The brainchild of music industry player and infamous American Idol judge Simon Cowell, Il Divo is a pop/classical male vocal ensemble made up of four international heart-throbs (French, Swiss, Spanish, and American). The duo's two multi-lingual albums (in 2004 and 2005) have both been smash hits and have positioned Il Divo as something of an adult-contemporary version of the Spice Girls, albeit with some serious vocal chops.
"Il Divo have taught me more than I have taught them. I am actually intimidated and slightly in awe of their talent! I am more proud of this album than anything else i''ve ever been involved with, they are going to be huge." --Simon Cowell
Product Notes
While not exactly classical crossover''s take on The Monkees, this international quartet of young male vocalists from America, France, Spain, and Switzerland shares a similar genesis. Assembled after a long talent search and audition process, they were teamed with pop producers Per Magnusson and David Krueger (Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys) and Steve Mac (Charlotte Church, Kelly Clarkson) and turned loose on a slate of classical-pop favorites, with a dramatic, dynamically nuanced read of Toni Braxton''s signature "Unbreak My Heart" setting the standard. While the deceptive ease of their harmonies belie the group''s disparate nationalities and talent search roots on the melodramatic "Hoy Que Ya No Estas Aqui," Morricone''s glorious Mission theme, "Nella Fantasia" and the cascading "Passera," the album''s pop-oriented material is a decidedly more mixed bag ."Everytime I Look at You" and "Feelings" (not Morris Albert''s) soar gracefully, while "The Man You Love" seems more a throwback to the producers'' boy band roots. The standard "My Way" and a lovely, bonus cut Italian version of "Unchained Melody" close the album out on a high note, even if their safe familiarity doesn''t offer the promising quartet a sufficient musical challenge. --Jerry McCulley
[NOTE: A DualDisc version including DVD is now available.]
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