Three young tenors, an orchestra, and a melody that builds like an opera aria: «Grande amore» by Il Volo turned the 2015 Sanremo Festival into a triumph. This grand, poignant love anthem not only won Italy’s most important music festival but also propelled the trio onto the stage of the Eurovision Song Contest just a few months later. To this day, «Grande amore» remains the song that made Il Volo famous worldwide.
Profile: «Grande amore»
- Artist: Il Volo (Piero Barone, Ignazio Boschetto, Gianluca Ginoble)
- Published: February 12, 2015 (Album «Sanremo grande amore,» Sony Music)
- Lyrics/Music: Francesco Boccia and Ciro „Tommy“ Esposito
- Genre: Operatic Pop
- Special features: Winner of the 2015 Sanremo Festival, third place at the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest (winner of the public vote)
The Story Behind the Song
Il Volo, which means „the flight“—and three voices that came together in 2009 on the RAI show «Ti lascio una canzone»: Piero Barone, Ignazio Boschetto, and Gianluca Ginoble, who were still teenagers at the time. Under the guidance of manager Michele Torpedine, who had already launched Andrea Bocelli’s career, the trio had already enjoyed success in the U.S. and Latin America before performing for their home audience in Sanremo for the first time in 2015.
The song itself predates the trio’s version. Composer Francesco Boccia wrote «Grande amore» in the early 2000s and initially performed it himself; it was rejected for the 2005 Sanremo Festival because it was considered too old-fashioned. Years later, the melody made the rounds again: it was offered to the duo Operapop (who were not allowed to compete in the young artists’ category due to their age) and to the singer Orietta Berti, who turned it down. It was festival director Carlo Conti who ultimately paired the song with Il Volo—two lines were adapted to suit the singers’ youthful age.
At the 2015 festival, the trio pulled off a surprise victory over favorites such as Nek and Malika Ayane, securing about 39 percent of the vote in the final round, driven primarily by the audience’s televoting. As the winners of Sanremo, Il Volo went on to represent Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna.
What is «Grande amore» about?
«Grande amore» doesn’t tell a story or paint a picture—the song is the emotion itself. It is a grand, unconditional declaration of love that leaves nothing to be desired. The singer seeks certainty: He begs his beloved to stay, to choose only him, and to never leave him.
The title captures the essence of the song: a „grande amore,“ an overwhelming, one-of-a-kind love that fills one’s entire life. It is precisely the simplicity of the words, combined with the operatic, steadily intensifying delivery of the three voices, that gives the song its timeless power—a modern canzone in the tradition of the great Italian melodies.
Lyrics & Meaning
The song lyrics are protected by copyright. Instead of reprinting them, here are the key images and their meanings—in essence and in my own words.
The Introduction: Longing. The song begins in silence, as the singer thinks of the beloved. This longing fills everything and becomes the starting point for the great confession that follows.
The refrain: the plea for certainty. At its core is a desperate longing for security. The singer wants to hear that his beloved will never leave him and will choose him alone. This is exactly where the title comes in: this feeling is a „grande amore“—a love that outshines everything else.
The climax: the operatic high point. Toward the finale, the three tenor voices build to a crescendo, and the emotion swells to its peak. The intimate wish becomes a hymn, almost an aria—the moment when the song fully unfolds.
What makes it special is that the lyrics are deliberately general and avoid specific details. This makes the emotion universal—everyone can relate to it. This simplicity is carried by the trio’s classically trained, powerful voices, which elevate a pop ballad to the level of grand opera.
«Grande amore» on video
In this section, you can watch a live performance of «Grande amore» by Il Volo: their performance at the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest final in Vienna, where the trio took third place. The official music video for the song is also playing at the top of the post.
You can listen to «Grande amore» on all streaming services, including Spotify and Apple Music.
That's what makes this song special
«Grande amore» became a hit far beyond Italy's borders. A few facts illustrate just how big the craze was:
- Charts: No. 1 in Italy and Greece, plus top rankings in Austria, Switzerland, and other countries; certified double platinum twice in Italy.
- Eurovision: Third place with 292 points—but winner of the audience televoting; plus the Marcel Bezençon Press Award for the best song in the competition.
- Foreign-language versions: a Spanish version, a duet with Brazilian singer Paula Fernandes, and the English-language version «You Are My Everything (Grande Amore)» from 2022.
With «Grande amore,» Il Volo brought the sound of the great tenors back to the pop stage, thrilling a young, international audience. In 2022, the trio even returned with the song as an intermission act at the Eurovision Song Contest—proof of how closely the song and the contest remain linked to this day.
Conclusion
«Grande amore» is the grand, unrestrained outpouring of emotion that propelled Il Volo from an insider’s secret to an international sensation: a simple message of love, carried by three voices that elevate it to an operatic level. If you’re fascinated by this sound that blends pop and classical music, be sure to check out the timeless crossover classic next: «Con te partirò» by Andrea Bocelli to.
