I have always been fascinated by India’s culture, not just its music,” explains 24-year-old Italian singer-songwriter Matteo Bocelli, son of legendary operatic tenor Andrea Bocelli, who will be visiting India for the first time this week to record a music video. “It’s a love song which has been sung as a collaboration, with a mix of melodic elegance and beats of pop. I fell in love with the score the first time I heard it,” he recalls, adding, “India is a new market that I’ve never explored—and it’s huge! It’s always an interesting challenge to express yourself to a new audience.”

He shares that he has been surrounded by music since “I was in my mum’s belly because my father was always around singing every day. At six, I started playing the piano, and that’s where my relationship with music began. I learnt the instrument myself, and it soon became a close friend.” He also recalls being very shy as a child, only mustering up the courage to sing in front of his mother or to himself. “I could never sing in front of my father. One day my mum asked him, ‘Have you heard Matteo sing?’ So, I sang Romanza, and that’s when he started to get curious about my voice. That led to me singing in front of my whole family and friends, and we are here today,” he beams.