Two of Italy’s greats have come together to celebrate Italian culture in the best way possible: coffee company illy has partnered up with world-renowned Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli on its latest North American advertising campaign. Using Bocelli and his career as inspiration, the illy campaign celebrates that creating something unique, like Bocelli’s voice and (naturally) illy coffee, espresso, and machines, requires a never-ending commitment to perfection, hence the brand’s slogan, LIVE HAPPilly.

We chatted with the music legend, who begins a state-wide tour on June 16 in San Jose, Calif. that ends on Dec. 15 in Boston,  on his greatest achievements, how he embodies the illy ideal of living happily and what the world needs to realize about the Italian culture.