“Sugar” may be a little bit too sweet of a nickname for a rock musician, but with his two-hour concert in Sofia on May 4, the Italian Zucchero (the Italian for sugar) proved that he was far from being a mawkish singer.

It all began ever so seriously, without any opening words, just Zucchero sitting in his throne (yes, the one you’ve seen in the videos), singing. Yet minutes later, hall 1 of NDK (National Palace of Culture) had turned into a dance floor. The first chords of Baila Morena were enough to make everyone stand up and dance. The thick, distinctive voice of the Italian filled up the hall, which was paying tit for tat with a storm of applauses.

By the end of the evening, Zucchero himself was dancing on the stage, showing some special moves to the crowd.

The fans heard some of his greatest hits like Senza Una Donna, Il Volo and Everybody's Got to Learn Sometimes, as well as some of his songs from the 2006 album Fly. A special tribute to the late Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti was seen in the performance of Miserere, which Zucchero used to sing with the tenor. A recording of the tenor’s unforgettable voice emanated through the hall causing thrills to everyone present.

Zucchero’s professionalism and perfect sound let no one down, not even the few skeptics among the journalists, who left the hall nicely surprised and satisfied from the show.

The concert was part of Zucchero’s All the Best World Tour 2008, promoting his most recent album All the Best  (2007), which has already reached diamond status and has been released in Bulgaria.