Il Divo
Il Divo (; ) are a multi-national classical crossover vocal group. The male quartet, which originated in the United Kingdom in December 2003, consists of tenors Urs Bühler, David Miller, baritone Steven LaBrie and Sébastien Izambard. It also included baritone Carlos Marín before his death from COVID-19 in December 2021, being officially replaced by LaBrie in August 2023. Il Divo was created and promoted by Simon Cowell for the label Syco Music (a subsidiary of Sony Music). As of 2021, the group released ten studio albums: Il Divo (2004), The Christmas Collection (2005), Ancora (2005), Siempre (2006), The Promise (2008), Wicked Game (2011), A Musical Affair (2013), Amor & Pasión (2015), Timeless (2018), and For Once in My Life: A Celebration of Motown (2021); as well as a compilation album, The Greatest Hits (2012). Two other albums – An Evening with Il Divo: Live in Barcelona (2009) and Live in Japan (2014) – presented recordings of live concerts. The group has also collaborated with other artists. Since its inception, Il Divo has enjoyed success worldwide, selling over 30 million copies of their albums worldwide. With 160 certified gold and platinum hits in 35 countries, the group has pioneered the genre of operatic pop, or "popera", in classical crossover music. Il Divo's live concerts sold over two million concert tickets worldwide just from the group's first four albums. In its first world tour, concerts in 69 cities in 18 countries were sold out. Members Il Divo was composed of four singers, three of whom are classically trained, from four countries: baritone Carlos Marín; two classically trained tenors, Urs Bühler and David Miller; and pop singer-songwriter Sébastien Izambard. After Marín's death in late 2021, fellow baritone Steven LaBrie joined the band as a special guest on tour before being announced as a full-time member of the group on August 17, 2023. Conception and name The idea behind Il Divo came when Simon Cowell, inspired after listening to the Three Tenors, decided to form a multinational quartet of talented young singers to recreate the quality of Luciano Pavarotti, José Carreras, and Placido Domingo. Cowell searched worldwide for young singers who were willing to embark on the project from January 21, 2001, to December 16, 2003, when Miller was signed. Prior to Il Divo, each member enjoyed moderate success individually. Career 2004–2006 The first album, Il Divo, was recorded in February 2004 in Sweden. The album was released on 1 November 2004 in three countries: the UK, Norway and Ireland. In the first few weeks the group achieved double platinum in Norway and Ireland. On 19 April 2005 the album was released in the United States and Spain. Il Divo was launched in fall 2004 with the single "Regresa a mí", debuting with the first album of the same name. The group filmed the music video for the song in Slovenia. In December 2004, Il Divo held its first concert at Gotham Hall in New York. The group performed five songs from the album