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In Italian, Il Divo means, "Divine male performer," or male diva.
On the international market, Il Divo translates as four divine male performers who, with Armani model good looks and stunning operatic voices, are worth millions and taking the world by storm.
The group, performing tonight at Rexall Place, started the latest leg of its global touring in early January. It began in Indonesia and carried on through Malaysia, South Asia, London, Mexico, Colombia and the men were in Chile last week when the Sun finally tracked them down for an interview.
"I remember the first time we met each other, we didn't really believe this would work and I think, even for Simon Cowell, he never thought that we would go so far," says Carlos Marin, the group's Spanish member. "Day by day is like living in a dream."
Yes, Marin is referring to THE Cowell, who became a household name as an American Idol judge. Inspired by a duet from Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman, Cowell conceived of a multinational dream quartet of lyrical voices and in 2001, began auditions in 17 countries.
By the end of 2003, Il Divo was born with Marin, French pop singer Sebastien Izambard and two tenors, American David Miller and Urs Buhler from Switzerland.
"No one expected that we would be together more than three years in the beginning and now we just signed another contract for another five, six years minimum. So, it means it's big and it's gone so well. I remember Simon Cowell telling me, 'You're going to be big, you're going to sing, you're going to have some money and after a few years, maybe Il Divo's done and you'll get a great experience.' But now, even for him, it's like, 'My goodness, this is unbelievable what's happened,' " says Marin, explaining the hardest part was dealing with the initial language barriers between the four strangers. "Normally, in Spanish you can swear a lot. But, you translate all these things in English, and it sounds really bad. So we had a lot of misunderstandings in the beginning, but now our relationship is like brothers and it's just unbelievable."
What's truly unbelievable is what the group has accomplished since its self-titled debut album in 2004. Il Divo now has five DVDs on the market, five albums and 36 number one hits and is already planning its next recording.
"The most memorable moment was being number one in the United States, because obviously it's so difficult. It was number one in the United States in the pop charts, so seeing after us Mariah Carey, 50 Cent, all the rappers and all the top music, it's unbelievable what's gone on with the music," says Marin, 38.
Not only do all four members have unbelievable voices, but they all have the exotic, chiselled good looks of international male models, another part of the whole scheme that has escalated to ridiculous extremes.
"It's starting to get really crazy. For example, since we arrived in South America, we can't even walk on the street right now. We now sometimes change our names at the hotels because myself, just since we started in South America, I've received every single morning, at six o'clock, seven o'clock in the morning, calls from fans saying, 'Hello, how are you doing? My name is Marila and I'm a fan. Hello.' And I say, 'Look, my darling, it's six o'clock in the morning. I love you but I am now sleeping.' So that's the thing. The other day when we arrived in Mexico, it was 1:30 in the morning and we had 150 screaming girls there waiting for us. We were looking a little like Bon Jovi," Marin says with a chuckle.