Andrea Bocelli’s Strictly Come Dancing live performance divides fans

On Sunday’s results show, Italian tenor Bocelli was joined on stage with his 11-year-old daughter Virginia

Andrea Bocelli’s live performance on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing was met with many complaints from fans on social media.

On Sunday’s (12 November) results show, Italian tenor Bocelli was joined on stage with his 11-year-old daughter Virginia, where they performed a rendition of Hallelujah by Canadian singer-songwriter and poet Leonard Cohen.

Paying homage to the artist, BBC Strictly and BBC iPlayer posted a clip from the performance on Instagram with the caption: “A stunning performance of Hallelujah from @andreabocelliofficial and @virginiabocelli lighting up the #Strictly Ballroom.”

But fans did not quite feel the same…

Posting in the comments, one user called his performance “excruciating”, while another said they were simply “disappointed.”

Fans also shared their thoughts on another video posted by the show of Bocelli and his daughter behind the scenes.

“I’m sorry but it sounded awful,” someone commented.

While another said: “I don’t think their voices harmonised that well.”

Amidst a few negative comments, the performance was also met with high praise and positivity - with some calling it “stunning” and “beautiful”.

Some were also excited to see him back on the dance floor. “So nice to see Giovanni back on the dance floor tonight! He genuinely looked happy,” a fan said.

“Gio and Dianne, that was Gorgeous, so beautiful! also gotta say how good it was to see Gio back on the dance floor, missed him!”

Bocelli has previously performed with his daughter at the O2 Arena alongside son Matteo, 26, and the trio released an album, A Family Christmas.

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A Family Christmas became a best seller in the US (Giovanni De Sandre)

The album became a best seller in the United States in 2022 and earlier this year, Bocelli unveiled four brand new holiday recordings plus six bonus tracks on A Family Christmas (Deluxe Edition), which was released on 10 November.

Week 8 of Strictly bid farewell to newsreader Krishnan Guru-Murthy and his professional dance partner Lauren Oakley.

Guru-Murthy and Oakley are at the bottom of the leaderboard (BBC/Guy Levy)

Speaking on Strictly It Takes Two, Guru-Murthy said: “For this one I was in a slightly different frame of mind because I was aware that it might be my last dance and so I wanted to really enjoy it.

“I was us (referring to his dance partner) to enjoy it…so It wasn’t just about performance, I was in a slightly different headspace to normal because I just thought ‘I want to remember this as a last dance if it’s going to be my last dance.”

Week 9 of Strictly Come Dancing continues Saturday 18 November at 6.40pm on BBC One.