Michael Amante - Tell Her I Love Her (2003)

It seems as if Michael Amante was custom built for crossover success. He's fully equipped with good looks, loads of charm and charisma, and a powerhouse tenor voice. Amante works from the Mario Lanza school of singing--a heart-on-the-sleeve approach to a wide-ranging repertoire of operatic favorites, traditional Italian songs, romantic ballads, and show-stopping anthems.

While his debut release focused primarily on familiar arias, TELL HER I LOVE HER finds the singer on the pop side of the fence. He offers an assortment of love songs, power ballads, and Neapolitan tunes, belting out numbers that are right in his comfort zone, such as "Till," "Delilah," and "Be My Love." Amante also throws in some surprises with renditions of Roy Orbison's "Crying" and "Young Girl," the old Gary Puckett hit. Phil Ramone's expert production provides the perfect setting for the singer to display his exuberant, crowd-pleasing style. Aficionados of old-world Italianate singing will find much to enjoy here.