Il Divo's brand of 'popera' an international hit

01/15/2006 3:55 PM, Reuters


Chalk up Il Divo as the latest act to show that worldwide platinum-plus success can come without benefit of radio airplay.

The quartet, which performs what has been dubbed "popera -- pop tunes performed in a classical style, as well as traditional mainstream classical tunes -- has become a global phenomenon during the last year.

On January 24, Syco/Columbia will see whether the story can continue in the United States. That day, the group's third release, "Ancora," will hit stateside stores. The album, released in much of the rest of the world last November, continues to sell well, moving more than 2 million units since its release, according to Sony BMG.

"Ancora" includes a duet with Celine Dion ("I Believe in You") and remakes of Mariah Carey's "Hero" and Josh Groban's "You Raise Me Up," both sung in Spanish.

The quartet's U.S.-only holiday album, "The Christmas Collection," was No. 1 on Billboard's Top Classical Crossover chart for 10 weeks and this week is No. 3. At No. 1 is Il Divo's self-titled album, which has sold 1.1 million in the United States since its release last April. The holiday set has sold 544,000 copies.

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Pop svengali Simon Cowell has been instrumental in getting the project together and defining the overall strategy. The act is signed to his London-based Syco label, which is distributed worldwide by Sony BMG.

The group appeared with Cowell on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in April 2005 before the release of its self-titled debut in the United States. The title bowed at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and at No. 1 on the Classical Crossover chart. Il Divo's debut finished at No. 6 on Billboard's 2005 European chart. It has shifted close to 5 million units worldwide, according to Sony BMG.

"Ancora" already has hit the top of the charts in the United Kingdom, Canada, Spain, Finland, Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia.

The success has come, in most cases, without the help of radio. The Il Divo team feels strongly that the group's success has come primarily from TV appearances and direct TV campaigns.

"There's really no place for us at radio," says David Miller, Il Divo's lone American member. "The feeling is that we're too 'classical' for pop stations, and too 'pop' for classical stations."

"We would love radio to play them," Sony BMG U.K. product manager Paul McGhie says, echoing Miller's sentiments, "but they don't."

One of the few exceptions in the United Kingdom has been national commercial classical music station Classic FM, which has more than 6 million daily listeners. The station premiered both of Il Divo's studio albums.

Station manager Darren Henley says the strength of Il Divo is the group's ability "to connect with a very broad audience worldwide, and that's no (small) achievement."

Il Divo's first world tour kicks off January 31 at the Chevrolet Theater in Wallingford, Conn. The U.S. portion concludes February 26 at San Francisco's Davies Hall.

After the U.S. leg, the tour will head to Australia, Europe, the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Reuters/Billboard