Andrea Bocelli’s Strictly Come Dancing live performance divides fans
On Sunday’s results show, Italian tenor Bocelli was joined on stage with his 11-year-old daughter Virginia
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Andrea Bocelli’s live performance on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing was met with many complaints from fans on social media.
On Sunday’s (12 November) results show, Italian tenor Bocelli was joined on stage with his 11-year-old daughter Virginia, where they performed a rendition of Hallelujah by Canadian singer-songwriter and poet Leonard Cohen.
Paying homage to the artist, BBC Strictly and BBC iPlayer posted a clip from the performance on Instagram with the caption: “A stunning performance of Hallelujah from @andreabocelliofficial and @virginiabocelli lighting up the #Strictly Ballroom.”
But fans did not quite feel the same…
Posting in the comments, one user called his performance “excruciating”, while another said they were simply “disappointed.”
Fans also shared their thoughts on another video posted by the show of Bocelli and his daughter behind the scenes.
“I’m sorry but it sounded awful,” someone commented.
While another said: “I don’t think their voices harmonised that well.”
Amidst a few negative comments, the performance was also met with high praise and positivity - with some calling it “stunning” and “beautiful”.
Some were also excited to see him back on the dance floor. “So nice to see Giovanni back on the dance floor tonight! He genuinely looked happy,” a fan said.
“Gio and Dianne, that was Gorgeous, so beautiful! also gotta say how good it was to see Gio back on the dance floor, missed him!”
Bocelli has previously performed with his daughter at the O2 Arena alongside son Matteo, 26, and the trio released an album, A Family Christmas.
The album became a best seller in the United States in 2022 and earlier this year, Bocelli unveiled four brand new holiday recordings plus six bonus tracks on A Family Christmas (Deluxe Edition), which was released on 10 November.
Week 8 of Strictly bid farewell to newsreader Krishnan Guru-Murthy and his professional dance partner Lauren Oakley.
Speaking on Strictly It Takes Two, Guru-Murthy said: “For this one I was in a slightly different frame of mind because I was aware that it might be my last dance and so I wanted to really enjoy it.
“I was us (referring to his dance partner) to enjoy it…so It wasn’t just about performance, I was in a slightly different headspace to normal because I just thought ‘I want to remember this as a last dance if it’s going to be my last dance.”
Week 9 of Strictly Come Dancing continues Saturday 18 November at 6.40pm on BBC One.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments