Il Divo (album)

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.^[3] The album has sold more than 5,000,000 worldwide copies to date.^[4]

Il Divo
Studio album by Il Divo
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]
Il Divo chronology
Il Divo (2004) Ancora (2005)
Singles from Il Divo
"Regresa a mí" Released: 22 October 2004 "My Way (A mi manera)" Released: 18 February 2005 "Mama" Released: 7 May 2005 "Unchained Melody (Senza catene)" Released: 8 July 2005

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]

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.^[5]

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!"^[6]

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."^[7]
• "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.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Regresa a mí"	Diane Warren	Steve Mac	4:42
2.	"Mama"	Andreas Romdhane, Josef Larossi, Savan Kotecha	Steve Mac, Quiz & Larossi	3:19
3.	"Nella Fantasia"	Ennio Morricone, Chiara Ferraù	Per Magnusson, David Kreuger	4:26
4.	"Passerà"	Aleandro Baldi, Giancarlo Bigazzi, Marco Falagiani	Steve Mac	4:40
5.	"Everytime I Look at You"	Andy Hill, John Reid	Per Magnusson, David Kreuger	3:31
6.	"Ti amerò"	Matteo Saggese, Per Magnusson, David Kreuger, Frank Musker	Per Magnusson, David Kreuger	4:01
7.	"Dentro un altro si"	Andy Hill, Don Black	Per Magnusson, David Kreuger	4:34
8.	"The Man You Love"	Steve Mac, Blair Daly, Troy Verges	Steve Mac	3:56
9.	"Feelings"	Jörgen Elofsson	Steve Mac	3:39
10.	"Hoy que ya no estás aquí"	Jörgen Elofsson, Tony Vincent	Steve Mac, Mathias Venge	4:19
11.	"Sei parte ormai di me"	Andreas Romdhane, Josef Larossi, Brian McFadden, Shane Filan, Matteo Saggese, Mino Vergnaghi	Quiz & Larossi	4:28
12.	"My Way (A mi manera)"	Jacques Revaux, Claude François, Gilles Thibaut, Paul Anka	Steve Mac	4:28

American Bonus Track

No.	Title	Length
13.	"Unchained Melody (Senza catene)"	3:51

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2004–05) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[8] 1 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[9] 2 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[10] 3 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[11] 2 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[12] 1 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[13] 1 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[14] 1 French Albums (SNEP)[15] 4 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[16] 2 Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[17] 3 Irish Albums (IRMA)[18] 2 Italian Albums (FIMI)[19] 63 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[20] 3 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[21] 2 Portuguese Albums (AFP)[22] 2 Scottish Albums (OCC)[23] 1 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[24] 2 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[25] 1 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[26] 2 UK Albums (OCC)[27] 1 US Billboard 200[28] 4 US Top Classical Albums (Billboard)[29] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2004) Position UK Albums (OCC)[30] 10 Chart (2005) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[31] 12 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[32] 34 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[33] 8 French Albums (SNEP)[34] 50 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[35] 67 Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[36] 20 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[37] 18 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[38] 5 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[39] 18 UK Albums (OCC)[40] 48 US Billboard 200[41] 64 Worldwide Albums (IFPI)[42] 16 Chart (2006) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[43] 79 Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[44] 64 UK Albums (OCC)[45] 162 US Billboard 200[46] 168 Decade-end charts Chart (2000–2009) Position UK Albums (OCC)[47] 62

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Argentina (CAPIF)[48]	3× Platinum	120,000^
Australia (ARIA)[49]	3× Platinum	210,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[50]	Platinum	30,000*
Belgium (BEA)[51]	2× Platinum	100,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[52]	3× Platinum	300,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[53]	2× Platinum	66,441[53]
France (SNEP)[54]	2× Gold	200,000*
Germany (BVMI)[55]	Gold	100,000^
Hungary (MAHASZ)[56]	Platinum	20,000^
Mexico (AMPROFON)[57]	2× Platinum	200,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[58]	2× Platinum	160,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[59]	2× Platinum	30,000^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[60]	Platinum	40,000*
Portugal (AFP)[61]	Platinum	40,000^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[62]	4× Platinum	320,000^
Sweden (GLF)[63]	Platinum	60,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[64]	Platinum	40,000^
Taiwan	—	30,000[a]
United Kingdom (BPI)[66]	5× Platinum	1,500,000*
United States (RIAA)[67]	Platinum	1,000,000^
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[68]	2× Platinum	2,000,000*
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Notes

1. Taiwanese estimated sales as of January 2006.^[65]

References

1. "Steve Mac (2)". Discogs.
2. AllMusic review
3. "Official Charts Analysis: One Direction sell another 124k of new album – Analysis – Music Week". Music Week.
4. larazon.es (ed.). "Il Divo: Divinos y humanos".
5. Smith, Jacqueline (12 January 2015). IL DIVO - IL DIVO 2004. ISBN 9781488828874.
6. Robbie's alleged statement. Accessed 5 March 2008.
7. "Il Divo – Regresa A Mi : single review". MusicOMH. Archived from the original on 14 December 2006.
8. "Australiancharts.com – Il Divo – Il Divo". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
9. "Austriancharts.at – Il Divo – Il Divo" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
10. "Ultratop.be – Il Divo – Il Divo" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
11. "Ultratop.be – Il Divo – Il Divo" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
12. "Il Divo, CAN". Billboard. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
13. "Dutchcharts.nl – Il Divo – Il Divo" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
14. "Il Divo: Il Divo" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
15. "Lescharts.com – Il Divo – Il Divo". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
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18. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Il Divo". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
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23. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
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25. "Swedishcharts.com – Il Divo – Il Divo". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
26. "Swisscharts.com – Il Divo – Il Divo". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
27. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
28. "Il Divo, TLP". Billboard. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
29. "Il Divo, COA". Billboard. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
30. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2004". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
31. "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 2005". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
32. "Jahreshitparade Alben 2005". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
33. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2005". Dutch Charts. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
34. "Top de l'année Top Albums 2005" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
35. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
36. "Összesített album- és válogatáslemez-lista – eladási darabszám alapján – 2005" (in Hungarian). Magyar Hangfelvétel-kiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
37. "Top Selling Albums of 2005". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
38. "Årslista Album – År 2005" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
39. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2005". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
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43. "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 100 Albums 2006". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 27 January 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
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45. "2006 UK Albums Chart" (PDF). ChartsPlus. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
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48. "Discos de Oro y Platino" (in Spanish). Cámara Argentina de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Archived from the original on 31 May 2011.
49. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2005 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
50. "Austrian album certifications – Il Divo – Il Divo" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
51. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 2006". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
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54. "French album certifications – Il Divo – Il Divo" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
55. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Il Divo; 'Il Divo')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
56. "Adatbázis – Arany- és platinalemezek – 2005" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
57. "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Retrieved 9 September 2020. Type Il Divo in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and Il Divo in the box under the TÍTULO column heading.
58. "Dutch album certifications – Il Divo – Il Divo" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 26 May 2019. Enter Il Divo in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 2005 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
59. "Certifications October 30 2005". radioscope.co.nz. Archived from the original on 1 October 2006. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
60. "IFPI Norsk platebransje Trofeer 1993–2011" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
61. "Portuguese album certifications – Il Divo – Il Divo" (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Archived from the original on 20 November 2010. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
62. "Spanish album certifications" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 30 August 2022. Select Álbumes under "Categoría", select 2008 under "Año". Select 15 under "Semana". Click on "BUSCAR LISTA".
63. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2005" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
64. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Il Divo')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
65. Miyazaki, Shinji (23 January 2006). Music Publishers Association of Japan (MPAJ) (ed.). East Asia Music Market (PDF). MIDEM. Cannes. p. 6. Archived from the original (DOC) on 6 September 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
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External links

• Il Divo at AllMusic