Orietta Berti: “My summer as a queen between Fedez, Achille, Fazio and Al Bano”

“Queen of the summer at my age. But who expected it? What happened is an extraordinary thing. If I were 20 it would also be normal but after 55 years of career it is really an exceptional thing. I am very happy. My granddaughter on the beach he brags to his girlfriends and now at my concerts even teenagers are screaming. In short, really a summer at ‘Mille’ … “. Orietta Berti, born in 1943, is the queen of the summer hit 2021: “thanks to the intuition of Fedez” who proposed her to sing the song of ‘Mille’, the song that has been at the top of the charts for 8 weeks, “and to Achille Lauro who joined the project creating a trio as unlikely as it is irresistible “, Orietta told Adnkronos amused. “This boom none of us three expected it – confesses the Emilian singer – and who knows what would have happened had it not been for Covid and the many restrictions on concerts. I am on tour to recover the dates set before the pandemic. Of course. the effect of ‘Mille’ is felt. At concerts, there are many more teenage fans than in the past. Families have always been there where I sing but the screaming kids who treat me like a star are more this year, like those who follow me on social media. I already had a certain following thanks to Fabio Fazio’s program, then in Sanremo the number grew but now with ‘Mille’ there was a real boom. The guys also send me the videos where they sing the song in every way “, she points out amused. “It’s a song that everyone can sing. Even children like it. When I saw the video of Fabio (Fazio, ed.) Singing it in the car, I was too amused. I realized we had won”, he confesses laughing. One of the reasons for the success of the piece is also his voice that does not fear the challenge of the years: “The voice – he replies immediately – is like a muscle and I sing every day. I have always done it. I sing while I cook, I sing while I do it. cleaning, I sing even while I feed my dogs. Because we practice the middle notes while talking but the low and high notes if you don’t sing you lose the ability to reach them “, he explains. On the two ‘catchphrase companions’ Fedez and Achille Lauro says: “They are adorable. I had known Achille for many years because we have the same designer. I had only seen Fedez two or three times at Fazio’s and then everything happened on the last day of Sanremo. We did an interview together live on Instagram. And in the end he asked me if he could send me a song. He agreed with my son Otis. And he told me not to watch the first part, you sing there. I liked it right away, I sent him the audition done on my mobile phone. Then Fedez told me that Achille Lauro would also join and I said: ‘it would be a lottery game’. We recorded it twice, because after the premiere they asked me to redo it a tone above. But it was all very nice and fast “. Then came the video (the official one on Youtube reached 50 million views) which recalls the glamorous atmosphere of the 70s: “We recorded it in a villa just outside Rome because it had tall palm trees and a swimming pool that were used for recall the Los Angeles of the 70s “. And even the ballet with fans has become a cult. “Yes, it all fit together perfectly,” he admits. Now, after the live shows in August and a bit of vacation, Orietta is preparing to return to TV: “I’ll be back at Fazio’s for ‘Il Tavolo’, where I have a lot of fun”. And then there will also be ‘The Voice Senior’? “They proposed it to me but I haven’t signed any contract yet. Among other things, I was sorry to read that maybe I will take the place of Al Bano, because I thought I would join. Al Bano is my dearest friend”, he underlines while, on the at the end of the interview he compliments Amadeus for the third Sanremo: “If it hadn’t been for him who insisted on taking me to Sanremo probably all this would not have happened”. Will you send him a piece for the 2022 festival? “For now I have nothing, I have released everything. For the 55 years of my career I have published a box set of 6 discs which I have not even been able to promote. To go to Sanremo we just need another piece by Fedez and Achille Lauro”, concludes laughing. by Antonella Nesi