Il Divo

Il Divo
From left to right, Sébastien Izambard, Carlos Marín, David Miller and Urs Bühler.
Background information
Genres	Operatic pop, vocal
Years active	2004–present
Labels	Syco Music, Columbia
Associated acts	Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Toni Braxton, Leona Lewis
Website	www.ildivo.com
Members
Urs Bühler Sébastien Izambard David Miller Carlos Marín

Il Divo, ("divine male performer" in Italian ) is a multinational operatic pop vocal group created by music manager, executive, and reality TV star Simon Cowell. Formed in the United Kingdom, they are also signed to Cowell's record label, Syco music.^[1] Il Divo is a group of four male singers; Spanish Baritone Carlos Marín, Swiss Tenor Urs Bühler, American Tenor David Miller, and French pop singer Sébastien Izambard.

Band history

Concert in Tokyo, January 2007

The idea behind Il Divo's creation came to Cowell after hearing Andrea Bocelli singing Con te partirò while watching The Sopranos. Aware of this new appreciation for lyrical voices and classical music, he decided to form a multinational quartet (the members hail from Spain, Switzerland, France, and the United States, the name being in Italian) that tried to recreate the style of The Three Tenors.

Simon Cowell conducted a worldwide search for young singers who were willing to embark on the Il Divo project, which 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 baritone, Carlos Marín; two classically trained tenors, Swiss Urs Bühler and American David Miller; and a French pop singer, Sébastien Izambard.

Il Divo sings in English, Italian, Spanish, French, and Latin. Il Divo was named the Most Multinational UK No.1 Album Group in the 2006 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records.

On 25 April 2007, Il Divo performed on American Idol in one of the "Idol Gives Back" episodes, which raised money for children in the U.S. and Africa. For every vote cast during that show, Idol sponsors Coca-Cola, AT&T, and others donated money to Charity Projects Entertainment Fund (CPEF) and other groups such as Save the Children and America's Second Harvest. ^[2]

On 12 December 2008, Il Divo performed their new song at the Swedish Idol 2008 finale in the Globen Arena in Stockholm^[3].

As Barbra Streisand's Guests

Having just completed a six-month tour of America, Australia, and Europe, Il Divo then participated in all 20 concerts by Barbra Streisand in her North American tour as her special guests. "Streisand: The Tour" with Il Divo was ranked second for all tours for 2006, generating $92.5 million in gross sales.

2006 World Cup

On 9 June 2006, Il Divo performed the 2006 FIFA World Cup official song, "The Time of Our Lives," with R&B singer Toni Braxton live, at half-time, during the opening match between Germany and Costa Rica, and again a month later at the 9 July closing ceremony.^[4][5] The song is available exclusively on the Voices from the FIFA World Cup compilation album, and on the European reissue of Braxton's album Libra, but not on any Il Divo album.

Discography

Il Divo (2004)

Recording started in the first half of 2004 in Sweden, with producers Quiz & Larossi, Per Magnusson & David Kreuger and in the UK with producer Steve Mac. This self-titled album contained the Spanish rendition of Toni Braxton's hit "Unbreak My Heart" (Regresa a Mí), (Braxton had originally released "Regresa a Mi" as a b-side to her 1996 single, "Unbreak My Heart"); their second single and first original song "Mama"; Sinatra's "My Way" (A mi manera); "Nella Fantasia," and 1994's San Remo Festival winner "Passerà."

The album hit the #1 slot on both Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com after a career-defining appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show on 5 April 2005, where they performed "Regresa a Mi".

In the United Kingdom, the Il Divo album knocked Robbie Williams out of the number 1 spot in the UK charts, Williams allegedly said to them at the "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason" film premiere, “So you are the four idiots who have forced me off my number one spot!”^[6].

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.

Ancora (2005)

This was recorded in both Sweden and London with producers Per Magnusson, David Kreuger and Steve Mac, who were also the producers of their first album. Released on 7 November 2005 in the UK, it hit number one both in the UK and Australia within one week. Ancora was released in the US on 24 January 2006. It entered the Billboard albums chart at number 1, selling more than 150,000 copies during its first week of sales.

Highlights 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 a Spanish cover of Eric Carmen's "All by Myself." Two of the tracks on the non-American release of this CD, "O Holy Night" and a version of Schubert's "Ave Maria," also appear on 2005's The Christmas Collection.

The Christmas Collection (2005)

Recorded in 2005, the album is a collection of Christmas and holiday-inspired songs.

Voices (2006)

Is a collection of songs released at the time of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Siempre (2006)

Released on 21 November 2006 in the United States and one week later in the rest of the world.

The Promise (2008)

The album was released globally on 10 November 2008, except in the US and Canada, where it was released on 18 November 2008, Ireland where it was released on 7 November 2008, and Japan, on 26 November 2008. ^[7] The album reached the No.1 spot in the UK on 16 November 2008. The album was produced by Steve Mac. According to the credits on the DVDs, the bagpipes in Amazing Grace, both on this album and in the performance in the In the Coliseum DVD, are played by Robert White. ^[8]

DVDs

Mama

The Il Divo release "Mama" – The Video, which includes exclusive footage of the "Making of the Video," a live recording of "Mama – Live In New York," plus a photo gallery.

Encore / Ancora

Cover of the DVD Encore

An open air "live" concert filmed at the Teatro Romano (aka World Heritage site "Archaeological Ensemble of Mérida") in Mérida, Spain, 2005 and was released as DVD on 24 January 2006. The DVD features 8 tracks, including:

Concert

• Si Tu Me Amas
• Isabel
• O Holy Night
• Heroe
• All By Myself (Solo Otra Vez)

Extras

• Il Divo Revealed (documentary interspersed with concert songs)
• Regresa A Mi (Unbreak My Heart) (Music video)
• Mama (Music video)

Live at the Greek Theater

The second official DVD release of Il Divo, this contains the full live concert performed on 27 June 2006 at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles, California as part of their World Tour 2006. This recording captures all the songs that have established the group's popularity, such as their breakthrough hit "Regresa A Mi" through to their original songs such as "Mama," "Si Tu Me Amas," and the only song taken from their Christmas album, "Rejoice." They also performed a previously unreleased rendition of the iconic song "Somewhere" as featured in the musical West Side Story. Most releases in the United States of America do not have "Everytime I Look At You" on it as a major music distributor bought the rights to it in order to promote this song as a bonus track on their release of the DVD, despite the tracklisting on the back-covers still listing the track.

Setlist (in order)

• 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
• Hero
• My Way (A mi manera)

Extras

• The Time of our Lives video - performed with Toni Braxton as the official 2006 FIFA World Cup song. It features three versions in English, German and the International one.
• Up-close and personal interview - focuses on the group's reflections of their success so far.

Live at the Coliseum (2008)

The DVD was released in the UK on 1 December 2008.

It features performances of:

• Amazing Grace
• The Power Of Love (La Fuerza Mayor)
• Hallelujah (Alleluia)
• The Winner Takes It All (Va Todo Al Ganador)
• Adagio

With an in-depth 30 minute interview entitled 'The Promise – Il Divo In Conversation.'

An Evening With Il Divo - Live In Barcelona (2009)

While partaking in their largest worldwide tour, Il Divo recorded and released An Evening With Il Divo – Live In Barcelona, a live DVD with an accompanying 10-track CD with songs from the concert. It was recorded at Il Divo’s largest capacity performance in Europe and took place at Palau Sant Jordi on 3rd April 2009 with attendance of 20 000 people. Added to the setlist are two previously unrecorded songs by the band, Bridge Over Troubled Water and The Impossible Dream. Extras include a "behind the scenes footage/making of the tour" interview with Il Divo. Il Divo turned to the famous choreographer William Baker for a fresh look and feel, as his most famour work is for vastly different music and performers, mainly Kylie Minogue.

CD/DVD Track Listing:
Disc 1: The CD
1. Regresa A Mi (Unbreak My Heart)
2. Unchained Melody (Senza Catene)
3. La Promessa
4. Adagio
5. Somewhere
6. Nights in White Satin (Notte Di Luce)
7. Without You
8. Aleluya
9. Amazing Grace
10. My Way (A Mi Manera)

Disc 2: The DVD
1. Somewhere
2. Unbreak My Heart (Regresa A Mi)
3. La Promessa
4. Angelina
5. Isabel
6. Bridge Over Troubled Water
7. She
8. Passera
9. Unchained Melody (Senza Catene)
10. Mama
11. Nights In White Satin (Notte Di Luce)
12. The Winner Takes It All (Va Toda Al Ganador)
13. Without You (Desde El Dia Que Te Fuiste)
14. Pour Que Tu M'Aimes Encore
15. Everytime I Look At You
16. Hallelujah (Aleluya)
17. Adagio
18. La Vida Sin Amor
19. Caruso
20. The Power Of Love (La Fuerza Mayor)
21. My Way (A Mi Manera)
22. Amazing Grace
23. The Impossible Dream
DVD Bonus: On Tour With Il Divo

Bibliography

Romancing The World (2005)

Author: Allegra Rossi
Format: Hardback 128 pages
Date of publication: 10 November 2005
Publisher: Orion
ISBN 9780752875194

Our Music, Our Journey, Our Words (2007)

Author: Il Divo
Format: Paperback 192 pages
Data of publication: 6 September 2007
Editor: Headline Book Publishing
ISBN 9780755316571

Notes

External links

• Official website
• Il Divo Belgium website
• Spanish website
• Il Divo section on ClassicalX
• Il Divo Belgium Fansite
• Il Divo Belgium Forum
• Il Divo Brazilian Fanclub