''Il Divo'' is the debut studio album to be released by

classical crossover Crossover is a term applied to Musical composition, musical works or performers who appeal to different types of audience, audiences. This can be seen, for example, when a song appears on two or more of the record chart, record charts, which tr ...

vocal group

Il Divo Il Divo (; ) are a multinational classical crossover vocal group. Formed in the United Kingdom in 2003, it is a male quartet that was created and then promoted by British media magnate Simon Cowell for Syco Music, a record label that he had ...

, formed by

Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality and businessman. He has judged on the British television talent competition shows ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003), ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor UK ...

in 2004. The album was released on 1 November 2004 in the United Kingdom, via

Syco Music Syco Music, originally S Records, was a division of Syco Entertainment which operated from 2002 until 2020. The label was founded by British entrepreneur, record executive and media personality Simon Cowell, who was formerly employed at Bertels ...

, and on 19 April 2005 in the United States, via

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

. The album contains three songs performed in English, six songs performed in Italian, and three songs performed in Spanish, excluding the bonus track. As of December 2013, the album had sold more than 1.5 million copies in the UK. The album has sold more than 5,000,000 worldwide copies to date. Recording started in the first half of 2004 in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, with producers

Quiz & Larossi Andreas Romdhane (a.k.a. Quiz) and Josef Larossi are a Swedish production duo. They have a studio based in the centre of Stockholm, Sweden. They have worked together since 1999 when they wrote songs for Lutricia McNeal. During their partnership ...

Per Magnusson Per Magnusson (born 30 May 1969) is a Swedish music producer and songwriter. His musical career took off in 1994 as one of the original team members of the now-legendary Cheiron Productions, meeting great international success working with Boyz ...

David Kreuger David Kreuger is a Swedish songwriter and music producer. Career David Kreuger began at Cheiron Studios in the spring of 1993. During the period 1993-1997, he worked with Per Magnusson on several projects. Together, they produced and wrote s ...

and in the UK with producer

Steve Mac Steve McCutcheon (born 15 January 1972), known professionally as Steve Mac, is a British record producer, songwriter and musician. A multi-award-winning producer, he is one of the most prolific songwriters and record producers in modern Briti ...

. This self-titled album contained the Spanish '' Regresa a mí'', their second single and first original song ''

Mama Mama(s) or Mamma or Momma may refer to: Roles *Mother, a female parent * Mama-san, in Japan and East Asia, a woman in a position of authority *Maternal uncle, in some parts of South Asia Places * Mama, Russia, an urban-type settlement in the Mam ...

'';

Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of the 20th century. Sinatra i ...

's ''

My Way "My Way" is Paul Anka's English-language lyrical adaptation of the French song " Comme d'habitude", released by Frank Sinatra in 1969. The original song was written by Jacques Revaux, Gilles Thibaut, and Claude François, and was first recor ...

'' (''A mi manera''); ''

Nella Fantasia "" ("In My Fantasy") is a song sung in Italian based on the theme "Gabriel's Oboe" from the film '' The Mission'' (1986). With music by composer Ennio Morricone and lyrics by Chiara Ferraù, "" is popular among classical crossover singers, and was ...

,'' and 1994's

San Remo Festival The Sanremo Music Festival ( ), officially the Italian Song Festival (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria, organized and broadcast by (RAI). It is the longest-running ...

winner ''Passerà.'' The album hit the No. 1 slot on both

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc., doing business as Amazon, is an American multinational technology company engaged in e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Bellevu ...

and

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after a career-defining appearance on ''

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Oprah Winfrey. The show ran for twenty-five seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in which it broadcast 4,561 episodes. The show was taped i ...

'' on 5 April 2005, where they performed '' Regresa a mí''. In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, the ''Il Divo'' album knocked

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, launching a solo career in 1996. His debut studio album, ''Life thru a Lens'', was re ...

off the number 1 spot in the UK charts, Williams allegedly said to them at the Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason film premiere, ''"So you are the four idiots who have forced me off my number one spot!"'' 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.

Singles

* " Regresa a mí" was released as the album's lead single on 22 October 2004. The song is a cover of the original English-language version performed by R&B singer

Toni Braxton Toni Michele Braxton (born October 7, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and television personality. She has sold over 70 million records worldwide and is one of the best-selling female artists in history. Braxton has won seven ...

, originally released in June 1996. The single remain's the band most successful single release to date. The band's Spanish version of the track received positive appreciation from critics, who said that the cover "has the potential to be a hit and to open doors for many of operas most acclaimed stars." * "

" was released as the album's third single on 7 May 2005. "Mama" was the first original song ever released as a single by the band. It was released both as limited edition

CD single A CD single is a single (music), music single in the form of a compact disc (CD). Originally the ''CD single'' standard (as defined in the Rainbow Books, Red Book) was an 8 cm (3-inch) "mini CD" (''CD3''); later on the term referred to any si ...

and

DVD single A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to promote the sale of m ...

. It was also included on the band's live album, ''Live at the Greek Theatre''. The songwriters behind "Mama", Andreas "Quiz" Romdhane and Josef Larossi, have contributed the largest number of original songs for the band, including "Sei parte ormai di me", "Isabel", "Si tu me amas", "Esisti dentro me" and "Una Noche". The song has also been covered and translated into other languages, including to

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

by the artist Kurt Darren, and into Italian by

Paul Potts Paul Potts (born 13 October 1970) is a British tenor. In 2007, he won the first series of ITV's ''Britain's Got Talent'' with his performance of " Nessun dorma", an aria from Puccini's opera ''Turandot''. As a singer of operatic pop music, P ...

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Divo (album), Il 2004 debut albums Il Divo albums Columbia Records albums Syco Music albums