Il Divo's David Miller on working with Simon Cowell; recording 'Wicked Game': interviewPublished: June 14, 2012 
2012-06-13T21:01:04Z
By WADE TATANGELO Bradenton_Herald
By WADE TATANGELO
David Miller on working with Simon Cowell; getting permission to record 'Wicked Game'
Il Divo, the men who bring opera to the masses, took home the newly created Artist of the Decade honor at the Classic Brit Awards last month.Considering the vocal quartet has sold more than 25 million albums worldwide, the prize shouldn't come as a surprise.But it still moved the group's American tenor, David Miller, who reflected on the award during a recent phone interview from the road."Knowing we've made something people want to listen to," he said, "it's a very emotional moment."French pop singer Sébastien Izambard, Spanish baritone Carlos Marín and Swiss tenor Urs Bühler will join Miller on stage at the Straz Center in Tampa on Friday and Saturday.It has been the same lineup from the start of Il Divo, which is Italian for "divine male performer."Miller and the rest of the gang were assembled by Simon Cowell around the same time the music mogul became famous for his acid tongue on "American Idol.""He was all nurturing and encouraging to us," Miller said, with a chuckle. "He never said anything like, 'This is the worst filth I've ever heard.'"In 2004, Il Divo's self-titled debut came out and quickly became a global smash.The album features the group's hit cover of Toni Braxton's "Unbreak My Heart," plus standards such as "My Way" and "Unchained Melody," the latter performed in Italian.The formula has worked ever since, including on Il Divo's latest full-length "Wicked Game."Chris Isaak's title track, though, probably couldn't have been recorded by the quartet if they didn't happen to be the most famous operatic pop act on the planet.According to Miller, Isaak "never" gives permission for the song to be recorded.But his mom can."The thing was, his mom, being Italian or of Italian descent, was a fan of ours, and when we approached him, she lit up," Miller said.The deal was they could record the song but it had to be in the language of Mom's relatives."Apparently, because of her, they OK'd the song," Miller said. "But we had to do it in Italian as opera aria."In addition to winning over the masses with their endearing offerings of soft-pop standards, show tunes and classical material given a pop makeover, the men from Il Divo also woo fans with their looks.The media doesn't exactly downplay the group's visual appeal.For instance, Miller recalled a New York Times article that described Il Divo as a "hunky Armani-clad vocal group."So how does he feel about being a sex symbol?"It still boggles my mind," Miller said.