A concert with Stacy Francis, Arisa, Il Volo and Paul Sorvino on Rai TV in Italy

A Christmas concert with Stacy Francis, Arisa, Il Volo, and Paul Sorvino

As Christmas approaches, I want to share with you a milestone in my career. What I am about to tell you sounds like a dream but it’s not. Would you like me to tell you more about it?

Imagine singing in front of the most important Italian politicians and ecclesiastical clergy. And imagine doing it with international top artists. That’s what happened to me. But let me roll back. You see that symbol on the top right? that is RAI 1 , one of the major channels in Italy (more on that later).

I was minding my business

It’s true! I was minding my business and I got a call from a famous Italian movie producer in Hollywood. He was busy producing a concert in Italy and wanted me to come to sing Petit Papa Noel. In my ignorance, I thought this was an Italian song.

I immediately searched for this song online. I googled and found someone to teach me the song right away! I insisted that she meet with me because I had no time. An Italian tutor, but when I arrived at her home she abruptly informed me that the song was in French!

Well, I had no time to learn it, so I went to Youtube and wrote the song down phonetically.

What did it sound like to me?

In case you need more clarity on what that means here it is:

Petit Papa Noel

Quand tu descendras du ciel,
“Quan du DES DRAS a gai DU SEAL… my version (what I wrote down)…”

Avec des jouets par milliers,
“Avay Dway pa may… (still) my version”

N’oublie pas mon petit soulier.
“Nu blue pa mone potee SUEyay.. my version.”

And my version will go into the teleprompter in front of me on the floor! Watch the video and see me looking down! This is behind the scenes drama that the millions of people watching had no idea was occurring! Good lord.

Traveling to Rome to sing can be so exciting and nerve wrecking! I got the call on a Tuesday to get on a plane on Thursday for a show Saturday!

It all happened very fast. In my excitement I neglected to ask the producer what I should pack to wear! I kept texting him to ask but I think he was busy with production. So I packed this really cute black dress. Super sexy with some great high heels to match!

I arrived in Rome and I made a very stressful discovery

As I arrived to Rome there was a chauffeur who awaited my arrival in beautiful black Mercedes chariot. I still had no idea where I was going. And I had never been to Rome. I learned upon landing however that I needed to travel 2 hours in a car to a village called Assisi. This village is especially important to the Catholic religion. It was the birthplace of Saint Francis of Assisi, who was a Catholic saint. Saint Francis is most famous because he founded the Franciscan religious order in the year 1208.

Stacy Francis what are you doing here with your sexy dresses??? Here I am in another church like I was still a young girl in the choir, that’s what i thought immediately.

When I arrived to the hotel even the room had a picture of a The Saint on the wall. I was on holy grounds. The next morning I was taken to the venue and found that I was at one of the largest Catholic Churches in Europe!  And that I would be singing as a opening for the Pope!

On one of the largest networks on Italian Television RAI 1 which is comparable to major networks like CBS, NBC and ABC in America. 

Omg! But I had not packed the right dress! And Assisi is literally a village filled with shops that sell only Crucifixes and religious artifacts! I was in trouble. The show was the following day and I had soundcheck and songs to learn! I was to also perform with other famous artist. Il Volo a very popular italian trio. Arisa a solo artist from Italy and the famous actor Paul Sorvino from the movie Goodfellas and tv show Law and Order.

This was an epic production with a massive orchestra and choir!

And I had a mini dress in my arsenal. I was mortified! What was I to do? As I stood in the mirror in my hotel room I thought “pretty legs… but damn! Do I have a scarf or something to hide all of this!?”

Well, see the video to see my solution!

It was quite the adventure. And quite an honor to sing for such a special holiday and prestigious audience. I had to share this with you and I hope I could make you laugh with my story! And inspire you with my songs!

See all the videos here in this playlist

One of the songs War is Over (Happy Xmas is the title) has a very powerful message that I absolutely share by John Lennon. Just think, there are still people at war and this is a shame so when we say merry Christmas to each other this season let’s not forget those who need to be uplifted and inspired.

Happy Christmas
Stacy