Il Divo
Il Divo, Italian for "divine male performer", is an international operatic pop vocal group under the Sony BMG music label. Il Divo is formed by singers Carlos Marín, Urs Bühler, David Miller, and Sébastien Izambard.
History
The idea behind Il Divo's creation came to Simon Cowell after listening to Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman's rendition of Con Te Partirò. He realized his appreciation for lyrical voices and classical music, and decided to form a multinational quartet (Spain, Switzerland, France, and United States) that sounded like The Three Tenors and looked like Armani models.
With this idea, Cowell commenced a worldwide search for young singers who were willing to embark on the Il Divo project. His search lasted two years, from 2001 until December 2003, when the fourth member of Il Divo, American tenor David Miller, was signed. The well-established formation of Il Divo comprises a renowned Spanish opera and zarzuela baritone, Carlos Marín, two classically trained tenors, Swiss Urs Bühler and American David Miller, and a French pop singer, Sébastien Izambard. Recording of their first album started in the first half of 2004 in Sweden.
The group's debut album, the self-titled Il Divo, contains renditions of Toni Braxton's hit "Unbreak My Heart" (Regresa A Mi), Frank Sinatra's hit "My Way" (A Mi Manera), an adaptation of Ennio Morricone's soundtrack titled "Gabriel's Oboe" from the movie La Misión titled "Nella Fantasia" and 1994's San Remo Festival winner "Passerà". Il Divo sings in English, Italian, Spanish, French, and Latin.
Il Divo hit the #1 slot on both Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com after a breakout career-defining appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show on April 5, 2005, where the quartet performed its interpretation of "Unbreak My Heart".
In the United Kingdom, the Il Divo album topped Robbie Williams as number 1 in the UK charts (allegedly Williams said to them during the Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason film premiere, "Oi, you're the bastards that knocked me off!"). This multiplatinum-selling CD became number one in the charts in a total of 13 countries around the world, and achieved top 5 placing in 25 countries.
Il Divo's second album, Ancora, was recorded in both Sweden and London with world-renowned recording giants Per Magnusson and David Kreuger and producer Steve Mac, who was also the producer of their first album. Released on November 7, 2005 in the UK, it hit number one both in the UK and Australia within one week. Ancora was released in the US on January 24, 2006. It entered the Billboard albums chart at number 1, selling more than 150,000 copies during its first week of sales.
Highlights on Ancora include "Isabel", "I Believe In You" (Je Crois En Toi), a duet with Céline Dion, a Spanish version of Secret Garden's "You Raise Me Up"(Por Ti Seré), and Il Divo's cover of Eric Carmen's "All By Myself". Two of the tracks on the UK and Australia release of this CD, "O Holy Night" and "Ave Maria", appear on the 2005 US-only release, The Christmas Collection.
R&B singer Toni Braxton and Il Divo will be the perfomers of the 2006 FIFA World Cup official song "Time of Our Lives". [1] [2]
Discography
Il Divo (2004)
| Country | Status | Chart Position |
| UK | Quadruple Platinum | #1 |
| Canada | Triple Platinum | #1 |
| Netherlands | Triple Platinum | |
| USA | Double Platinum | |
| Australia | Double Platinum | #1 |
| Portugal | Double Platinum | |
| New Zealand | Double Platinum | |
| Mexico | Double Platinum | #1 |
| Sweden | Platinum | #1 |
| Argentina | Platinum | |
| Belgium | Platinum | |
| South Africa | Platinum | |
| Finland | Platinum | |
| France | Gold | #4 |
| Switzerland | Gold | #2 |
| Venezuela | Gold |
Ancora (2005)
| Country | Status | Chart Position |
| Australia | Triple Platinum | #1 |
| Spain | Triple Platinum | #1 |
| Portugal | Double Platinum | #1 |
| Finland | Platinum | |
| South Africa | Platinum | |
| USA | Gold | #1 |
| UK | #1 | |
| Canada | #1 | |
| Finland | #1 | |
| Hong Kong | #1 | |
| Taiwan | #1 | |
| New Zealand | #1 | |
| Colombia | #1 | |
| Slovenia | #1 |
The Christmas Collection (2005)
| Country | Status | Chart Position |
| USA | Gold |
Voices (2006)
Music Videos
- "Regresa A Mi", filmed in Slovenia in 2004.
- "Mama", 2005.
- "Encore", a live concert recorded at the Teatro Clásico in Mérida, Spain, 2005.
- "Time of Our Lives", with Toni Braxton for The FIFA World Cup, 2006. The song is written by swedish songwriter Jörgen Elofsson.
Books
Romancing The World (2005)
Rossi, Allegra. Romancing The World. Orion, 2005. ISBN 0752875191.