Francesca Battistelli Performs With Andrea Bocelli For Worldwide TV Christmas Special

GRAMMY® Award winning artist Francesca Battistelli will appear on the holiday special, "Andrea Bocelli: The Heart of Christmas," which is set to air on TBN December 20 at 8/7pm CT. The holiday program will feature Battistelli singing a duet with the world-renowned classical music icon, along with a duet between Bocelli and his son, Matteo, select Christmas songs and more. "Andrea Bocelli: The Heart of Christmas" was filmed in Bocelli's hometown, Lajatico, in the Italian region Tuscany.  "It was the deepest honor to be given the opportunity to sing alongside such an iconic artist," exclaims Battistelli. "It was truly a dream come true to perform with Andrea Bocelli and in his home country. This was an experience I will certainly never, ever forget!"

TBN's foreign partners in Italy, UK, Canada, Germany, Central America, South America and other regions around the world will air the special on the 20th as well. "Andrea Bocelli: The Heart of Christmas," will also re-air on December 24."It's been an absolute joy to welcome TBN viewers into the little church in my beloved birthplace, Lajatico-the exact spot where I discovered, as a child, the power of music as an instrument of prayer," said Bocelli. 

About Francesca Battistelli: Battistelli, who was named Artist on the Rise from YouTube Music this year, released her latest project, Own It, on October 26 (Curb | Word). With critics touting the album as "exceptional" and "engaging," it has already been chosen by NewReleaseToday.com as the top album of the year. Own It is the follow-up to her GRAMMY®-nominated album, If We're Honest, which features the GRAMMY-winning song, "Holy Spirit." Battistelli co-wrote nine of the ten songs on Own It, with such songwriters as Matt Maher, Bart Millard of MercyMe, David Garcia, Mia Fieldes, Jeff Pardo, Molly Reed, Ellie Holcomb, Seth Mosley and Josh Bronleewe. The video to the album's first single, "The Breakup Song," exclusively debuted on Apple Music.

Battistelli began writing and performing original songs at age 15. A childhood immersed in art, music, dance and theatre prepared her for a future career on the stage. Since her 2008 Gold-certified debut, My Paper Heart, Battistelli has propelled three consecutive studio projects to the top of Billboard's Christian Albums chart and notched seven No. 1 radio singles, including multi-format, 15-week chart-topper "Holy Spirit." The wife and mother of four has appeared on "Good Morning America" and "FOX & Friends" and has seen her music placed in a variety of high-profile films and television networks, such as ABC, NBC, FOX, TLC, MTV, Lifetime, TriStar Pictures' "Soul Surfer," Columbia Pictures' trailer for "Julie and Julia," and she also had a role in the film "Woodlawn."

In addition to one GRAMMY® win and four career GRAMMY nominations, Battistelli has garnered a Billboard Music Award nod, two K-LOVE Fan Awards, six Dove Awards, including being named the Gospel Music Association's Artist of the Year, a Gold album and two Gold certified singles. With total on-demand streams exceeding 228 million, YouTube views of 50 million, and total equivalent albums of two million, this singer/songwriter continues to be one of the strongest voices in Christian music.For the latest information, please visit FrancescaMusic.com and her social links below.