Il Divo (album) explained

Il Divo
Type:	Studio album
Artist:	Il Divo
Cover:	ildivoalbum.jpg
Released:	1 November 2004 (United Kingdom) 19 April 2005 (United States)
Recorded:	February – September 2004, Metropolis Studios, London
Genre:	Classical crossover
Length:	53:52
Label:	Syco, Columbia
Producer:	Steve Mac^[1]
Next Title:	Ancora
Next Year:	2005

Il Divo is the debut studio album to be released by classical crossover vocal group Il Divo, formed by Simon Cowell in 2004. The album was released on 1 November 2004 in the United Kingdom, via Syco Music, and on 19 April 2005 in the United States, via Columbia Records. 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.^[2] The album has sold more than 5,000,000 worldwide copies to date.^[3]

Recording started in the first half of 2004 in Sweden, with producers Quiz & Larossi, Per Magnusson & David Kreuger and in the UK with producer Steve Mac. This self-titled album contained the Spanish Regresa a mí, their second single and first original song Mama; Sinatra's My Way (A mi manera); Nella Fantasia, and 1994's San Remo Festival winner Passerà.

The album hit the No. 1 slot on both Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com after a career-defining appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show on 5 April 2005, where they performed Regresa a mí.^[4]

In the United Kingdom, the Il Divo album knocked Robbie Williams 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!"^[5]

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, 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."^[6]
• "Mama" 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 and DVD single. 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 by the artist Kurt Darren, and into Italian by Paul Potts.

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2004–05)	Peak position
Canadian Albums (Billboard)^[7]	1
US Billboard 200^[8]	4
US Top Classical Albums (Billboard)^[9]	1

Year-end charts

Chart (2005)	Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[11]	12
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[12]	34
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[13]	8
French Albums (SNEP)^[14]	50
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[15]	67
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)^[16]	20
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[17]	18
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[18]	5
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[19]	18
UK Albums (OCC)^[20]	48
US Billboard 200^[21]	64
Worldwide Albums (IFPI)^[22]	16

Chart (2006)	Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[23]	79
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)^[24]	64
UK Albums (OCC)^[25]	162
US Billboard 200^[26]	168

Decade-end charts

Notes and References

1. Web site: Steve Mac (2). Discogs.
2. Web site: Official Charts Analysis: One Direction sell another 124k of new album – Analysis – Music Week. Music Week.
3. Web site: Il Divo: Divinos y humanos. larazon.es.
4. Book: IL DIVO - IL DIVO 2004. 9781488828874. Smith. Jacqueline. 12 January 2015.
5. http://www.star-ecentral.com/news/story.asp?file=/2005/7/25/music/11231575&sec=music Robbie's alleged statement.
6. Web site: Il Divo – Regresa A Mi : single review . MusicOMH . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20061214185055/http://www.musicomh.com/singles/il-divo.htm . 2006-12-14.
7. Web site: Il Divo, CAN. Billboard. 2 November 2020. subscription.
8. Web site: Il Divo, TLP. Billboard. 2 November 2020. subscription.
9. Web site: Il Divo, COA. Billboard. 2 November 2020. subscription.
10. Web site: End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2004. Official Charts Company. 2 November 2020.
11. Web site: ARIA Top 100 Albums for 2005. Australian Recording Industry Association. 2 November 2020.
12. Web site: Jahreshitparade Alben 2005. austriancharts.at. 2 November 2020.
13. Web site: Jaaroverzichten – Album 2005. Dutch Charts. 2 November 2020.
14. Web site: Top de l'année Top Albums 2005. SNEP. fr. 2 November 2020.
15. Web site: Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts. de. GfK Entertainment. 2 November 2020.
16. Web site: Összesített album- és válogatáslemez-lista – eladási darabszám alapján – 2005. 31 August 2021. Magyar Hangfelvétel-kiadók Szövetsége. hu.
17. Web site: Top Selling Albums of 2005. Recorded Music NZ. 2 November 2020.
18. Web site: Årslista Album – År 2005. Sverigetopplistan. sv. 2 November 2020.
19. Web site: Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2005. hitparade.ch. 2 November 2020.
20. Web site: End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2005. Official Charts Company. 2 November 2020.
21. Web site: Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2005. Billboard. 2 November 2020.
22. Web site: Top 50 Global Best Selling Albums for 2005. IFPI. https://web.archive.org/web/20081117003309/http://www.ifpi.org/content/library/top50-2005.pdf. 17 November 2008. 2 February 2023.
23. Web site: ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 100 Albums 2006. Australian Recording Industry Association. https://web.archive.org/web/20140127032212/http://www.aria.com.au/pages/ARIACHarts-EndofYearCharts-Top100Albums2006.htm. 2 November 2020. 27 January 2014.
24. Web site: Összesített album- és válogatáslemez-lista – eladási darabszám alapján – 2006. 31 August 2021. Magyar Hangfelvétel-kiadók Szövetsége. hu.
25. Web site: 2006 UK Albums Chart. ChartsPlus. 2 November 2020.
26. Web site: Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2006. Billboard. 2 November 2020.
27. The Noughties' Official UK Albums Chart Top 100 . . . London, England . 19 . 30 January 2010.