Welcome Il Divo

I do not speak Italian so I didn’t know that il diva means "divine performer" and that the male equivalent is il divo. Given the new meaning of the word diva in the English language, it is not anymore the unreasonable female artist with a temper but merely a big female star, it was inevitable that there will soon be a divo or in this case, divos, four male singers who call themselves Il Divo.

The name is not the only thing interesting about Il Divo, which now holds the distinction of being the very first operatic boy group in pop music history. OK, not really the first because the barbershop quartet, all male with classically-trained voices, has already been in existence for ages and ages. Those I have seen though do not look like Italian models, the way the stylish members of Il Divo do. In truth, the members of the group are young men who were chosen not only for their singing talent but also for their stunning good looks. Think Josh Groban multiplied four times over but injected with European flair.

All garbed by the great Giorgio Armani, David Miller from the US of A, Sebastien Izambard from France, Carlos Marin of Spain and Urs Buhler of Switzerland became the multi-national Il Divo after a two-year worldwide search conducted by Syco Music which has Simon Cowell of American Idol fame at the helm. Cowell who is also known as Mr. Nasty and Judge Dread in the popular show, was a high school dropout who earned success as a record producer. He guided Westlife and several other pop acts to success. He certainly knows how the music business works and if he says that he has high hopes for Il Divo, then we had better sit up and take notice.

David is a tenor from the Oberlin Conservatory of Ohio with a BA in Vocal Performance and a Masters degree in Opera Theater. Sebastien is a songwriter who plays piano and guitar and is the only self-taught pop singer in the group. He was working on his solo album when he was recruited for Il Divo. Carlos is the baritone who has performed in both opera, La Traviata and musical theater Les Miserables. Urs, who started out as a rock singer when he was 17, is the other tenor. He attended the Academy for School and Church Music in Lucerne and was with the Netherlands Opera.

There is no question that these guys can sing. Il Divo’s self-titled debut album was released last November in the UK where it is already a Platinum seller four times over. That means a million copies sold in just eight weeks. It is three times Platinum in Ireland and Platinum in Norway. These are the only countries where the album had been released. Next on tap are Asia and Europe, then probably the US of A. If things continue to go well, then you can expect the emergence of more operatic groups from everywhere.

The album Il Divo is made up of pop tunes performed operatic style. In some cases, like the group’s first single release, Toni Braxton’s Unbreak My Heart which is now Regresa a Mi, the songs have been translated into Italian or Spanish for a more classical feel. Others like Mama and Everytime I Look at You were allowed to remain in English. No matter what the language though, there is no question that these guys ably combine masculine appeal with sweet, soaring voices.

Some months back there was also a similar album released by a stylish group of young men and women with classical voices singing pop hits. The name escapes me now, which probably means that the group did not do well here and has now faded into oblivion. I do hope Il Divo does better. It is always nice to have good-looking idols who can truly sing around. They are the best deterrent against those who cannot.

The other songs included in Il Divo are the Ennio Morricone composition from the movie The Mission, Nella Fantasia, Passera, Ti Amero, Dentro Un Altro Si, The Man You Love, Feelings, Hoy Que Ya No Estas Aqui, Sei Parte Ormai Di Me and the best cut in the album, A Mi Manera, which is really Sinatra’s My Way Italian style.