Andrea Bocelli Strikes Pop Chord

Operatic tenor Andrea Bocelli continues to dominate the music world, topping both classical and pop charts with more than 10 million albums sold in the U.S. and 40 million worldwide.

This summer, he is on tour, singing from his latest pop CD, "Cieli Di Toscana." Recently, he was part of The Early Show's Summer Concert series, performing "Mille Lune," "L'Incontro," and "Il Mistero Dell'Amore." L'Incontro" is a song that begins with a poem recited by U2's Bono on the CD. Bocelli recited that portion for us and performed the song with singers from the Brooklyn Youth Chorus.

Surprisingly, it's only been about five years since the Italian tenor became an international star, and he's managed to break a ton of records on both the classical and popular music charts.

Released last year, "Cieli Di Toscana" is Bocelli's first pop recording since 1999's smash "Sogno."

With "Sogno" four of Bocelli's albums simultaneously held spots on the U.S. pop album chart, the first time such a feat had been achieved by any act since Garth Brooks in 1992. It was done only once before that, by U2 in 1986.

His first pop recording, "Romanza," featured his duet with Sarah Brightman, "Time To Say Goodbye," which catapulted him to super-stardom.

Of his pop recordings, Bocelli says, "It's the soundtrack to the lives of so many, a medium through which powerful emotions can be shared with an enormous audience. For me, pop music should be based on a genuine inspiration that comes from the experiences of life, conveyed from the heart to soul."

As for his classical recordings, Bocelli has become the biggest-selling classical recording artist ever. Classical Bocelli CDs include aria, sacred arias and Verdi as well as his acclaimed recordings of Puccini's "La Boheme" and Verdi's "Requiem."

In 1999, "Sacred Arias" was to become his most successful classical album to date. He simultaneously held the No 1, 2 and 3 positions on the U.S. classical album chart; an unprecedented first that saw him achieve a listing in the Guinness Book of Records. In fact, Bocelli has been No. 1 on the U.S. classical chart week in and week out for virtually 3-1/2 years.

Bocelli is on tour promoting his current pop CD and will have a new CD out in November called "Sentimento."