The Verve Label Group and Universal Music Classics have scored their first #1 since the mid-2016 arrival of VLG President/CEO Danny Bennett and UMG Classics President U.S. Graham Parker. Decca’s Andrea Bocelli, a Universal artist his entire 24-year recording career, hit #1 with Sì this week, having previously registered eight Top 10 albums, two of which went to #2.

Parker credits the success of the album with Bocelli staying true to his roots. “This album brings Andrea back to his core, which is Italian song,” he says. “Having made his success and fame on being the most successful Italian tenor in history and with the record-breaking success of Con Partiro (Time To Say Goodbye), after the recent concept albums, it was time to bring Andrea back home with an album of original Italian songs, written exclusively for him.”

The album features duets with Josh Groban, Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa and Andrea's son, Matteo Bocelli. The father-son pairing, “Fall on Me,” was penned by Ian Axel and Chad King of A Great Big World and features prominently in the Disney holiday blockbuster The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, hitting theaters now.

While it’s common to use duets as a way to break genre boundaries and develop new fans, Bennett says the music itself does its own marketing. "Great music and art have the ability to transcend demographics and genre,” he says. “Great artists do the same and it is only a matter of making it accessible to a broad audience by marketing in ways that break the mold and do the unexpected.

“In some ways, some of the most powerful marketing came from the organic and beautiful relationship between father and son on ‘Fall On Me,’ which I’ve played for a number of folks who have cried on the spot.”

Signed to Universal U.K. company for the world, Bocelli is still with the man in Italy who signed him to his first deal, Fillipo Sugar of Sugar Music. Sugar continues to be involved in the A&R of Andrea’s projects along with Decca Records Group UK President Rebecca Allen, Dickon Stainer, Universal Music Group’s President/CEO of Global Classics and Jazz, and Bocelli’s manager Scott Rodger of Maverick.

“In some ways, some of the most powerful marketing came from the organic and beautiful relationship between father and son on ‘Fall On Me,’ which I’ve played for a number of folks who have cried on the spot.” —Verve Label Group President/CEO Danny Bennett

Bennett notes, “It was a conscious decision of Andrea’s to return to form. Beautifully classical melodies performed in Italian. Sì is more of a positive message in a world desperately needing hope and inspiration.”

Parker notes, too, that the timelessness of Bocelli’s personal story continues to resonate decades after he first burst on the scene.

“A voice that touches every person who hears it combined with a personal story of overcoming losing his sight to connect with millions of people around the world. That is what made him relevant when he first broke onto the scene and it is what makes him relevant today with his loyal audiences and new fans who are discovering him for the first time.”