With No. 1s on both sides of the Atlantic, Il Divo has experienced the peaks of a music career like few others. And in 2021, the crushing lows that come with the loss of a bandmate.
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As the pandemic raged around the globe, Carlos Marín, the Spanish baritone and a beloved member of the classic crossover act, died unexpectedly at the age of 53.
The group’s surviving artists Urs Bühler (the Swiss tenor), Sébastien Izambard (the French pop artist) and David Miller (the American tenor) grieved, lifted. And with the discovery of Steven LaBrie, the Mexican-American baritone, a gift that would enable Il Divo to fulfil its second act.
“It was super difficult, to be honest,” recounts Izambard of the tragedy. “A part of us thought, we need to keep representing the legacy of our band. If Carlos had still been in this world, he would probably have told us to keep going.”
When the group considered pushing on, Miller pitched LaBrie, an artist he had worked with who possessed “an incredible voice,” Izambard says in a Zoom with Billboard. A recording came down the phone. “I was blown away, personally,” he explains. “I was like, there are some similarities in this voice. We talked the four of us, with Steven, to say how hard it’s gonna be, how big a role it to take on for Stephen to be part of our band.”
Marín’s passing, he continues, “was a good lesson for me, especially. I want to enjoy life, as much as I can. That was a great message for all of us.”
The chaps are enjoying life, music and life on the road. A new album is in the works, the followup to 2024’s XX, a 20th anniversary collection of new material, including an original song.
“The plan is to do new music,” Bühler confirms, “then go back out and share that with the world. With some collaborations as well.” Watch this space.
Il Divo are giants in their lane. Initially assembled and mentored by Simon Cowell in 2003, the vocal group has sold more than 30 million albums, bagged two No. 1s on the Official U.K. Albums Chart and became the first classical crossover act to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, doing so 20 years ago with Ancora.
Along the way, they’ve collaborated with the likes of Celine Dion, Toni Braxton and Michael Ball, and entertained a who’s who of important figures, from former U.S. presidents George Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama to the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Australian audiences will be among the first to catch this new era of Il Divo. The group will return to Australia a special all-star concert, Dec. 5, led by Jose Carreras, and featuring performances by Robbie Williams, the Corrs, Ronan Keating, Natalie Imbruglia, Darren Hayes, Katherine Jenkins and more.
Echo Pacific Entertainment is promoting the Carreras & Friends show at the Gabba Stadium in Brisbane — host city for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games — an early Christmas present for the group, and Il Divo’s first live performance in these parts since a four-city run in 2023, produced by TEG Dainty.
Carreras and his groundbreaking work with Luciano Pavarotti and Plácido Domingo was an early inspiration for Il Divo, Miller enthuses. “It could be well said, that Il Divo wouldn’t exist without the Three Tenors. Yet another reason to thank Maestro Carreras.”
