After reaching the highest level of popularity in Italy, Lorenzo "Jovanotti" Cherubini is ready to conquer the US public with the launch of an all-American album, entitled "OYeah!". His North American tour, about to begin this week, will touch the greatest music centers of the United States and Canada, including Toronto, Montreal, Washington, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, and of course, New York!

New Yorkers already know Jovanotti very well; last year he came to the city twice. In February he presented his album "Safari", nominated for "Album of the Year" in Italy in 2008 with more than half a million copies sold. He then spent the entire summer in New York, gifting his fans with an avarage of one or two concerts a week, hosted at three historical clubs: Zebulon [2] in Williamsburg, Brooklyn; Nublu [3] in Alphabet City; and Joe's Pub [4], in Noho.

"OYeah" is the fruit of the experience at "SoleLuna NY Lab", as it features a collection of some of his summer performances with his "fellow travellers" Saturnino Celani (Bass), Riccardo Onori (Guitar), and some of his new New York friends, including Gil Oliveira [5](Drums), Meia Noite [6] and Gilmar Gomes [7] (Percussion), Charles Blenzing [8](Keyboards and Piano), Christos Rafalides (Vibraphone and Marimba), Zeb "The Spy" from Cairo (Oud). Italian musician Mauro Pagani [9]  and Jason Jackson joined him as well on one of these succesful events.

This American debut album is divided into two CDs. On the first one, Lorenzo sings some of his  latest pieces, such as "L'Ombelico del Mondo" (The bellybutton of the world), "Serenata Rap" (Rap Serenade), "Piove" (It's raining), and Safari, "Dove ho visto te" (Where I saw you), and "Punto" (Stop); the latter three songs are from the album "Safari". He also improvises a song in English, "I wanna be starting something", and pays tribute to classic Italian music with "Parlami d'amore Mariù", a 1932 song originally interpreted by Vittorio De Sica in the movie "Gli uomini, che mascalzoni..." (Men, those rascals...).

On the second CD, in contrast, we find re-arrengements of three songs Lorenzo particularly loves: "Buonasera Signorina" (Good Evening, Misses) by Adriano Celentano [10]; "Lontano Lontano" (Far, Far Away) by Luigi Tenco [11]; and "Staying Alive" by the Bee Gees [12].

The album is a perfect musical portrait of the atmosphere felt during his performances in New York, when the extreme heat of those summer nights did not stop him or his public from dancing, jumping, and singing for more than two hours non-stop. As we participated in some of those concerts, we too could not refrain from being part of the party that now we can relive  in our living rooms and garages, or through our iPods on the subway thanks to "OYeah!"

During his summer stay Lorenzo became loved among the American crowd that, as time passed by, started to increasingly frequent the clubs where he performed. His participation in a number of American national TV and radio shows, and the articles written about him in American newspapers and magazines, helped spread his popularity throughout the country.

As a result his growing popularity, Lorenzo will make a special stop during his tour at Harvard [13]on April 27; the prestigious university has invited him to give a conference on the theme  of "Music and Human Rights". It will be the first time that an Italian singer will cross Harvard's doors, and Jovanotti will take the occasion to explain to hundreds of students the relationship between popular music and the promotion and defense of Human Rights.

Lorenzo has always publicly fought in defense of the weakest people, both through his music and his recording company "Collettivo Soleluna", which promotes projects of various entities in Third and Firth world countries. Among his most popular songs that dedicated to this theme, "Il quinto mondo" (The fifth world), and "La Vita Vale" (Life has a value), both are included on this thirteenth album, "Il Quinto Mondo", released in 2002.

As he has lately publicly stated, Jovanotti's commitment to this cause is not diminishing, and will continue to be expressed through his music.

Lorenzo is currently working on a new album, the 17th in his more than 20 year long career, but he is taking a break to come here and present us with another few evenings of 100% fun.

If you live in NYC or its surrounding areas, participate in i-Italy's contest. "What would you do if you met Jovanotti?": send your answer by April 21 to [email protected] and give yourself a chance to win two tickets for his performance at Webster Hall.

If you don't live in the New York area, here is the full calendar of his upcoming American tour. Find the closest city to you, pick your date, and enjoy!

Jovanotti & Soleluna NY LAB North American Tour 2010 (East Coast/Mid West leg):

 
Thursday, April 22, 2010 Washington DC 9:30 Club [14]
Saturday, April 24, 2010 New York, NY Webster Hall [15]
Sunday April 25, 2010 Philadelphia, PA World Cafe Live [16]
Wednesday April 28, 2010 Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club [17]
Saturday May 1, 2010 Montreal, QC L'Astral [18]
Tuesday May 4, 2010 Toronto, ON Lee's Palace [19]
Thursday May 6, 2010 Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall [20]