super cool thing. I must say yes.’ I enjoyed it so much. And after a few years, here I am again…It’s incredible to see, you know, yourself in so many billboards all over the world, even in your country. All over the world, it’s fun, but when you see billboards in your own country, it’s kind of scary but in a good way.”
He’s currently home for the holidays: “That’s, for me, the best way to recharge.”
