Il Divo continue their world domination with an international tour and a chart-topping sophomore CD.
By Brandon Voss
In late 2003 American Idol icon Simon Cowell concluded his two-year international talent search and joined the vocal powers of four established singers (Switzerland’s Urs Buhler, Spain’s Carlos Marin, France’s Sebastien Izambard, and the United States’ David Miller) to form Il Divo (Italian for “male divine performer”), fearlessly melding pop and opera with skill and sex appeal in order to conquer the world.
When I meet this musical dream team — who are even more handsome in person — I wonder aloud how I’m going to get quotes from each of them. Should I have them raise their hands and call on them like an old schoolmarm? “We try to make sure we each express ourselves,” Sebastien says. “Trust me: You won’t be disappointed.”
It’s hard to imagine Il Divo disappointing anyone. They’ve recently embarked on their eagerly anticipated first world tour, which makes a local stop February 10–11 at Radio City Music Hall. And following the same formula that made their multi-platinum self-titled debut a top 5 record in 26 countries (No. 1 in half), the multilingual megagroup has just released Ancora, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Album Charts, knocking Jamie Foxx out of the top spot. (The international version debuted at No. 1 in seven countries just before the holiday season.) Performed in four different languages (French, Italian, English, and Spanish), this thrilling disc features new music and revisited classics such as Mariah Carey’s “Hero” and Eric Carmen’s “All by Myself.”
“This second album will make the first one sound like a rehearsal,” Carlos says, “because we know each other so well, we know which part is the best for each of our voices and we know what works best for Il Divo.”
The group seems most proud of the new track “I Believe in You (Je Crois en Toi),” which they recorded with Celine Dion. “For our voices, we needed someone who was really powerful as well,” Sebastien says. The group’s resident skeptic, he admits, “I was very surprised with how well ‘Hero’ came out, too, because I’ve never liked that song. And I said that to Simon from the beginning.”
Thankfully, there’s a yin for every yang in the group. “We’re all so different and have such different voices,” Carlos says. “Also, we combine such different cultures, so we find different ways of interpreting the songs. The fact that we can express ourselves and touch people in different languages to make it more universal is such a great thing.”
In addition to a high-profile appearance on Oprah back in April, the guys will also reluctantly admit that their roguish good looks have played a part in their success. “Obviously, in the pop business you must have a look,” Carlos says. “You must take good care of yourself and be a little metrosexual. People will see the cover of the album and say, ‘Well, that looks good — let’s see what’s happening inside. Then, hopefully, they’ll like what they hear. So it’s really a combination of everything.”
When I bring up the Three Tenors, who aren’t exactly easy on the eyes, David argues, “Their traditional style of singing allows for that old-fashioned look. One half of what we do has to do with our look. It’s all about what matches. If you were to put Blink 182 in our clothes on stage — or if you had us wearing ripped jeans and stuff — it would look ridiculous.”
This begs the question: In a street fight between the Three Tenors, Blink 182, and Il Divo, who would win? “I don’t know,” David says menacingly, “Sebastien’s pretty scrappy.” Sebastien’s endearing reply: “What’s ‘scrappy’ mean?”
Taking advantage of the levity in the room, I try to get each member of Il Divo to admit that he’s the best singer in the group. But much to this reporter’s chagrin, there’s no competition in Il Divo — only camaraderie. “The thing is that we’re all in our 30s,” offers Carlos. “If we were 16, 18 years old, we could play that game. But we’ve got 10, 15 years of experience in our own solo careers, so we know what we can do. We don’t need to show off.”
Though each member proved himself independently, the group, who met for the first time only two days before they began recording their first album, hopes to shake the stigma of being “manufactured” with the new album and tour. “When people see us singing live they’ll really get to see what Il Divo is all about,” Urs says. “Simon Cowell had the idea of Il Divo, but we had to really make it happen.”
Simon may be the guy America loves to hate, but don’t expect the fellas to issue an unkind word about their cantankerous British creator, either (“I think Simon’s the guy that everybody hates to love,” David gushes). Of course, if you had the infamous idol-maker in your corner, you’d probably love him, too.
DIVO DEETS
Sebastien Izambard, 33
Homeland: France
Sings: Vox populi
The sole self-taught singer of the bunch, he’s a singer-songwriter with a pop-rock solo album.
Urs Buhler, 34
Homeland: Switzerland
Sings: Tenor
A hard rocker as a teen, he spent seven years performing with the Amsterdam Opera.
David Miller, 32
Homeland: United States
Sings: Tenor
He sang opera on four continents before starring on Broadway in Baz Luhrman’s La Bohčme.
Carlos Marin, 37
Homeland: Spain
Sings: Baritone
Technically born in Germany, he’s a star of Spanish-language opera and musical theater.
HX, February 2006.