The idea behind this quartet's creation came to Simon Cowell after listening to Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman's rendition of "Con Te Partirò." He realized he loved lyrical voices but not opera, so he decided to form a multinational quartet (France, Switzerland, Spain, and United States) that sounded like The Three Tenors but sang pop songs and looked like handsome Armani models.
With this idea, Cowell commenced a worldwide search for young singers who were willing to embark on the Il Divo project. His search lasted two years, from 2001 until December 2003, when the fourth member of Il Divo, American tenor David Miller, was signed. The well-established formation of Il Divo comprises a renowned Spanish opera and zarzuela baritone, Carlos Marín, a French pop singer, Sébastien Izambard, and two classically trained tenors, Swiss Urs Bühler and American David Miller. Recording of their first album started in the first half of 2004 in Sweden.
The group's debut album, the self-named Il Divo, contains renditions of Frank Sinatra's hit "My Way (A Mi Manera)," Toni Braxton's hit "Unbreak My Heart (Regresa a Mi)," an adaptation of Ennio Morricone's soundtrack titled "Gabriel's Oboe" from the movie La Misión titled "Nella Fantasia" and several songs sung in Spanish, English, Italian, and Portuguese ("Volta Pra Mim"), including 1994's San Remo Festival winner "Passerà."
Il Divo hit the #1 slot on both Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com after a breakout career-defining appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show on April 5, 2005, where the quartet performed its interpretation of "Unbreak My Heart."
In the United Kingdom, the Il Divo album topped Robbie Williams as number 1 in the UK charts (allegedly Williams said to them during the Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason film premiere, "Oi, you're the bastards that knocked me off!"). 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.
Il Divo's second album, Ancora, was recorded in both Sweden and London with world-renowned recording giants Per Magnusson and David Kreuger and producer Steve Mac, who was also the producer of their first album. Released on November 7, 2005 in the UK, it hit number one both in the UK and Australia within one week. Ancora was released in the US on January 24, 2006. It entered the Billboard albums chart at number 1, selling more than 150,000 copies during its first week of sales.
Highlights on Ancora include "Isabel," "I Believe In You," a duet with Céline Dion, and Il Divo's cover of Eric Carmen's "All By Myself (Solo Otra Vez)." Two of the tracks on this CD, "O Holy Night" and "Ave Maria," appear on the 2005 US-only release, Christmas Collection.
Il Divo was the perfomer of the 2006 FIFA World Cup official song "A Time of Our Lives."
Memory
Il Divo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sulla strada del cuore
Che mi porta da te
Soffia il vento del tempo
Quanta notte che va
Sempre qui ci troverà
Memory, all alone in the moonlight
I was beautiful then
I remember
The time I knew what happiness was
Let the memory live again
Nasce il sole
Che così
Ci troverà abbracciati
La sua mano
Sulla porta piano
Spalanca il cielo al mattino
In the daylight
I must wait for the sunrise
I must think of a new life
And I mustn't give in
When the dawn comes
Tonight will be a memory too
And a new day will begin
Nasce il sole
Che così
Ci trover abbracciati
Like a flower
As the dawn is waking
The memory is fading
Touch me, it's so easy to leave me
All alone with the memory
Of my days in the sun
If you touch me
You'll understand what happiness is
Look a new day has begun
The song "Memory" by Il Divo featuring Nicole Scherzinger is a powerful ballad with both Italian and English lyrics. The first verse, in Italian, describes a lover's journey towards his beloved, despite the passing of time. The wind of time blows, and the night passes, but they always find each other. The chorus then shifts to English, with the singer lamenting about memories of the past, remembering what it felt like to be happy. The singer's past self knew what happiness was, but the present is bleak, and they long to relive those golden days.
The second verse mirrors the first, again in Italian, describing how the sun rises and finds them hugging each other tightly. The dawn breaks the sky open and brings new light to the world. In contrast to the hopeful tone of the Italian verse, the English chorus speaks of waiting for a new life, not giving up, and being strong despite the wistful feeling of the memory of the past. The bridge changes the tone, urging the listener to touch the singer to understand what happiness feels like, saying that a new day has dawned.
Overall, the song's lyrics are expressive, speaking of loneliness, loss, and the ache of memory. But within that sadness, there is the promise of a new day, a new dawn breaking, and new happiness to come.
Line by Line Meaning
Piano questi passi d'amore
Slowly, these steps of love are taken
Sulla strada del cuore
On the path of the heart
Che mi porta da te
That leads me to you
Soffia il vento del tempo
The wind of time blows
Quanta notte che va
So many nights that have passed
Sempre qui ci troverà
Always, it will find us here
Memory, all alone in the moonlight
Remembering, alone in the light of the moon
I can smile at the old days
I can smile at the days gone by
I was beautiful then
I was beautiful in those times
I remember
I recall
The time I knew what happiness was
The moment I understood what it meant to be happy
Let the memory live again
May the memory be relived
Nasce il sole
The sun rises
Che così
And in this way
Ci troverà abbracciati
It will find us embraced
La sua mano
Its hand
Sulla porta piano
Gently on the door
Spalanca il cielo al mattino
It opens the sky in the morning
In the daylight
When the sun is up
I must wait for the sunrise
I must wait for the sun to rise
I must think of a new life
I must contemplate a new life
And I mustn't give in
And I should not give up
When the dawn comes
When the sun rises
Tonight will be a memory too
This night will also become a memory
And a new day will begin
And a new day will dawn
Like a flower
Like a blooming flower
As the dawn is waking
As the sun is starting to rise
The memory is fading
The memory is becoming fainter
Touch me, it's so easy to leave me
Touch me, it's easy to abandon me
All alone with the memory
Alone with the memory
Of my days in the sun
Of the days I spent in the warmth of the sun
If you touch me
If you touch me
You'll understand what happiness is
You'll comprehend what it means to be happy
Look a new day has begun
Behold, a new day has commenced
Lyrics © Strictly Songs SPRL, CONSALAD CO., Ltd., BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, ONErpm, Iricom US Ltd, Downtown Music Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Trevor Nunn, T.S. Eliot, Zdenek Hruby
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@ninaeriksrud455
I am crying when listening to the excellent voice of Carlos Marin here,a d know that I will not be able to hear his voices anymore, this is not fair God,calling on Carlos this early. Rest in peace Carlos you will be highly missed by millions
@gatosfofis8286
😍
@perogkirstenlange5638
exactly.. sitting with a lump in my throat every time I hear that man sing .. it's a mystery why he had to bow to the damned corona..😢
@dollyganzon6828
Ilove the
m
@MilciaMeyer
❤
@gianni4453
Me too
😭😭
@sandrafarmer5351
An extraordinary voice of Carlos Marín! I cry everytime I hear him sing! Life is so unfair, to take our Dearly beloved Carlos! I only wish they make a movie of his life and career! It would be outstanding for sure! He had such great stage presence! His presence will always be on stage with IL Divo! The world so loved Carlos, I hope he knew just how much! It’s been 20 months now, and the pain is still so raw! We’ll love him forever! Rest in peace my Spanish Prince!❤❤❤❤
@tailim1210
Love Il divo, their voices are always so harmony together, perhaps the best group ever... Sadly, now left only three, Carlos will always be remembered.
@nelidabeatrizcasanova8202
X DIOS NO ME CANSARE NUNCA DE. ESCUCHAR ESA MARAVILLOSA VOZ !! LA MÚSICA ERES TU !!!IMPOSIBLE OLVIDARTE CARLOS !!!
@nellynunez9029
Claro q es inolvidable Carlos y su voz.yo descubri IL DIVO cuando empezo la pandemia y me encanto Carlos su persona y su voz.pero todo el Divo..jamas pense q Carlos o cualquiera de ellos fuera a morir por edte maldito virus.los escuchaba todas las noches en cuarentena total.