"Benvenuto" / "Bienvenido" (''Welcome'') is a song recorded by Italian singer

Laura Pausini Laura Pausini (; born 16 May 1974) is an Italian singer. She rose to fame in 1993, winning the newcomer artists' section of the 43rd Sanremo Music Festival with her debut single "La solitudine", which became an Italian standard and an internat ...

for her studio album ''

Inedito ''Inedito'' (English: ''All New'' or ''Unpublished'') is the eleventh studio album by Italian singer Laura Pausini, released by Atlantic Records in November 2011. This is Pausini's comeback album, after two years of silence. The name of the a ...

''. The song, produced by Paolo Carta, was written by Laura Pausini, Niccolò Agliardi and Paolo Carta. On 12 September 2011, it was released to mainstream radios and it became digitally available as the lead single of the album. It debuted at number one on the

Italian Singles Chart The Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI) is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy. It was established in 1992, when major corporate labels left the previously exist ...

and it was later certified platinum by the

Federation of the Italian Music Industry The Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI) is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy. It was established in 1992, when major corporate labels left the previously exist ...

. The song was also recorded in a Spanish-language version, titled "Bienvenido" and released as the first single from the Spanish-language version of the album, ''Inédito''. The music video for this version of the song received a nomination for Video of the Year at the

Premio Lo Nuestro 2012 Premio Lo Nuestro 2012 was held on Thursday February 16, 2012 at the American Airlines Arena and was broadcast live on the Univision Network. The nominees were announced on December 1, 2011, during a live televised show "Gala de Nominados", hosted ...

, held on 16 February 2012.

Release

Laura Pausini revealed the title and the artwork of the single through her official website on 11 August 2011. On 10 September 2011, the lyrics of the song were released, together with a preview of the song. The full version of the song was published on Pausini's website on 11 September 2011. On 12 September 2011, the song was worldwide released as a digital single and it was first aired by Italian mainstream radios. In Italy, the single was also released in its Spanish-language version. During an interview following the release of the album ''

'', Pausini revealed that "

Non ho mai smesso "Non ho mai smesso" (English: ''I never abandoned'') is a song recorded by Italian singer Laura Pausini for her studio album ''Inedito''. The song, produced by Paolo Carta and Laura Pausini, was written by Laura Pausini and Niccolò Agliardi. It ...

" was chosen by her label as the first single from the album, but she personally decided to release "Benvenuto" as the lead track from ''Inedito'', explaining that she wanted to release a more optimistic and less melancholic song. "Non ho mai smesso" was later released as the second single from the album.

Composition

Song structure

Each verse of the song is followed with the chorus, giving the track a simple and traditional structure. Together with the immediacy of its lyrics, this transformed "Benvenuto" in a radio-friendly song, in the style of some of the latest Pausini's hits. The arrangement of the song is characterized by a

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

-based incipit, followed by

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

and then by Laura's voice. After the release of the single, some fans claimed that the intro was plagiarised from

Frida Lyngstad Princess Anni-Frid Synni Reuss, Countess of Plauen (born Anni-Frid Synni Lyngstad on 15 November 1945), also known by her nickname "Frida", is a Norwegian-born Swedish singer, songwriter and environmentalist, who is best known as one of the foun ...

's 1982 song "

I Know There's Something Going On "I Know There's Something Going On" is a song recorded in 1982 by ABBA singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad (Frida). It was the lead single from her solo album ''Something's Going On''. The song was a hit around the world during 1982 and 1983. Song history ...

". However, Pausini later explained that, despite not being a sample, the intro of "Benvenuto" is an explicit tribute to

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...

, who produced Frida's single and played the drums in it.

"I heard that he hil Collinswas going to retire from making music while I was with him for a concert in Geneva, so, together with my staff, during the same night we decided to pay a tribute to him with this drum-based intro."

According to

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

's Jon O'Brien, "Benvenuto" is "one of the most anthemic tracks she's put her name to thanks to its clattering drums and soaring melodic chorus".

Lyrical theme

Containing a few reference to current events, the single is an anthem to the future, written with the aim to inject courage and optimism to the listeners, despite the worldwide economic crisis that began in the late 2000s. The track is dedicated to the most authentic things and people, and wants to encourage them not to be afraid of being themselves. Some lines of the song also refer to Pausini's private life.

Music video

The music video for "Benvenuto", directed by Gaetano Morbioli, was released on 27 September 2011. It was filmed in the Arena Park in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

during late July 2011, and the shooting of the video was interrupted by paparazzi. The music video was released on September 28, 2011 on

Warner Music Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

account. Pausini, who plays the main character of the video, wears hippy-style clothes by

Roberto Cavalli Roberto Cavalli (; born 15 November 1940) is an Italian fashion designer and inventor. He is known for exotic prints and for creating the sand-blasted look for jeans. The high-end Italian fashion house Roberto Cavalli sells luxury clothing, perfu ...

. Gaetano Morbioli declared about the video:

"We reconstructed a situation that somehow evokes the big gatherings of a few years ago, a sort of modern-day
Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...
. The music video shows a journey to a magic place, in which a unique concert will be staged."

Commercial performance

The song debuted at number one on the Italian official Top Digital Download Chart. The following week, the single dropped at number 6. It later completed a nine non-consecutive weeks chart run on the Italian top-10, receiving the platinum certification by the

for domestic downloads exceeding 30,000 unit. On 18 September 2011, the single also debuted at number 21 on the

Spanish Singles Chart Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

, and the following week it rose and peaked at number 15. After the release of the album, the song entered the

Swiss Singles Chart The Swiss Hitparade (german: link=no, Schweizer Hitparade) is Switzerland's main Record chart, music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland. The Swiss charts include: * ...

, where it peaked at number 49, and the US

Latin Pop Airplay Latin Pop Airplay (also referred to as Latin Pop Songs) is a record chart published on ''Billboard'' magazine and a subchart of the Latin Airplay chart. The chart focuses on Latin pop music, namely Spanish-language pop music. It was established b ...

chart, peaking at number 15.

Charts

Personnel

;Music credits * Niccolò Agliardi –

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

, composer * Prisca Amori – orchestra leader * B.I.M. Orchestra – orchestra * Paolo Carta –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

s, programming, composer, arrangements, orchestra conductor, backing vocals *

Nathan East Nathan Harrell East (born December 8, 1955) is an American jazz, R&B, and rock bass player and vocalist. With more than 2,000 recordings, East is one of the most recorded bass players in the history of music. East holds a Bachelor of Arts degr ...

– bass *

Steve Ferrone Steve Ferrone (born 25 April 1950) is an English drummer. He is known as a member of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers from 1994 to 2017, replacing original drummer Stan Lynch, and as part of the "classic lineup" of the Average Whi ...

–

s * Marzia Gonzo – backing vocals *

– vocals, composer, backing vocals * Rosaria Sindona – backing vocals * Giuseppe Tortora – contractor * Bruno Zucchetti –

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

;Production credits * Riccardo Benini – executive producer * Renato Cantele – assistant * Paolo Carta – producer, engineer * Nicola Fantozzi – assistant * Marco Nuzzi – executive producer * Davide Palmiotto – assistant

References

{{authority control Laura Pausini songs Atlantic Records singles Italian-language songs Spanish-language songs Number-one singles in Italy 2011 singles Songs written by Laura Pausini Songs written by Niccolò Agliardi 2011 songs