Loved the second clip...he looked so young there! ! And what a voice! !!!

This link shows most of them singing together, when you consider that a lot of hem were not only kids but some of them even younger than that one appreciates how good they were and how good they could become have become

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVyuqY-CT98

The second of he girls singing (3rd person) is the one whose name I could not recall, the one who went abroad on the voice somewhere and blew the other contestants out the water

Toward the end you hear Ignazio Boschetto, the one with the big voice who went on to be part of Il Volo

Not directly related to Andrea but here's Ignazio Boschetto all grown up singing Memory in English, if you watch some Il Volo clips he's the joker in the pack, he likes a good laugh and comes across as a funny guy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ay6AJEH_e0w Memory

For those interested some Il Volo songs in English
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uq-I2WHD_xs We Are Love
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aaK6taNkEU Maria?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ek697HkQl0E Painfully Beautiful
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXTy5jLoepM Little Things
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ta1F0EpQco This Time
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOWJ8LIPba8 Surrender Ignazio shows some of his fun side in this one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPM4jvhMD8k Angel

They are all amazing Italians do do it better lol

That's really interesting, thanks for the explanation. Initially it seemed quite an unusual thing for Andrea to come all the way over here to audition, but reading this really makes you understand why. You can certainly tell they have a higher standard of singers in Italy, just by how great Andrea is!

Does anybody know if Andrea was classically trained? It's those amazing notes he can hold that remind me of Rhydian, who I think was.

I think I recall him mentioning somewhere possibly in a vt that he had vocal training.
I noticed on watching the clip again from I'll leave you a song were all of them are singing together that all 3 members of Il Volo were in that competition, indeed it was one of the Il volo members that actually won that competition.

I only noticed 2 of them singing in that clip and they sounded classical to me, the third member who I caught a view of but didn't catch singing is the most operatic one of the 3 so highly likely classical trained.

Regarding Andrea, if the Il volo members were at that young age and it sounded to me like they were, then it's probable Andrea was too, when you then consider he comes from Italy the home of opera, classical vocal training is probably the norm.

Do you remember Jonathan & Charlotte off Britain's got talent? If so you'll know what an incredible voice Jonathan had, he along with Charlotte were having secret training from the late Pavarotti’s former vocal coach in Italy, as I pointed out earlier, Italy has a very high standard of vocal training

This is a lovely article (will need to be translated)

http://www.vanityfair.it/show/tv/14/...ntervista-foto

I use google chrome and it gives you the option to translate as soon as it detects foreign text.
It's a very poor translation but you easily get the gist!
He pretty much says what we heard in the earlier translation I made along with other stuff we've heard from him before.

One thing I hadn't heard before is that he also tried the voice in Italy twice with no joy from the judges.

Competition must be tough out there! lol

I think you have to take into account that he has a voice that probably doesn't quite fit into the Italian market, very much like a lot of the others which is why they are scattered around the world. Their voices are more suited to our listeners they are more pop with some having a little crossover

I did translate it using google, it makes interesting translations haha he still comes across as being so lovely
I totally get what you are saying, he has a more soulful voice which would probably goes down better here than Italy.

Oh yes they were great! I never knew that, very interesting. I personally think Andrea probably was classically trained, to be able to sing like that at 13 I'd think you would have to have been. It's interesting that he never went down the operatic route (as I'm sure he has the voice for it) But I love the more Soul vibe to his voice.

Hello Fanstinis! Just updating with the song choice for this week, which is 'I Have Nothing'
He's bound to do this well. What do you guys think?

Andrea does everything well

Joking apart, part of me is a little disappointed he didn't go with Elton, I say that because we are going to get the "predictable/boring" brigade out in force yet again and not because he won't do it well.

Although he does them very well, another part of me wonders if he's shooting himself in the foot (assuming they are his song choices) by singing diva songs.
By that I mean it will always be compared to (apart from Whitney) other past female contestants, something that's not really comparable because of the male/female vocals! Nevertheless people will compare

I would like for him to start tackling some big male songs were his vocals can be compared, I feel he's got the voice to match the best of them

I really think that it is x factor pushing him down this route to be honest, but then again I am puzzled by Bens song this week so god knows what their agenda is.

When I first heard Andrea at bootcamp I thought he sounded like Luther Vandross before I looked up at the TV , I would love to hear him sing some of his material. I also hear twangs of Stevie Wonder in his voice.

If you catch some of those I'l leave you a song clips, the presenter says he sounds like Stevie Wonder

I definately hear it lol I just wish he was able to showcase his 'soul' voice more.

He's definately getting noticed though , even if he goes or wins i'm sure someone will snap him up

Same here.

I agree in that I don't think he'll be short of work for the foreseeable future.
I'd really like to see him win (though not always a good thing) but I do fear whoever is responsible with the diva songs is costing him votes no matter how well he performs them.

Looking at it from another angle, I think there is time yet as most of what's been performed by both him and the other contestants up to this point only counts to a certain point.
I think what will most likely really count is how they perform as they get down to the nitty gritty which is pretty much just around the corner.

Not sure what the agenda is with Andrea, are they trying to deramp him to go out early or are they holding out his best to the end? I still wonder whether one week he will come out unshaven, belt out some soul and wow everyone lol

I have to say that is something that I've considered for a few weeks now
As the weeks have gone by I've become less confident but who knows, one can peak to early and holding back for when it matters is not such a bad thing.

Problem is what's Simons agenda! lol

Quite Just hope is that if they are setting him up for a fall, Andrea understands it is the show doing that and not his fans and that he doesn't hate us for it and never want to darken our shores again . I have been watching x factor since the beginning (albeit with distain at times ) and never has a contestant had the effect on me that Andrea has, win or lose I just want him to do well and hopefully have a great career after all of this.

Although I was born In England, my parents are Italian, I have brothers and sisters who were born in Italy and I myself lived there for 5 years, truth is I consider myself Italian.
I'm definitely pro Italian and probably biased toward Andrea, I had to say that because it's probably already come across in some of my posts lol

Anyway
He's not new to this game as we've witnessed with how many times he's tried in Italy.
He appears to be a happy go lucky fellow and I think that can be seen throughout his interviews, vt's and singing.
He better than anyone as a contestant will know what's going on behind the scenes, If he is being set up or what not he'll know!
Regardless, he comes across as someone who probably doesn't have a single hate bone in his body, should he be derailed, he doesn't appear to be the type to blame the public for that. Plus if nothing else, I expect he's made a lot of friends and even contacts during the experience.

He's obviously here because he's very passionate about his singing and had very little joy in Italy.

I myself am very disappointed in Italy for not recognising their own talent, Andrea along with so many others that have had to search elsewhere, On the other hand I'm happy that people like Andrea are trying elsewhere for those people that appreciate what they offer.

I made some comments on earlier posts regarding the problems with braking into the music industry in Italy, thinking about it, Italy actually does not have a pop industry, it is tiny! Now that's not to say they don't listen to pop, they do but it's all imported, British or American, just as we have here.

They don't have their own industry, there's no material, no songwriters for that genre in Italy unless they are in that tiny minority of singer song writers. There is no room in Italy for people like Andrea unless he was going to do endless covers and we know that doesn't really work.

Should he be derailed, I can see him staying here or possibly America to try and pursue his passion simply because of previous attempts and the difficulties associated with Italy.

Concerned about the song choice tbh...just want him to be more versatile. ..but we will see!!

And of course Andrea would do ANY song justice!!!

Yes, I was secretly hoping for 'Your Song' but I'm quite happy with it. I mean it is Whitney & Elton week, he's got to play to his strengths. I'm really glad they didn't give him the obvious 'I Will Always Love You' I really dislike it and it's far too obvious. When it came up on the X Factor twitter I thought 'Oh ok, here we go...predictable.' I was shocked when it turned out to be Ben's choice! I certainly don't wish him failure, but I really think in a battle of the big Whitney ballads Andrea will definitely show his vocal up a bit.

I agree with everyone, I'd love to see more soul songs return...If we can get him though to next week with two songs, I think then he'll be able to do that, and then he'll be in a very strong position.

Will be interesting to see how tonight goes and to see if they are out to get him. I'm sure Andrea will be amazing as always but that doesn't mean anything when it comes to Simon it seems.

I've watched last weeks performance more times that I'm prepared to admit lol and I still get goosebumps every time, especially when he hits that note at the end. It was my favorite of all his performances. It makes me sad that he just isnt getting the credit he deserves and seemingly getting churned up by the xfactor machine.

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/tv/x-fact...ustini-on-diet

How can you NOT love this guy Not sure whether this is part of a deramp or not, but surely they would know that most of the female (and some males ) population will identify with him

Maybe I'm biased but It really is a shame so many people can't see him for who he is, he seems harmless and an all round nice guy. Maybe it's because he's the one to beat and they know it? Maybe his personality doesn't shine through to some because of the language?

Regarding tonight, we've known for a long time how manipulative the show is, however, the feeling of the manipulation is driven home when it's someone you really like and no matter how good they are you can't help but wonder and even fear the worse!

On a personal note I want him to win it as no doubt all his fans do if only to stick it to the naysayers!
I am however starting to wonder if winning it is such a good thing for him, I'm wondering if him having a good run, impressing people at least the right people without winning may be better for him?

It would really be interesting to know how he feels about it, is he desperate to win it as some of the contestants appear to be or is he here to simply showcase what he has to offer in the hope someone notices? To me, he doesn't appear desperate, he seems to be having fun, enjoying the moment, showcasing what he has to offer and hoping someone notices him?

Going back to winning, would he not be railroaded into the usual Simon cover album and generally be steered rather than steering himself? Part of me can't help but think avoiding SYCO would not be such a bad thing for him? This of course assuming other sectors of the music industry have taken notice of him?

Yes I am torn with him wanting to win and not wanting to win because of this lol I have been reading Steve Brooksteins book and would hate for all that to happen to Andrea. U|ltimately I want him to be able to sing what he wants and be successful and have a career out of it.
Then again i cant remember another contestant who has had the impact Andrea has had. He does seem to have so much love for him and he seems genuinely lovely.