Matteo Bocelli Is Falling in Love—With Music, Life, and a New Sound—As He Prepares to Release His Second Album

Matteo Bocelli is back with new music.

The 27-year-old musician and son of Andrea Bocelli is gearing up to release his second album, Falling in Love, a personal project focused on themes of romance that was recorded at his home in Tuscany, Italy.

Ahead of the full album’s Sept. 12 release via Decca Records, Matteo shared the lead single, “To Get to Love You,” on Wednesday, June 25.

The emotional ballad, written with Ed Sheeran’s longtime collaborator Amy Wadge, showcases his signature crooner vocals over lyrics about proving your love to a partner.

“If I took the stars from the sky for you / Would I find the way to your heart? / If I show you scars that I find for you / Would you finally know that you are worth all the pain, worth all the hurt? / I’d do it again, I’d put you first / There’s nothing I won’t do to get to love you,” he sings on the chorus.

Matteo sat down with PEOPLE to discuss the new song, upcoming album, what he’s learned from his father and how it feels to see his younger sister, Virginia, branch out into solo music as well.

Your first album, Matteo, came out in September 2023. What did you learn from that experience?

Unfortunately, in the first album, we were closer to the COVID time, and I wasn’t able very much to be working in the studio in the same room with the producers. I’m very proud of the first album. But at the same time, I had a whole different experience with the second project. I finally made a project the way I wanted. I was dreaming about working in the studio with the producer and musicians that were really playing the record. And I’m honestly very, very proud of the work that we’ve done all together so far.

Did you feel more confident making this new record?

Yeah. We all have our doubts sometimes, but in these last two, three years, I grew up a lot. I feel more mature in every aspect — not just musically, but also as a person, as a human being.

You recorded the album at home in Tuscany. How did that experience shape the music?

What I’ve learned so far is that you don’t want to stay in the comfort zone. You want to stay somewhere where you’re very motivated, where you’re stimulated. We chose Martin Terefe as the main producer of the album because to us, he felt like the right person for the way I wanted to shape my songs. When producing a record, I want them to get to know me and my everyday life, where I come from, my roots. And so to me, I thought it’d be a key change to have them all at my place, cooking for them, respecting the times for lunch and dinner, and gathering together. I think it was fundamental.

What can you share about the single, “To Get to Love You”?

It’s a beautiful song to me. We wrote it with Amy Wadge. She’s an incredible songwriter. You may recognize a section on the song [from Michel Boisrond’s 1968 film La Leçon Particulière]. Basically we developed a song around this sample. I don’t know, it’s not easy to talk about your own music because you want people to get their own story when they listen to the song. But it’s definitely a whole project that is very organic. If you have the chance to listen to it all, it’s quite live in the sense that it seems like a live show.

The album is called Falling in Love. Are you in love at the moment?

Yes, I am. I’m in love with life. This is my answer. I’m in love with everything that surrounds me. I feel like this topic always has to float in the air. I always talk about [romance] only through music. I never really express myself in interviews because I feel like it’s nicer to keep [it to myself]. I think it doesn’t really add anything to the career.

People got to know you through singing with your father Andrea, but what’s the most different about you as performers?

My father is a more introverted performer on stage in the sense that people don’t really ever even hear him talking. It’s very much just about the performance. In my case, sometimes they call me the crooner because I enjoy interacting with the audience. So, definitely that’s one of those aspects where we are on the opposite side, me and my father.

What’s the best advice you’ve gotten from your dad?

It’s a hard question to answer because I’m 27 years old and I spent the first 23, 24 years of my life, a lot, mostly with my father. He’s always been a parent that always talked a lot to his sons, and so there’s always been a beautiful connection between the two of us. If we talk strictly about music, the advice has been strictly about vocal technique, but also how to approach a career in general, and mostly how to approach a stage during your live shows.

Is there any advice from him that you did not take?

Yeah, sometimes there are things about technique and aesthetic, musically speaking, where we don’t completely agree, but always in a good way. There’s no rule in music. Sometimes people care more about the style and not the technique. It’s more about the feeling.

Now, you’re not the only one of your siblings putting out solo music. Virginia just put out a song and a music video for “Forever Winx” from Winx Club. How does it feel to see her stepping out on her own?

It’s definitely very fun. The only thing that I miss is the time with the family in general, because in these last two years, I’ve been traveling so much. I feel sad to be missing these important family moments. But at least, thanks to technology, we’re able to stay in touch and to always speak.

Have you given her any advice?

The only real advice that I gave her, especially at this age, is to always do what makes you happy. Don’t let anyone take you from the real fun, because this is a time of your life where you have to be [free] of any worries, any stress, so enjoy what you love to do.