Ti Amo

"Ti amo" (; Italian for "I love you") is a 1977 song recorded by Italian singer Umberto Tozzi from the album ''È nell'aria...ti amo''. It achieved success at the time, becoming a hit in many European countries, including Sweden and Switzerland where it topped the charts. A Spanish version was released as "Te Amo", and had a good success in Spain and Latin America. Within the German-speaking countries a German version by Howard Carpendale also received a great success in 1977, peaking at number two in Germany and number ten in Austria.

A duet version of the song featuring Monica Bellucci was used for the 2002 film '' Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra'', and the English versions "I Love You (Ti Amo)" and "You and I (Ti Amo)" were also released. In 2002, the song was overdubbed as duet with singer Lena Ka under the title "Ti amo (rien que des mots)", with Italian and French lyrics. This version was a success in France and Belgium (Wallonia), reaching the top three. At the time, the original version was re-released and achieved a moderate success in France. As of August 2014, it is the 52nd best-selling single of the 21st century in France, with 393,000 units sold. A French version of this song was recorded by Dalida in 1977. An English version was also recorded by Laura Branigan in 1984, which, most notably, was a hit in Australia (reaching No. 2). In 2011, Sergio Dalma took a Spanish-language version of the song to the Top 10 in Spain. In 2017, to celebrate the 40 year anniversary of the song, Tozzi released an Italian-English version and music video featuring Anastacia.

Background

Ti amo was written by Tozzi and Giancarlo Bigazzi and produced by Bigazzi. It is about a blue-collar worker whose job has taken him away from his home and his wife. As he is about to return for Labor Day (May 1), he says goodbye to his lover, confessing that he is torn between her and his wife. Reunited with his wife, he realized how much he has missed her and asks her to forgive him his infidelity.

Track listings

* 1977 version
; 7" single
# "Ti amo" – 4:07
# "Dimentica, dimentica" – 4:10
; Spain 7" single
# "Te amo" (Bigazzi/Tozzi/Spanish lyrics by Carlos Toro & Oscar Gómez) – 4:06
# "Olvidate olvidate" – 4:15

*1978 version
; UK 7" single
# "I Love You (Ti Amo)" (Bigazzi/Tozzi/English lyrics by Fred Jay) – 3:59
# "Dimentica, Dimentica" – 4:10
; UK 7" single
# "Ti Amo" (Italian version) – 4:08
# "Ti Amo" (English version) (Bigazzi/Tozzi/English lyrics by Fred Jay) – 4:08

*1995 version
; German CD single
#"You and I (Ti Amo)" (Bigazzi/Tozzi/English lyrics by Betsy Cook) – 4:15
#"Ti Amo" – 4:12
#"Donna Amante Mia" – 4:55

* 2002 version
; France CD single
# "Ti amo (Rien que des mots)" (Bigazzi/Tozzi/French lyrics by Bruno Berrebi) – 3:56
# "Ti amo" – 4:05

* 2017 version
; Digital single
# "Ti amo" (Bigazzi/Tozzi/English lyrics by Diane Warren) – 4:36

Charts

Original version

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Duet version

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Laura Branigan version

In 1984, American singer Laura Branigan covered "Ti Amo" for her third studio album, ''Self Control'', with English lyrics written by Diane Warren. Her version was released as the album's third single, and was particularly successful in Australia and Canada, where it reached numbers two and five, respectively. Branigan would later perform her version of "Ti Amo" with Umberto Tozzi for a live Italian television show where Umberto played guitar.

Track listings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Sergio Dalma version

In 2011, popular Spanish singer Sergio Dalma included a version of the song on '' Via Dalma II,'' his second collection of Italian songs performed in Spanish. Issued as the second single from the disc, "Te Amo" rose to No. 10 on the official chart released by Productores de Música de España and spent 14 weeks on the chart. The iTunes edition of the single featured a duet version with Argentine-Spanish singer Chenoa as well as the original album version. The single was promoted with a black-and-white video clip in which Dalma performs the song dressed in a suit while interacting with an actress.

The song's parent album spent five weeks at No. 1 in Spain, achieving quadruple platinum status after spending 49 weeks on the chart.

Charts

Weekly charts

References

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1977 singles
1977 songs
1984 singles
2002 singles
Songs in Italian
Laura Branigan songs
Macaronic songs
Male–female vocal duets
Number-one singles in France
Number-one singles in Greece
Number-one singles in Italy
Number-one singles in Sweden
Number-one singles in Switzerland
Umberto Tozzi songs
Songs written by Giancarlo Bigazzi
Songs written by Umberto Tozzi