Il Divo , (Italian for "star" or "celebrity") is a multinational operatic pop vocal group created by music manager, executive, and reality TV star Simon Cowell. They are also signed to Cowell's Record label, 'Syco music' [1]. Il Divo is composed of singers Carlos Marín, Urs Bühler, David Miller, and Sébastien Izambard.

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Band history

The idea behind Il Divo's creation came to 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 (the members hail from Spain, Switzerland, France, and the United States, and 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 opera and 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 december 12 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 renditions of Toni Braxton's hit "Unbreak My Heart" (Regresa a mí ), which in turn was recorded by Braxton under the guidance of Il Divo; their second single and first original song "Mama"; Sinatra's "My Way" (A mi manera ); an adaptation of Ennio Morricone's "Gabriel's Oboe" from the movie "The Mission (film)," titled "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 November 21, 2006 in the United States and one week later in the rest of the world.

The Promise (2008)

The album was released globally on November 10, except in the US and Canada, where it was scheduled to be released November 18, Ireland where it was released on November 7, and Japan, on 26 November. ^[7] The album reached the No.1 spot in the UK on November 16. The album was produced by Steve Mac.The Bagpiper is called Andy King and plays on 'Amazing Grace' on this album. Andy also plays for Shirley Pipe Band In Birmingham,UK

Music Videos

• "Unbreak My Heart (Regresa a mi)," filmed in Slovenia, 2004 (directed by Sharon Maguire)
• "Mama," filmed in Italy, 2005.
• "Time of our Lives," with Toni Braxton for the FIFA World Cup, 2006 (directed by Nigel Dick).
• "The Power Of Love," filmed in Arena in Pula, Croatia, 2008.

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

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 festive "Rejoice." They also performed a previously unreleased rendition of the iconic hit "Somewhere" as featured in the movie 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 and contain that 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 1st December 2008.

It features performances of -

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

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

Bibliography

Romancing The World (2005)

Author: Allegra Rossi
Format: Hardback 256 pages
Date of publication: 10/11/2005
Publisher: Orion
ISBN 9780752875194

Our Music, Our Journey, Our Words (2007)

Author: Il Divo
Format: Hardback 192 pages
Date of publication: 06/09/2007
Publisher: Headline Book Publishing
ISBN 9780755316571

Notes

1. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20235354,00.html
2. EBSCO Publishing Service Selection Page
3. http://www.expressen.se/noje/1.1397916/il-divo-gastar-idolfinalen
4. http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/060214/1/625n.html
5. FIONA: DIVO - Mirror.co.uk
6. http://www.star-ecentral.com/news/story.asp?file=/2005/7/25/music/11231575&sec=music Accessed 05Marc
7. Jonathan Cohen. (5 August 2008). The album reached the No.1 spot in the UK on November 16.New Il Divo Album Set For November. ''Billboard.com''. Accessed 5 August 2008.