Eros Ramazzotti

Cool, calm and collected

Anyone would think that with 35 million albums sold, the singer-songwriter behind hits such as “La Cosa Más Bella” (The Most Beautiful Thing) and “Música Es” (Music Is) can finally call it quits and dedicate himself to his other loves: his daughter and soccer. But at age 42, Eros Ramazzotti ain’t even thinking about taking a break. Not only did he finish writing 13 new tracks for his 10th CD, Calma Aparente (Apparent Calmness), but the guy even recorded it twice — once in Italian and once in Spanish! And if that wasn’t enough, he’s made time to promote his CD in Latin America while on tour in Europe.

“It almost looks like there’s no time left to relax,” he says with the help of an interpreter, “but it’s not like that at all. My life has changed a lot and now I think twice before I schedule a tour that’s gonna take me away from home for an extended period of time, ’cause I have other responsibilities to take care of, you know.”

His 8-year-old daughter Aurora is one such responsibility. He dedicates a great deal of his time to daddy’s little girl. “It’s important for me to be a father who’s there for his child,” he says. “I love to surprise her at school every time I can; I pick her up from school myself just like any other dad.” Or maybe just a tad bit more, because while other dads may neglect their children when they are faced with marital problems, Ramazzotti has always been a father who is very involved in the rearing of his daughter. He even went to court to demand full custody of Aurora, alleging that he’s worried about the eccentric friends of his ex-wife (model Michelle Hunziker). Since the litigation is in full swing, he doesn’t go into too much detail. He only suggests that his fans pay attention to his lyrics if they really want to know him better. “My albums are like autobiographies. The same way a painter expresses his feelings through forms and colors, I do through music. It’s hard for me to express my deepest feelings, so that’s why I write poems and add music to ’em. I express myself better that way.”

“I almost always write about what I’m going through as I prepare an album. In the one before this one, I was going through a divorce, so that’s why lots of those songs are about break-ups and goodbyes. That’s what I was feeling back then. On this record I also talk about some of things that I’m going through, but not on every single track. For example, on some songs I talk about what’s going on in this world we live in, where everything may appear okay on the surface, but if you dig deeper and pay close attention you’ll discover that the world in general is in pretty bad shape, and there’s not much we can do about it.”

But as Ramazzotti attempts to change the subject and talk about broader themes, one can’t help but notice that the first single, “Calma Aparente,” talks about how he hopes the feeling of melancholy will disappear and wanting the sun to appear after the storm… for two. “My heart is alone right now, but calm,” he says, jealous of its intimacy.

Even though he swore he was single, two days after this interview a paparazzo snapped a shot of him kissing a beautiful young woman. Judging by the looks of the photo, where he appears to be very romantic at the edge of a pool in the hotel he was staying at in Miami, the calm is apparent… What’s more, those photos indicate that that calm is filling all his heart. Hopefully, that’s the case!