Ramazzotti, Eros

▪ 1999

      Having mesmerized European and South American audiences with his yearning ballads of love, Italian pop superstar Eros Ramazzotti hoped to croon his way into the hearts of North Americans in 1998. Since its 1997 release, almost four million copies of Eros, his ninth album, had been sold worldwide. To promote Eros in the United States, the handsome balladeer embarked on a national tour in March 1998, accompanied by Tina Turner, a collaborator on "Cosas de la vida" ("Things of Life"), one of his songs from the album. Ramazzotti opened the tour with a sold-out performance at Radio City Music Hall in New York City followed by appearances on such television shows as "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," "Good Morning, America," and popular Hispanic radio and television shows.

      Ramazzotti was born on Oct. 28, 1963, in an impoverished suburb of Rome and was named after the Greek god of love as a symbol of luck. Encouraged by his father, an aspiring singer and musician, Ramazzotti began to play the guitar at the age of seven. Owing to a lack of musical background, however, he was refused entry into the Roman Musical Conservatory. In 1981 he made his singing debut at the Castrocaro Voci Nuove talent-hunt competition, where he signed a recording contract. "Ad un amico," his first single, was released the following year. Ramazzotti enrolled in the San Remo Festival of Italian Song, a highly regarded pop-music competition in Italy, in 1984 and won with the song "Terra promessa"; it was featured on his album Cuori agitati, released in 1985. His second album, Nuovi eroi (1986), proved to be an even bigger success and was followed by In certi momenti in 1987. With the release of each album, his popularity soared and catapulted him to greater international stardom. The 1990 release of his album In ogni senso was the groundbreaker for Ramazzotti in the U.S. By 1998 it had sold more than seven million copies worldwide.

      In 1991 Ramazzotti made his first world tour and performed at Radio City Music Hall. After the performance, however, he expressed disappointment that his audience consisted largely of Italian-Americans. To give his sound a more international flavour on his next album, he employed the talents of musicians and vocalists who had backed up such well-known performers as Sting, Pink Floyd, Celine Dion, and Stevie Wonder. Although there was some speculation as to whether Ramazzotti, who did not speak English, could find a following in the U.S., the success of Julio Iglesias, Gloria Estefan, and Selena was testimony to the impact being made in the U.S. by foreign-language performers. Ramazzotti, who wrote much of his own material, was also expanding his role in the music business by producing albums for up-and-coming talent.

HEATHER A. BLACKMORE

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