TORONTO -- When the panties started flying toward the stage, Il Divo's Carlos Marin beamed.

"Just like Tom Jones," the Spaniard exclaimed. "Yeahhhh."

The heartthrob factor notwithstanding, a strong mathematical argument can be made that the hottest musical group on the planet isn't U2, or INXS, or Bon Jovi, or the Super Bowl-censored Rolling Stones.

It's Il Divo, which played its first Canadian concert last night at the Air Canada Centre. The venue was truncated to provide an intimate setting for about 9,000 wedged-in fans.

Il Divo is not to be confused with Devo, or that kiddie abomination Devo 2.0, and good lord, not Bell Biv Devoe.

We're talking 'bout Il Divo, four good-looking dudes in their 30s from four different countries whose combination of pop and opera -- dubbed "popera" -- has topped charts around the world.

Il Divo may not have the political activism of U2, or the Canadian connection of INXS. They may not have the rock-star stylings of Bon Jovi, or the five-decade cachet of the Stones.

But Il Divo, which was put together by venomous American Idol judge Simon Cowell, has tapped into a market that apparently was aching to be tapped.

Il Divo's second CD, Ancora, still is in the top 10 in Canada and last week it went to No. 1 in the United States.

Of the 9,000 in attendance last night, about 80% were female. And while it seemed as if 80% of that 80% were over the age of 30, you wouldn't have known it from the girlish squeals.

There's no scientific method to measure this, but the most screams seemed to be reserved for Morin and France's Sebastien Izambard. Rounding out Il Divo are American David Miller and Urs Buhler of Switzerland.

All four have voices as big as the sky and highlights included the never-say-die Unchained Melody and Everytime I Look At You. But I Believe In You lost some of its majesty without Celine Dion, who sings on the recorded version. And overall there was a little too much echo in the building for the four singers and their accompanying 30-member orchestra.

The stage (classic columns and stairs) was sort of cheesy, and most of the group's between-song banter was heavily scripted and awkward. The Rat Pack they ain't, but language limitations are partly to blame and Il Divo should be able to improve upon that as its career continues.

A technical problem caused a lengthy delay for people waiting to take their seats prior to the show. The ACC corridors were jammed with the aged and the irritated, and it was hilarious to see 6-foot-10 Raptors forward Matt Bonner trying to fight his way toward the team's practice facility.

Sadly, most people still were scrambling to their seats when 18-year-old classical songstress Hayley Westenra of New Zealand provided an admirable opening set.