Everything to know about Andrea Bocelli’s son Matteo, who sings just like his dad

Andrea Bocelli has been said to have “the most beautiful voice in the world.” And there’s good news for music lovers: His rare talent has been passed on to his son.

The world-renowned tenor is father to singer Matteo Bocelli, who not only shares his dad’s stirring vocal skills, but often shares the stage with him, too.

However, the younger Bocelli isn’t content to simply follow in the “Time to Say Goodbye” vocalist’s famous footsteps. Matteo is forging his own path in the world of entertainment — and he’s even branching out beyond music.

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Read on to learn more about the impressive rising star.

He’s one of three siblings

Matteo was born on Oct. 8, 1997, in Forte dei Marmi, Italy, to Andrea and his first wife, Enrica Cenzatti. He was the second child for the pair, who’d welcomed older brother Amos Bocelli two years earlier.

Though Andrea and Enrica split in 2002, Matteo became a big brother when his father’s second wife, manager Veronica Berti, gave birth to Matteo’s sister, Virginia Bocelli, in 2012.

He hid his talent from his father

Matteo began singing as a young child but only for his mother. He didn’t sing for his famous father until much later.

“My dad didn’t actually get involved in my musical education until I was around 16-years-old — when my mum asked him to listen to me singing at home,” he explained in an interview with Gentlemen’s Journal. “Before that, he didn’t even know I could sing.”

In fact, Matteo insisted that his father never pressured him into a career in music.

“I wanted it for myself, but my dad was never pushy about music,” he added. “He never expected this to become a family business. He saw music as more of an important personal expression to have in your life.”

David Foster inspired him to become a singer

In the same interview, Matteo revealed that it was someone else altogether who inspired him to take a leap and turn his musical passion into a singing profession.

“I knew from a young age that I wanted to study music, to go to a conservatoire and work in that world,” he noted. “But it was only when I met (famed record producer) David Foster that I really considered being a singer. David has been extremely important in the development of my dad’s career and, without him, I don’t think I’d be on this path. He was the person who said to me, ‘You have the skill and the technical ability; you should be on the stage singing.’”

He sings duets with his dad

Matteo’s breakout recording, “Fall on Me,” is a 2018 piano-ballad duet he co-wrote and performs with his father. The track is far from the only time he’s sang alongside the operatic-crossover legend.

In addition to recording many more songs together, the pair have also shared the stage for several high-profile performances, from raising their voices for a Royal Variety Performance for the then-newlywed Duke and Duchess of Sussex in 2018 to putting on a wedding concert for Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker in 2022.

They even sang a version of Andrea’s 1996 hit, “Time to Say Goodbye,” for the in memoriam honors at the 2024 Academy Awards.

“‘Time to Say Goodbye’ is more than a song to me, it’s my family’s national anthem, it’s the soundtrack to hundreds of memories,” Matteo said before the Oscars, according to a press release published by Shore Fire Media. “Singing it with my father in a new orchestration is a great honor, and to sing it on the Oscars stage is simply a dream come true!”

He’s recorded with another family member

Matteo’s little sister, Virginia, has also inherited their father’s gift for song. In 2002, the siblings joined Andrea on the album “A Family Christmas.”

He is also an actor

In 2022, Matteo recorded “Cautionary Tale,” a song for the soundtrack of “Three Thousand Years of Longing,” a film that stars Tilda Swinton, Idris Elba … and Matteo Bocelli.

The singer made his big-screen debut as Prince Mustafa in the fantasy romance.

His father is his biggest fan

Though Matteo has followed Andrea’s lead in many ways, with his eponymous 2023 solo album, Matteo broke out with his own musical style, focusing more on contemporary pop than classical crossover.

“The negative is that people have expectations, and also this expectation has to follow a specific genre of music,” Matteo told New York Weekly in November 2023. “People might expect me to follow my father’s exact footsteps. Yes, I make music, but that doesn’t mean I have to make opera and crossover. With pop, I feel the most happy and the most myself. That is why this album is pop. It is Matteo.”

There was no negative reaction about his preferred genre from Andrea, who fully embraced his sound and said he hopes his son has even more success than he himself has experienced.

“With all my heart, I hope that you can surpass me in art as you have done in height, but don’t let how your work is received affect you,” Andrea wrote in a moving Instagram post in June 2023, celebrating the album’s release. “Focus on doing everything to the best of your ability, and entrust yourself to the Lord who knows all and wants the best for all of us.”

He added, “Your dad, who has traveled all around the world and is still hopping between continents, will always be there for you, to advise you, support you, encourage you and pass on the lessons the infinite struggles of life have taught him. Now spread your wings and fly.”