Io canto

Io canto and Yo canto (English: I Sing) are the ninth studio albums by Italian singer Laura Pausini. The Italian-language edition was released on November 10, 2006 while the Spanish-language edition was released on November 14, 2006 by Warner Music. Yo canto–Io canto is a limited-edition double album featuring both the Italian– and Spanish-language editions. This marks the first instance in Pausini's multilingual music career in which both editions are offered in a single release. Warner Music issued a third edition pressed exclusively for the French market. This pressing of Io canto features the bonus track "Je chante", a partial French adaptation of the Italian "Io canto".

The album consists entirely of covers. Its repertoire spans three decades of Italian pop music history. Pausini pays homage to fellow Italian singer–songwriters whose lyrical work has influenced her artistic sensibility throughout the years. In the album's liner notes Pausini reveals: Here is the music I listen to when I'm at my saddest, or when I feel a moment is special, the songs I used to sing as a young girl when I first started performing, and above all, those which taught me to love music, and how music can move you so deeply, regardless of its genre or style.

Yo canto features "Dispárame, dispara", also known as "Corazón roto"—opening theme of the Mexican telenovela Amar sin límites (2006). Chile's Canal 13 employed the album's title track for its television series Cantando por un sueño. The album won the Latin Grammy in 2007 for Best Female Pop Vocal Album.

Inception
The decision to present a cover album stemmed from a "pending debt" to Pausini's musical roots and homeland. She first conceptualized the idea approximately ten years prior to Io canto's publication. The idea, however, did not take root until Pausini's golden year in 2006 that culminated in a Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album for Escucha (2004) at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards. At the post–Grammy press conference, journalists remarked how they admired Pausini for never having abandoned her brand of "Italian pop of always" despite her classification as a "Latin music" artist. Alluding to Pausini's "Italian–ness," Randy Cordova for The Arizona Republic concurred, "She doesn't pander to the crowd with Latin guitars, reggaeton remixes or Cuban percussion. [Her music] is all very organic." This acknowledgement moved Pausini to honor Italy by recording a cover album of Italian "classics". Pausini also wished to export underappreciated Italian music to the world as a consequence of her multilingualism furthermore the album has sold 2 million copies worldwide.

The song "Come il sole all'improvviso" and its Spanish counterpart version have lyrics in French language.

Personnel

 * Vinnie Colaiuta: drums on tracks 1, 4, 5, 6, 10, 13, 15, 16
 * Michael Landau, Tim Pierce: guitars
 * Max Costa: programming

Chart performance
The first single "Io canto" debuted at No. 3 on the Italian chart at the beginning of November, and it peaked at No. 1 in the week before Christmas. It has spent a total of 4 weeks at the top spot. The album debuted at No. 1 in the Italian chart with 270,000 copies shipped in the first week. At the end of 2006 it became the Italian's best-selling album of the year, selling over 500,000 copies. It has spent a total of 8 weeks at No. 1. As of October 2008 the album sold over 2 million copies worldwide.

Tour
Pausini chose not to do a tour to promote Io canto. Instead, she opted for a single concert in Milan, in the Stadio San Siro, making history as the first female artist to play a gig in this venue. The sold-out concert happened on 2 June 2007. Approximately 70,000 fans attended in the incessant rain. Tiziano Ferro appeared for a duet. The two and a half-hour concert has been released on DVD in December 2007.