Miami – Accompanied by applause and standing ovations, Andrea Bocelli was in Miami yesterday to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Billboard Latin Music Awards, the event entirely dedicated to Latin music. The Italian tenor, in his 22-year long career, has performed for US Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, in front of Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, for the British royal family, at the Olympics, at the Football World Cup, and at Central Park in New York in front of over 70.000 people; he is now Ambassador of Italian music, while his music has sold over 80 million albums worldwide. Celine Dion wanted to congratulate the tenor by getting the monthly magazine Billboard to print a special dedication, which reads “Dear Andrea, congratulations for this award. You are such an amazing artist, and I am truly grateful that you chose to share with me your incredible talent. I wish you a timeless success.” (9Colonne)