Gli ostacoli del cuore

"Gli ostacoli del cuore"
Single by Elisa and Ligabue
from the album Soundtrack '96-'06 and Caterpillar
Released	20 October 20, 2006
Genre	Pop rock
Length	4:30
Label	Sugar
Songwriter(s)	Ligabue
Producer(s)	Corrado Rustici
Elisa singles chronology
"Teach Me Again" (2006) "Gli ostacoli del cuore" (2006) "Eppure sentire (Un senso di te)" (2007)
Ligabue singles chronology
"Sono qui per l'amore" (2006) "Gli ostacoli del cuore" (2006) "Niente Paura" (2007)

"Gli ostacoli del cuore" (en: The Obstacles of Heart) is a song by the Italian singers Elisa and Ligabue, released as single on October 20, 2006. The single is included in Elisa's first greatest hits album Soundtrack '96-'06. Released as the album's lead single, the song was written by Ligabue and produced by Corrado Rustici.

The song also appears on the album Caterpillar, released in September 2007. In the Caterpillar version, the song is sung without Ligabue.

The song debuted at number one on the Italian Singles Chart, spending seven consecutive weeks at number one.[1] It became Elisa's second song to peak at number one in 2006 after "Teach Me Again", as well as the fourth of her career, and Ligabue's eighth.

Background and composition

"Gli ostacoli del cuore" is the first original song featured on an Elisa album of which the artist is the only interpreter. Indeed, the song was written by Luciano Ligabue, with arrangements by Elisa and Corrado Rustici, who also produced the song.[2] During the same recording session the two artists recorded the song "Volente o nolente", published only in 2020.[3] Ligabue told about the meaning of the song and the creative process that led to its creation:[4]

"I was playing guitar, and at one point a melody came out of me that was immediately aligned with a set of words that I felt were particularly feminine in relation to the way I write. I wrote the song in one afternoon and immediately felt like hearing Elisa sing it. I called her, did something I had never done before and kind of groped her to say look, I have a song that I think has to do with you, I would like to let you hear it"

— Ligabue about the writing process

In an interview with TV Sorrisi e Canzoni in 2020, Ligabue said that the collaboration with Elisa was the only one that took place at the artist's direct request during his career:[5]

"I never proposed myself to anyone. The only person I asked was Elisa: I had written The Obstacles of the Heart and I thought she should sing it. The other interpretations of my songs came from managers talking to each other and maybe fancying up the possibility of me giving a piece to someone else."

— Liguabue about his artistic reletionship with Elisa

Critics reviews

"Gli ostacoli del cuore" was received positively by specialized critics, being considered among the best records of the singers' careers.[6]

Panorama placed the song at number one on its list of the "100 Most Beautiful Italian Songs of the 21st Century", making the two singers the only ones to have two songs among the top 10, thanks to Elisa's "Luce (Tramonti a nord est)" at tenth position and Ligabue's "Le donne lo sanno" at eighth one.[7]

Commercial performance

The song debuted at number one of the Italian Singles Chart, becoming Elisa's second song to peak at number one in 2006 after "Teach Me Again", as well as the fourth of her career, and Ligabue eighth. It spent sixth consecutive weeks at number one between November 23, 2006 to January 5, 2007.[1]

The song was the eighth-best-selling song in Italy in 2006. In 2018 it was certified platinum by Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana, counting sales since 2009.[8]

Music video

The "Gli ostacoli del cuore" music video was directed by Ligabue.

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2006)	Peak position
Italy (FIMI)[9]	1

Year-end charts

Chart (2006)	Position
Italy (FIMI)[10]	8

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Italy (FIMI)[11] since 2009	Platinum	50,000^‡
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Classifica settimanale WK 1 (dal 29.12.2006 al 04.01.2007)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Archived from the original on 18 March 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
2. Vitiello, Ciro (20 October 2006). "Elisa, magico duetto con Ligabue nel brano "Gli ostacoli del cuore" - Il Piccolo". Il Piccolo (in Italian). Archived from the original on 25 June 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
3. "Ligabue ed Elisa, Volente o Nolente: il testo della nuova canzone". Sky TG24 (in Italian). 20 November 2023. Archived from the original on 25 June 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
4. "8 marzo: otto donne cantate da Ligabue". Rockol (in Italian). 8 March 2023. Archived from the original on 25 June 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
5. Gradi, Stefano (30 June 2020). "Ligabue, 30 anni (più due) di rock a modo suo". TV Sorrisi e Canzoni (in Italian). Archived from the original on 25 June 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
6. "Le 10 canzoni più famose di Elisa". Sky TG24 (in Italian). 28 February 2020. Archived from the original on 22 June 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
7. "Le 100 canzoni italiane più belle del ventunesimo secolo". Panorama (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2 November 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
8. "Certificazioni Fimi: Biondo e Carl Brave raggiungono il disco d'oro negli album. Tra i singoli certificati "Amore e capoeira"". All Music Italia (in Italian). 9 July 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
9. "Classifica settimanale WK 47 (dal 17.11.2006 al 23.11.2006)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Archived from the original on 18 March 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
10. "Classifica annuale 2006" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Archived from the original on 18 March 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
11. "Italian single certifications – Elisa – Gli ostacoli del cuore" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 2 November 2023. Select "2019" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Type "Gli ostacoli del cuore" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".