Andrea Bocelli, a world-acclaimed Italian tenor, was born on September 22, 1958 in Lajatico, Tuscany, Italy. He sings many music genres including adult contemporary, classical, easy listening, latin, opera, operatic pop, and pop. He is not only a singer, but also a producer, songwriter, musician and former lawyer. His voice type is classified as Leggiero-Lyric tenor.
Andrea Bocelli grew up on a family farm. It was evident at birth that Bocelli was suffering from eyesight problems. After visiting many doctors, he was finally diagnosed with Glaucoma. At the age of twelve years old, he completely lost his sight after an accident playing soccer. Bocelli already showed a passion for music at a young age. It was said that music was the only thing that could comfort him. He not only sang but played many instruments as well such as piano, flute, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, harp, guitar and drums. It was at the age of 14 when he won his first song competition singing “O sole mio”. He finished law in the University of Pisa. Before his music career began, Bocelli spent one year working as a court appointed lawyer.
Andrea Bocelli’s talent for music was discovered by Italian rock star Zucchero and the great Italian tenor, Luciano Pavarotti while holding auditions for a demo tape. After hearing Bocelli sing, the “Nessun dorma” at Zucchero’s birthday party, the Sugar Records music label president asked the Bocelli to sign a recording contract. Bocelli also featured his singing talents after entering the Italian Sanremo Music Festival several times and always winning with high marks, Bocelli would be invited many more times to the music festival to perform. After Bocelli made a mark in the music industry, he debuted in a major operatic role in 1998, playing Rodolfo in a production of “La boheme”. Aside from singing in concerts and touring, Bocelli experienced great success with recording albums. He has recorded over 20 pop and classical albums, including seven operas. His albums have sold 60 million copies worldwide. He has won many awards for his works including two World Music Awards, a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song for his song “The Prayer”, and several Grammy awards nomination and Academy Awards nominations.