This wasn’t Cowell’s usual plucking-a-star-from-obscurity story. In fact, Bühler had a successful career with the Netherlands Operaa Gezelschap, Marín was a sought-after star, and Miller had sung for President Bill Clinton and was fresh from appearing in the lead role of Rodolfo in Baz Luhrmann’s successful 2002 Broadway version of Puccini’s “La Bohème,” which received seven Tony Award nominations. None of them was a struggling “American Idol”-style wannabe. And he found them in American tenor David Miller, Spanish baritone Carlos Marín, Swiss tenor Urs Bühler and French tenor Sébastien Izambard.
#Il divo the promise album cover series
Il Divo was conceived when the British music mogul Simon Cowell heard the Italian operatic tenor Andrea Bocelli singing on the soundtrack to the HBO series “The Sopranos” and realized the potential of the combination of classical music with gangster-chic imagery.Īlong with his record label, Syco, Cowell sought four matinee-idol singers. The group’s current world tour reaches the United States May 8 at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va. The act has sung at the opening and closing ceremonies of the FIFA 2006 World Cup and-perhaps the ultimate accolade-it was the special guest of Barbra Streisand on her 2006 tour of North America, singing with her on three songs. Il Divo has performed in more than 30 countries on two previous sold-out world tours. It includes the aforementioned Frankie Goes to Hollywood track, a version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” and ABBA’s “Winner Takes It All.” Its title derives from the Italian original “La Promessa,” written by the Swedish pop writer Jörgen Elofsson (Britney Spears, Celine Dion). The new album is a departure in that it features only one producer, Steve McCutcheon. 1 in 12 countries, including the United States, Holland and Spain. “The Promise” has sold 2.7 million copies, according to the act’s label, and reached No. 1 albums globally and received 160 gold and platinum awards for albums that include “Il Divo,” its 2005 debut “The Christmas Collection,” released in December of the same year “Ancora” and “Siempre” in 2006 and “The Promise,” released in November.
![il divo the promise album cover il divo the promise album cover](https://images.yaoota.com/ptcZrwpC5wlSeV6hNPUWn-EG7Zw=/trim/yaootaweb-production-ng/media/crawledproductimages/7d07efb515d5ddbfccdf1970f83fd4a07566f8b4.jpg)
So far, Il Divo has sold 25 million albums, according to the act’s label, and more than 1.8 million concert tickets, according to its management company. Listen to the tunes and read about their choices. See latest videos, charts and news Il Divo’s Personal PlaylistsĪs Il Divo brings their tour to the United States, Billboard asked the foursome for a look at the diverse singles and albums on their personal playlists – including surprising choices like Kings of Leon and Dokken (Yes.