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 (Spain, Switzerland, France, and United States) that tried to sound like The Three Tenors and looked like Armani models.

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 zarzuela 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.

Having just completed a six-month world tour (USA, Australia and Europe), Il Divo then participated in all 20 of the concerts in the North American tour (which ended on November 20, 2006) of Barbra Streisand 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.

Il Divo performed the 2006 FIFA World Cup official song "Time Of Our Lives" with R&B singer Toni Braxton live at half time during the 9th June kickoff match and again at the 9th July closing ceremony, preceding Shakira. The song is written by Swedish songwriter, Jörgen Elofsson and is available exclusively on both Voices and Toni Braxton's album Libra .

It's located at: RA11h39m35.62s DEC+37.27479 MAG11.02

Recording started in the first half of 2004 in Sweden, with the producers Quiz & Larossi 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 original song "Mama"; Sinatra's "My Way" (A Mi Manera), an adaptation of Ennio Morricone's "Gabriel's Oboe" from the movie La Misión 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 breakout career-defining appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show on April 5, 2005, where the quartet performed "Regresa a Mi".

In the United Kingdom, the Il Divo album topped Robbie Williams as number 1 in the UK charts (allegedly Williams said to them during the Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason film premiere, "Oi, you're the bastards that knocked me off!")[citation needed]. 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.

Country

Status

Chart Position

UK

Quadruple Platinum

#1

Canada

Triple Platinum

#1

Netherlands

Triple Platinum

#1

Spain

Triple Platinum

#2

USA

Double Platinum

#4

Argentina

Double Platinum

#1

Australia

Double Platinum

#1

Portugal

Double Platinum

New Zealand

Double Platinum

Mexico

Double Platinum

#1

Sweden

Platinum

#1

Belgium

Platinum

South Africa

Platinum

Finland

Platinum

#1

France

Gold

#4

Switzerland

Gold

#2

Austria

#2

Venezuela

Gold

Recorded in both Sweden and London with Per Magnusson and David Kreuger, and producer Steve Mac, who was also the producer of their first album. Released on November 7, 2005 in the UK, it hit number one both in the UK and Australia within one week. Ancora was released in the US on January 24, 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 UK and Australia release of this CD, "O Holy Night" and a version of Shubert's "Ave Maria", appear on the 2005 US-only release, The Christmas Collection.

Country

Status

Chart Position

Australia

Triple Platinum

#1

Spain

Triple Platinum

#1

UK

Triple Platinum

#1

Portugal

Double Platinum

#1

Finland

Platinum

#1

South Africa

Platinum

Venezuela

Platinum

USA

Gold

#1

Canada

#1

Finland

#1

Germany

#18

Switzerland

#4

Sweden

#1

Hong Kong

#1

Taiwan

#1

New Zealand

#1

Colombia

#1

Slovenia

#1

Mexico

Gold

Netherlands

#1

Argentina

Gold

Country

Status

Chart Position

USA

Platinum

#14

Canada

#1

Austria

#18

Finland

#11

Netherlands

#4

Sweden

#4

Slovenia

#3

Country

Status

Chart Position

Germany

#1

Released on November 21, 2006 in the United States and one week later in the rest of the world. Three weeks after its release, it was number one in the United World Chart, above the Beatles, Eminem and U2, having sold 472,000 copies worldwide, the largest sales increase in the week previous to the Christmas Holidays of 2006.

Country

Status

Chart Position

Australia

Double Platinum

#2

Canada (Classical Crossover)

#1

Canada

#2

Mexico

Platinum

#2

USA (Classical Crossover)

#1

USA

Platinum

#6

Spain

3xPlatinum

#1

UK

2x Platinum

#2

Sweden

#4

Netherlands

#1

New Zealand

Gold

#3

France

#10

Switzerland

#1

Germany

#22

Austria

#9

Ireland

#3

Italy

#58

Finland

#2

Portugal

Platinum

#3

Belgium

Gold

#1

Norway

#2

Taiwan

#2

Japan (Foreign Artist)

#8

Slovenia

Platinum

#1

Thailand

#1

Singapore

#1

South Korea

#1

Hong Kong

#1

Venezuela

#2

Argentina

Gold

#8

Colombia

#10

Denmark

#5

The phenomenal 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. Track Listings 1. Mama 2. Mama 3. Mama 4. Photo Gallery

Live concert recorded at the Teatro Clásico in Mérida, Spain, 2005. Release Date: January 24, 2006 Features: DVD Features: Tracks: 1. Si Tu Me Amas 2. Isabel 3. O Holy Night 4. Heroe 5. All By Myself (Solo Otra Vez) 6. Il Divo Revealed 7. Regresa a Mi (Unbreak My Heart) 8. Mama Masterminded by AMERICAN IDOL's Simon Cowell, the operatic vocal group Il Divo substantiate their heartthrob good looks with impeccably lush renditions of both classical and pop standards. ENCORE captures the handsome quartet on film with a special live performance recorded at Spain's Teatro Romano de Mérida, featuring signature songs like "Si Tú Me Amas," "Isabel," and "Solo Otra Vez" ("All By Myself"). The program also features exclusive interviews with all four members, commentary by Cowell, behind-the-scenes footage, and music videos for "Mama" and "Regresa a Mi" ("Unbreak My Heart").

Live concert given on June 27, 2006 at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles, California as part of their World Tour 2006. This set includes performances of "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," and "My Way (A Mi Manera)".

Rossi, Allegra. Romancing The World. Orion, 2005. ISBN 0-7528-7519-1.