Exclusive: An Interview With Vocalist Joey Niceforo

By: Kat Harlton
https://joeyniceforo.com

Joey Niceforo a founding member of popular acts the Canadian Tenors and Destino, has announced the release of his debut solo album Priceless on April 13 via iTunes and Spotify. The album includes his first single, a cover of ABBA‘s “Winner Takes It All” a song he felt a connection with “I grew up listening to ABBA, my parents are huge fans. I was originally trained as an Opera singer, so I never thought I would do this kind of music. I was watching the Meryl Streep movie Mama Mia and thought it was incredible. The way she performed that song, I thought ‘Gosh, I have to record it’.”

Recorded at London’s iconic Abbey Road Studios with an 80-piece orchestra, the single was produced by GRAMMY Award winners Steve Sidwell, John Jones and JUNO Award winner Sam Reid. “I can honestly say that was probably the scariest thing I have ever done. I didn’t sleep at all the night before we flew to London, I kept thinking about all of these people who were counting on me and I didn’t want to disappoint anybody. It was also the first time I had ever recorded live with an orchestra playing, it was daunting. Once I got into the studio however, I forgot all about it and I just tried to enjoy myself. The Winner Takes It All video was filmed with my first take with the orchestra in the studio, and I just let go. It honestly was the best and scariest time of my life.”

Niceforo who already has had a distinguished career as a performer, has toured worldwide and performed at the 2008 Beijing and 2010 Vancouver Olympics as well as at Carnegie Hall. He has also won the prestigious Nel Mondo Award, which celebrates the achievements of people of Italian descent worldwide, and includes Sophia Loren and Luciano Pavarotti among its previous recipients. With such a lengthy career Niceforo has learned more than his share of life lessons. “There are a lot of times in my career where I had a little voice in my head saying ‘do this’ and I decided to listen to somebody else or go the easiest route and have made huge mistakes. So always follow that little voice inside of your head and never let anybody tell you no.”