7 Things you Might Not Know About Il Divo

This image is no longer available

Okay, you’re an Il Divo fan. A big Il Divo fan. You have all of their albums, you’ve seen them in concert, and, lets be honest, if one (or all four) invited you out for a night on the town, the rest of us would be eating your dust.

RELATED POST: Il Divo: Duets & Famous Friends

That’s all fine and good, but how much do you really know about the world’s most popular operatic pop quartet? Which member once fronted a heavy metal band? Which rapper has the band said they’d love to record with? And which of their albums was the first classical crossover disc in history to take the top spot on Billboard’s American charts? Read on to find out….

Inspiration Strikes

Ever wonder how music exec/reality show judge Simon Cowell came up with the idea for an operatic pop group? Legend has it the inspiration struck when, at home one night, he watched an episode of The Sopranos and heard the voice of Andrea Bocelli singing his famed version of “Con te partirò.”

RELATED POST: Listen to Il Divo’s Latest Release, A Musical Affair

Natural Born Talent

At eight-years-old, my proudest accomplishment was being able to hop on one foot while simultaneously tapping my head and rubbing my stomach. Sadly, I never devised a way to monetize my unique talent.

Baritone Carlos Marin, however, learned how to best make use of his. At age eight this musical prodigy released his first album. At 10, he released his second. By the time he was 20 he was a bona fide Spanish singing star, appearing on numerous television shows. No word, however, if he’s able to hop on one foot while simultaneously tapping his head and rubbing his stomach.

An Ear for Music

Speaking of people with innate talents, Sébastien Izambard plays piano, guitar, and writes songs despite never being trained in music. That’s right – he learned it all by ear.

He also contributes time and effort to raising money for children in India and Nepal living in poverty – a way of giving back after growing up in poverty himself alongside his mother and grandmother in Paris.

I Want to Rock and Roll All Night…

Though tenor Urs Bühler joined a choir and studied piano, violin, and clarinet, among other instruments, as a kid, his teenage years saw him fronting “Conspiracy,” a Swiss heavy metal band.

Give My Regards to Broadway

Il Divo’s new Broadway-inspired album A Musical Affair was far from American tenor David Miller’s first foray into the music of the Great White Way. In 2002, Miller starred as Rudolfo in a Broadway production of La Boheme, staged by director Baz Luhrmann.

Top of the Pops

With the release of 2005’s Ancora, Il Divo became the first classical crossover group in history to take the top spot on the American Billboard Top 200 chart. They’ve also sold more than 25 million albums. As well, according to their website, “the group has garnered over 150 gold and platinum awards in 33 countries.” In other words, they’re quite popular.

Does This Mean Il Divo Has to Bleach the Hair Blonde?

Celine Dion, Toni Braxton, Barbra Streisand…Eminem? According to the group, they’d love to perform a song with the famed rapper.

“He’s so energetic and we are quite energetic as well,” Urs Bühler said in an interview. “If you imagine him rapping to the verses and then us singing a big, strong operatic chorus, I think that would work so well together.”