The stage can be loved, or endured. When they contacted me to participate in the selections for “The Voice Senior”, I was very perplexed. I remembered so many broadcasts of questionable taste, aimed mainly at highlighting the strong competitiveness, the rivalry and other small meannesses, masked with sequins and smiles, which were themselves an integral part of the formats! I was perplexed as all this is very far from my feeling and being. When they reassured me this would not be the case, that for the age of the participants it would all be very polite and, above all, that there would be no masks or cash prizes, I accepted. Then I passed the selections to be part of the TV show. It is the first time that the “Senior” target of the international format “The Voice” broadcast on Italy TV. The first episode airs on November 27, 2020 in prime time on Rai1 TV channel.

​

I am in the second episode of the show, on December 4, 2020, at the “Blind Auditions”. I cannot comment on my own. I am here to sing, and I have had the opportunity to perform David Bowie's music. “Heroes” is not an easy song indeed. It is a song that risks being flat or dull if sang without the right feeling and rhythm, and the "cut" they assigned to me -less than two minutes compared to the whole song- is not easy to perform. On this huge stage, subjected to the judgment of such a large audience and to the examination of the “coaches”, I must communicate my passion and my singing skills in that short time, starting from the middle of the song and truncating the text. Well, I thought all this things, nevertheless I went on stage and sang, without expecting anything, just honored to be there to live a new adventure. In short, I pass the round and go to the semifinal.

​

For this second step, I prepare other songs, this time by Italian artists. My performances first capture the production writers and musical consultants of the show, then my coach, the rapper “Clementino”, but in the end, they explicitly asked to me to try my hand again performing one of the most iconic songs of David Bowie: “Space Oddity”.

​

I have been in music for 40 years, I have done my own music, tours, piano bar, I have performed covers by Italian and international artists. My vocal register takes two octaves and I sing an uncommon variety of songs and styles, but in recent years, I have chosen to play the artist I like most and feel inside in a particular way, the one who represents an important point in my life: David Bowie.

​

So, I was happy with their request, even though I knew full well that bringing twice in an Italian competition an artist like Bowie -who is not as well-known and understood in Italy as in the rest of the world- would have penalized me. Nevertheless, to perform his evergreen songs two times on Rai1 TV, in prime time, in front of millions of audiences, was a challenge that filled me with pride, and for this reason, I consider myself a moral winner of this television experience.

​

On December 18, I perform “Space Oddity” in front of the cameras. This time also, the “cut” of the song they assigned to me is not at all easy, from a singing and interpretative point of view. The stage, however much you can master it, is always an unknown factor and on this one in particular, with millions of audiences, the tension felt. Nevertheless, I am calm and I sing with the love I can, happy to bring David Bowie's music into the homes of Italians once again, and outside of a commercial jingle. This evening, my adventure at “The Voice Senior” ends, and I am sincerely grateful to have met and worked with truly special people.

​

This adventure is another piece of my life to put away and remember with affection, without forgetting the shooting of the video “All I want for Christmas Is You”, played by all the contestants of the show and put in air every day during the Christmas period by Rai TV.

​

Thanks to my participation in “The Voice Senior”, I go back to Rai1 TV, interviewed on 7 December 2020 by Serena Bortone at “Oggi è un altro giorno” (i.e. “Today is another day”), and on 16 January 2021 by Roberta Ammendola and Pino Strabioli at “Il Caffè di RaiUno” (i.e. “RaiUno TV morning coffee”). I still have the opportunity to introduce myself to a large audience and to talk about my novel “Black Star”. What can I say… for me, it is a success!