Andrea Bocelli And Natalie Cole Perform 'The Christmas Song' As Duet

Jan 21, 2021

Christmas is that wonderful time of the year when loved ones come together to sing and celebrate a time of joy, presents and warmth despite the negative temperatures outside. However, Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without snow and festive music.

Nothing rounds out the holiday season like Christmas music that fills you with nostalgia and absolute bliss. In one of the most beautiful duets ever recorded, Andrea Bocelli and Natalie Cole take to the stage to sing "The Christmas Song," one of the tracks on Bocelli’s 2009 album "My Christmas."

The song follows a classical genre suited to the season with lyrics touching on what makes Christmas an amazing holiday. It speaks of carols, toys, chestnuts by the fire and, most importantly, Santa.

The duet brings together the wonderful soft yet sweet vocals of the late Cole who looked beautiful during the performance. She wore a sparkling one-shoulder black gown. She stood beside the master tenor himself, Bocelli, who wore a full white outfit and sang in his own deep and inviting voice.

They did justice to the original song and its artist — none other than "The Christmas Song" by Nat King Cole.

Bocelli is one of the world’s most admired living tenors. He is a blind, multi-instrumentalist Italian musician. According to Britannica, Bocelli was clinically diagnosed with glaucoma as a baby and became blind at the tender age of 12 after an unfortunate football accident.

His career, like all careers, had its own share of bumps and rocky roads. He won a singing competition at 14 and decided not to pursue a career in singing but in law. However, he did perform in bars to earn a little bit of money on the side.

Despite this career shift, he ended up returning to music, and in the early days of his career, he was discovered and supported by Luciano Pavarotti. Pavarotti was one of Italy’s most popular opera tenors at the time. He passed away in 2007.

Bocelli’s career accomplishments make it so that he lives up to his formidable reputation. According to Totalismo, Bocelli sang in the opera, making his official opera debut in September 1994 as part of a production of "Macbeth."

During this time Bocelli returned to the Catholic faith and was able to perform in front of the Pope, which is not an easy task.

Moreover, Bocelli has been nominated multiple times for Grammy awards from 1999 to date. He has been honored at the Hollywood walk of fame. His music is incredibly popular among classical music enthusiasts, and he has performed all over the world, from Munich to Beijing. His concert tours are endless. Most recently, Bocelli performed at the 2020 Tuscan Grand Prix.

Currently, Bocelli is married to Veronica Berti, and they have one daughter. He was previously married to Enrica Cenzatti, and they had two sons, Amos and Matteo. Unfortunately, they separated in 2002.

However, he met Veronica Berti, his manager, and they got married in 2014. According to Late Bloomer, Bocelli enjoys horseback riding and is an avid soccer fan.

Natalie Cole was the daughter of the first African-American TV performer to have his own variety show, Nat King Cole. Not only was he a TV personality, but Nat King Cole also started as a jazz pianist, making him first and foremost a musician.

Natalie Cole, on the other hand, did not want a career in music, despite having the talent for it. According to Britannica, she instead went to college and got a bachelor’s degree in child psychology.

However, as fate would have it, she ended up singing in a band for some time, and that eventually led her to the music she is so very well known for. She is a two-time Grammy award-winning artist for her debut album, "Inseparable." Moreover, she also has a Hollywood star of fame because of her contribution to the music industry.

Her music, unlike Bocelli's, followed in the footsteps of her father, although it had some pop and R&B flair to it. She incorporated jazz music into her work as well, producing a masterpiece.

According to The New York Times, Natalie Cole struggled with a drug addiction that caused her to leave her record label, Capitol Records. However, after some time in rehab, she returned better than ever and hit the charts once again with the song "Pink Cadillac," which became a massive hit.

She completed her comeback story with an album titled "Unforgettable… with Love." The album consisted of 22 tracks, with "Mona Lisa" being a fan favorite, as well as the track "Unforgettable," which was a duet with her father Nat King Cole.

According to Biography, Natalie Cole was married three times in her life. Her first husband led to the birth of her only child, Robert Adam Yancy. He also introduced her to the Baptist Church where she was a devout member and Christian. They divorced, but soon after, he died of heart failure.

Her second husband was a record producer and drummer, but they also divorced after six years of marriage. Her third husband was a church Bishop, and they also divorced after three years of marriage.

Unfortunately, Natalie’s only child, Yancy, passed away from a heart attack at the tender age of 39.

With time, Natalie Cole begun suffering from health issues of her own. Her concerts were being canceled, and on New Year’s Day 2016, Natalie Cole passed away from heart failure, according to Rolling Stone.

In 2009, Bocelli released his first-ever Christmas album, and one of the songs was "The Christmas Song," which was originally recorded and sang by the legendary Nat Cole King.

During the song's performance — alongside David Foster who played the piano for the large audience — Bocelli invited Nat King Cole’s daughter, who was a musician in her own right, Natalie Cole, to perform the song alongside him as a duet.

The song became a classic Christmas hit in 1946 and took spots on the Billboard Charts after its release. It received a gold certification in the U.K. The song has been covered by various other artists such as Christina Aguilera, Celine Dion and Shawn Mendes.

Funnily enough, the song was written during summer in an effort to recall a time when the weather was much cooler and a bit bearable.

Nevertheless, "The Christmas Song" has a way of making Christmas feel complete every single year. If you enjoyed this story, your friends and family likely will as well. Pass this along to them, and leave your thoughts in the comments.