Despite his world-renowned fame, this is only Andrea’s second-ever Oscars appearance, following his 1999 performance of The Prayer alongside Celine Dion.
Fans swooned over the “beautiful” performance, taking to social media to share their surprise as one viewer at home wrote on X: “Great father great son, fabulous moment.”
Others claimed the moment caused “instant tears” while many applauded the blind 65-year-old for his “captivating” stage presence.
The annual In Memoriam segment pays tribute to stars both in front and behind the camera who have died in the last year.
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Some somber additions to this year’s memoriam list included Friends star Matthew Perry, Peewee Herman’s Paul Reubens and Richard Lewis who passed barely two weeks ago.
After the performance, Matteo told A Frame that the song is “the national anthem of my family” and the “theme song” of his childhood.
He added that tonight marked a “professional milestone” as well, praising the opportunity to sing alongside his father on the Oscars stage as “a dream come true”.
Earlier on the red carpet, the Italian tenor spoke to ABC7 admitting the thing he looks forward to most at these events is the music, adding: “Music is my life.”
Andrea explained how music can change people’s lives and help heal souls but quickly added a caveat, saying it had to be “good music, otherwise…”
When asked why he simply had to be at this year’s ceremony, a small grin played across the singer’s lips as he couldn’t reveal his real purpose just yet.
Instead, he explained that he understands the “American people love me,” and that adoration from his fans was the “most important thing to me”.
