Il Divo

seb, carlos, david, urs

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: French pop singer Sébastien Izambard, Spanish baritone Carlos Marín, American tenor David Miller, and Swiss tenor Urs Bühler. To date, they have sold more than 26 million albums worldwide.

 

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. In 2004, G4, a quartet of operatic male singers, also appeared in the UK on the Simon Cowell TV show X-factor. They finished runners-up, but were signed by Sony records. 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.^[3]
On 12 December 2008, Il Divo performed their new song at the Swedish Idol 2008 finale in the Globen Arena in Stockholm.

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.

[edit] 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.^[5][6] 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. A shortened version of the song is featured on the second disc of Braxton's greatest hits album.

Charts (2011)	Peak position
Australian Albums Chart[5]	11
Canadian Albums Chart[6]	12
Hungarian Albums Chart[7]	37
New Zealand Albums Chart[8]	12
Swiss Albums Chart[9]	3
US Billboard 200[10]	10