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. Aware of this new appreciation for lyrical voices and classical music, he 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 Toni Braxton's hit "Unbreak My Heart" titled "Regresa A Mi."
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.
Having just completed a 6-month World Tour (USA, Australia and Europe) with sold out performances of songs from Il Divo and Ancora, Il Divo have just started another batch of concerts as special guests in the Barbra Streisand North American Tour, which began on October 4, 2006.
The group, which has been honoured in the 2006 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records as the Most Multinational UK No.1 Album Group, performed the 2006 FIFA World Cup official song "Time Of Our Lives" with R&B singer Toni Braxton live at half time during the 9th June kickoff match and again at the 9th July closing ceremony, preceding Shakira. [1] [2] The song is written by Swedish songwriter, Jörgen Elofsson and is available exclusively on Voices.
Il Divo's upcoming third album, "Siempre" (Always in Spanish), will have a total of 11 songs for which they have collaborated with Steve Mac, David Foster, and Per Magnusson in the production. The songs in this album include new arrangements of "Nights In White Satin" (Notte Di Luce, Italian), "Caruso", "Without You" (Desde El Dia Que Te Fuiste, Spanish), "You Raise Me Up", "Have You Ever Loved A Woman" (Un Regalo Que Te Dio La Vida, Spanish), and a new version of the song "Music" (Musica) from the 70s and re-arranged by its original British composer, John Miles. Original songs composed for this album include "Amor Venme A Buscar" (Tell That To My Heart, Spanish), "La Vida Sin Amor" (Life Without Love, Spanish), "Una Noche" (One Night, Spanish) and "Come Primavera" (Like Spring, Italian). A bonus track of West Side Story's "Somewhere," which was performed during their World Tour, will also be included. This CD will be in US stores on November 21, 2006, and stores worldwide on November 28, 2006.[3]
On December 4, 2006 Il Divo will release a new live DVD titled, "Il Divo: Live At the Greek Theater." It is a recording of a live concert given by Il Divo earlier this year (June 27, 2006) at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles, California, during their World Tour 2006. It includes performances of "Regresa A Mi," "All By Myself (Solo Otra Vez)," "Passerà," "Isabel," "Nella Fantasia," "Rejoice," "Pour Que Tu M'aimes Encore," "I Believe In You (Je Crois En Toi)," "Unchained Melody (Senza Catene)," "Every Time I Look At You," "Si Tú Me Amas," "Feelings," "Mama," "Somewhere," "Heroe," and "My Way (A Mi Manera)".
Discography
| Country | Status | Chart Position |
| UK | Quadruple Platinum | #1 |
| Canada | Triple Platinum | #1 |
| Netherlands | Triple Platinum | #1 |
| USA | Double Platinum | #4 |
| 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 |
| Austria | #2 | |
| Venezuela | Gold |
| Country | Status | Chart Position |
| Australia | Triple Platinum | #1 |
| Spain | Triple Platinum | #1 |
| Portugal | Double Platinum | #1 |
| Finland | Platinum | |
| South Africa | Platinum | |
| Venezuela | Platinum | |
| USA | Gold | #1 |
| UK | #1 | |
| Canada | #1 | |
| Finland | #1 | |
| Germany | #18 | |
| Switzerland | #4 | |
| Hong Kong | #1 | |
| Taiwan | #1 | |
| New Zealand | #1 | |
| Colombia | #1 | |
| Slovenia | #1 | |
| Mexico | Gold | |
| Netherlands | #1 |
The Christmas Collection (2005)
| Country | Status | Chart Position |
| USA | Gold | #14 |
Voices (2006)
Siempre (2006)
Music Videos
- "Regresa A Mi", filmed in Slovenia, 2004.
- "Mama", 2005.
- "Time Of Our Lives", with Toni Braxton for The FIFA World Cup, 2006.
DVD's
- "Encore", a live concert recorded at the Teatro Clásico in Mérida, Spain, 2005.
- "Il Divo: Live At The Greek Theater", a recording of a live concert given by Il Divo at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles, California (June 27, 2006) during their World Tour 2006. It's scheduled for release on December 4, 2006.
Books
Romancing The World (2005)
Rossi, Allegra. Romancing The World. Orion, 2005. ISBN 0-7528-7519-1.
