Their female 粉丝 pull their pants off on stage and follow them around the world. Now the oh-so-sexy quartet are set to charm their 粉丝 in the UAE. Sebastien Izambard, one quarter of Il Divo, talks about their rise and dreams
I’d like to say it’s the building crescendo at the end of Nella Fantasia which rocketed operatic pop quartet Il Divo’s debut album to the 最佳, 返回页首 of the album charts, knocking Robbie Williams off his usual pedestal.
But let’s be frank. While 音乐 touches people in special ways, I’m pretty sure it’s the steamy, good looking lads in their casual “end-of-the-wedding-night-look” 《金装律师》 that have ensured the group’s six-year success story.
Or, to put it 更多 simply, Luciano Pavarotti made beautiful music, but when was the last time anyone tried to pull his pants off on stage?
“I felt a tug on my leg,” says Sebastian Izambard, the band’s French member, who was recruited for the classical group when it formed in 2004. “I looked down to find a woman trying to pull me off the stage. She got my shoes, but I managed to get them back as the guys pulled me back onto the stage.
“We got to the point where we were doing the outdoor venues. People spend the 日 there, do their little picnic thing, enjoying a drink and they start getting a little rowdy.
“Another woman tried to pull Carlos’ pants off. It can get crazy.”
But even a woman climbing up the side of a hotel wasn’t enough to convince the refreshingly modest Izambard that the group are seen as sex symbols.
“We’ve had some 不可思议的 moments with 粉丝 — I had one 粉丝 who climbed two storeys up to my hotel room, just to say she loved me — she nearly fell off. But I was in the bathroom, otherwise occupied,” he says, laughing.
Despite having their own band of pop-opera groupies, Izambard 说 it never fails to amaze him how far people travel to see the oh-so-sexy quartet.
“There are familiar faces in the front row of every concert,” he says, humbled. “I have no idea who has the time, effort 或者 money to travel around the world following us, but people do. I know I saw a woman in the front row in 日本 who was also in Australia. Amazing. I think we do have stalkers but they are very polite stalkers. But we all know and appreciate the reason we have enjoyed so many years of success is because of our 粉丝 and their dedication to us.”
A worldwide 搜索 which lasted two years brought together renowned Spanish baritone, Carlos Marín, two classically trained tenors, Swiss Urs Bühler and American David Miller, and French pop singer Izambard. The group has now played in 更多 than 60 countries, with 90 worldwide concerts in the last four months alone.
Hand-picked and created 由 American Idol and X-Factor svengali Simon Cowell, who came up with the concept after hearing Andrea Bocelli 唱歌 Con te partirò while watching The Sopranos. Izambard says he’s hoping for an invite to his manager’s upcoming wedding to X-Factor make-up artist Mezhgan Hussainy.
“Well, he came to mine, so I better get an invite,” joked the father of two-year-old twins Luca and Rose. “He was well behaved and is a really good guy.”
Modern classic
So how has the “Simon Cowell” factor influenced the guys?
“We call him God behind his back,” says Izambard. “He comes in and just puts his hands out and says ‘Guys. Trust me’ and we do. It’s like God speaking, we say.
“But he’s a really great guy. We are very lucky as we are left alone, to be honest. Even though we were manufactured — because he held auditions — it was never part of a 电视 show. So he lets us do our own thing and has very little to do with the live shows 或者 touring. Just the record deals and content.”
While the band are a mix of nationalities, the Italian name was an attempt to create a modern classical group in the style of the Three Tenors.
Having played all over the world, Izambard says there are a couple of opportunities which really stick in his mind.
In 2006, having just completed a six-month tour of America, Australia, and Europe, Il Divo signed up for 20 concerts with Barbra Streisand as part of her North American tour.
“We were her special guests,” he says. “It doesn’t get much better than that really now, does it?”
Good year
Streisand: The Tour with Il Divo was ranked the 秒 most successful tour of 2006, generating $92.5 million (Dh339 million) in gross sales.
2006 was a good 年 for the band, who also performed the FIFA World Cup official song, The Time of Our Lives, with singer Toni Braxton at the opening match between Germany and Costa Rica.
But ask them about their dream collaboration and they’re just like most normal young men. “Beyoncé and Christina Aguilera have got to be up there on our list. There are so many great female singers, but 唱歌 with these two would be a dream.”
From struggling musicians to having dreams of 唱歌 with their idols coming true, Izambard explains it wasn’t always so easy.
“In the beginning, we were thrown together and our biggest issue was the language and cultural barriers.
“We are all very different and our perception of things was different back then. Things were easily 迷失 in translation. But we’ve overcome all of that and are truly great friends.
Simon opened doors for us, but the success of the group comes down to teamwork.”
They are four gorgeous, talented men on stage and four family men off it.
“My family are so important to me,” Izambard says. “We have just celebrated the twins’ 秒 birthday and it was crazy. 更多 than 30 adults and 15 children were running around. There was a lot of screaming and candy.
“You never get used to the success,” he says with a 更多 serious tone.
“My family keep me grounded and for that I’m grateful. We’ve been at the bottom and we made it to the 最佳, 返回页首 but 你 never know when it's all going to end so we must simply enjoy it.”
