The Promise - CD

Il Divo: The Promise version on CD in Standard edition. This particular edition was published in Europe in publishing company Syco Music in cooperation with Sony BMG Music Entertainment on 6. November 2008.

Il Divo are back: fresh, rested and full of beans - ready to remind the world what it has lost in recent months. In November, the world's most popular operatic crossover quartet will release "The Promise", their most diverse and exciting album to date. "People will be surprised by this album," American tenor David Miller is sure. "Our goal was to approach it with new ideas and untapped ears. We wanted to try completely different things this time. We still set off all our musical fireworks, but this album has a wider range, it has more dynamics, more light and shade, more color. It's a more complete album overall." During the process of creating the album, something very pivotal happened for Il Divo: the four singers discovered their new shared destiny. "We are much more mature than when we started," explains Spanish baritone Carlos Marin. "We are no longer four solo singers singing together. We're a group." "We've built up a mutual trust," says Swiss tenor Urs Bühler. "We realized that what's best for Il Divo is also best for each of us, because we are Il Divo. We belong together." Or as French pop singer Sebastien Izambard says, "Il Divo are one." It was music manager Simon Cowell who put Il Divo together four years ago. Four exceptional singers were chosen in a global audition. The virtuosity with which the quartet combined traditional opera singing with romantic and popular pop songs has taken the world by storm - to date, more than 22 million albums have been sold worldwide. Il Divo's first three albums "Il Divo", "Ancora" and "Siempre" topped the album charts in 26 countries a total of 36 times. "Honestly, it was a bold experiment," David recalls. "To bring together four solo singers, three of them from opera, one from pop, from four different countries. Of course you have to overcome language barriers. There was no pattern to follow either. Simon said: "Here are songs to make me proud. So we had to figure out right away in practice how to do something like this at all." Il Divo's biggest trick was to make it look like the easiest thing in the world. Four handsome men who sang their hearts out and, with their extraordinary singing skills, transformed some of the best songs in music history into something entirely new, captivated the audience. But behind the scenes, it required unconditional commitment and an uncompromising pursuit of perfection. "It's been a great journey for everyone," explains Sebastien. "We put so much work into it. We always wanted to get the best out of it. That was a challenge." Il Divo's schedule didn't allow for any breaks. During two sold-out world tours, they sang in front of more than 1.5 million people in thirty countries. They performed at the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2006 World Cup, where they sang the official song of the tournament with Toni Braxton. As special guests, they accompanied Barbra Streisand on her 2006 North American tour. And all the while, they were perfecting a musical genre that they had practically created themselves, constantly searching, as David says, for songs and styles that would be suitable for both opera and pop. "But the work is still going on," Urs says. "You can analyze classical music, but in the world of pop music it works very simply: you either get hooked - or you don't. You can try and say, 'I sang so high and so loud,' but if it doesn't touch anyone, you can let it go. So you have to learn a lot, discover new musical avenues, different aspects of the voice, and create sounds that would be considered "technically incorrect" in classical music, but still express feelings that are almost spiritual. Beautiful music that touches people - who cares if it comes from the 16th or 20th century? There are 20,000 people at an Il Vivo concert who are happy to see and hear you. It gives you such energy - it's fantastic." After three years of continuous work, Il Divo established themselves as the world's most successful musical newcomers of their time, and in 2007 the quartet of singers took a well-deserved break. When they reunited to begin work on their fourth album, they found that the group dynamic had fundamentally changed. "We looked at ourselves and realised we were a team," explains David. "We were supportive of each other, we were the guys who kept everything going. "And it was clear that this was our boat and we were the four captains," Carlos announces cryptically. "It was very easy to get swept up in the busy schedule and let the current take us," says Urs. "Our record company and management keep the ship afloat, but we hold the helm, no one can take that away from us. We have to be confident in what we're doing, it's just our responsibility. We've developed a strong sense of what we're supposed to do, and we do it together." On their first album, they instinctively anticipated a way of working that they honed and refined on subsequent albums. Now, however, new creative avenues were about to emerge on their new long player. One of the first decisions was to work with only one producer this time, longtime partner Steve McCutcheon (known as Steve Mac). "Steve Mac is a genius," Carlos explains. "He's one of the best producers in the world, creates beautiful orchestrations and isn't afraid to try new ideas and arrangements." "We looked at the album as a whole and managed to find a much better balance," explains Urs. "Sometimes it's dramatic and big, other times it's quiet and intimate. We really broke new ground with these songs." The result is an album full of contrasts. It includes a version of the Frankie-Goes-To-Hollywood classic "The Power Of Love" that, according to David, culminates in "the best Il-Divo finale you've ever heard." At the other end of the spectrum is a beautiful rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah". "We had to change the tension for that," explains Urs. "It's gentle and cautionary, very moving." Then there's the Latin song "Mi Obsessione". "It's a fast song with fast vocals - something you wouldn't expect from Il Divo at all," explains Sebastien. "The song was a challenge for us, we entered completely new territory with it." And everyone raves about their version of Abba's evergreen "The Winner Takes It All". "At first I thought it was probably too cheesy," Carlos admits. "But we slowed it down, changed the key and it worked. This is the best album for me. It's like Il Divo - only there's a lot more to it!" "There's just something missing in today's music. Something we haven't heard in decades - real voices that permeate the production," says David. "That's what we've been trying to do from the beginning. It's kind of 'old school'. Real voices, real lyricism, real art." "There's something very special about all of us singing together," Carlos adds. "It doesn't matter at all who sings the melody and who sings the harmony, it's like one big wave. The feeling is indescribable, it's so strong that even when I'm on stage singing with the others I get goosebumps."

Album spans genres Pop, Classical, Romantic and Contemporary classical.