Two-and-a-half years after recording his debut full-length album at the famed Abbey Road Studios in London, England, Sudbury native Joey Niceforo finally dropped his album April 13.
Thanks to a generous financial backer, Niceforo was able to record the album, Priceless, in the fall of 2015 at Abbey Road Studios with an 80-piece orchestra and a renowned production team.
That team included Juno winner Sam Reid of Glass Tiger, Grammy winners Steve Sidwell (who's worked on Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, John Jones (whose clients include Celine Dion) and the late Steve Price (who worked with Adele and Sam Smith).
Even with that help, Niceforo said he actually did a lot of the work on the album himself, which is why it took so long.
Niceforo decided to name his album Priceless as a tribute to Price, who passed away in 2017. He said the whole experience of recording in a famous studio with an orchestra also really was priceless.
Priceless features song selections chosen by Niceforo, including tracks by artists such as Abba, Tom Waits and Sir Elton John.
He said they're mostly covers, but obscure ones. Niceforo is a classically-trained opera singer who has since mostly moved away from that genre, and has coined his style “new classic.”
Prior to releasing the full album, Niceforo put out three singles. That includes Abba's “The Winner Takes it All.” Since February, the video received 260,000 views on Facebook and about 81,000 views on YouTube.
“It kind of went a little viral,” Niceforo said.
The singer said he's been busy lately doing national media interviews ahead of the album's release — so he's not just getting attention in his hometown.
Niceforo has already had a lengthy and distinguished career as a performer, said a press release.
In 2005, he made his professional debut as a member of the Canadian Tenors. In 2006, he founded classical crossover act, Destino, which toured worldwide and performed at the2008 Beijing and 2010 Vancouver Olympics as well as at Carnegie Hall.
Niceforo also toured widely throughout North America, Italy and the Czech Republic, was featured on NBC performing the American National Anthem during NYC’s Columbus Day parade in New York and, on CBC’s 2017 Canada Day broadcast, singing ‘Oh Canada’ in Italian.
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.
While the album dropped April 13, Niceforo said he's still planning his CD release parties — he's planning to do one here in Sudbury in May. So watch for details of that in the weeks to come.
If you'd like to purchase “Priceless,” it's available via iTunes and Spotify. Learn more on Niceforo's website.
