Sébastien Izambard
Izambard in 2008
Born (1973-03-07) 7 March 1973
Paris, France
Occupation(s)Singer, composer, record producer
Spouse
Renée Murphy
​
​
(m. 2008; div. 2018)​
Children3
Musical career
GenresClassical crossover, pop, rock, romantic
Instrument(s)Vocals
Years active2000–present
LabelsEMI Music France
(2000–2003)
Columbia Records
(2012–present)
Sony BMG / Syco Music
(2003–present)
Websiteildivo.com
Signature

Sébastien Izambard (French: [sebastjɛ̃ izɑ̃baʁ]; born 7 March 1973) is a French singer, composer and record producer. His vocal range is classified as popular melody or vox populi to a loud, so it has a tenor tessitura phonic.

He has been a member of the classical crossover group Il Divo since 2004, which has sold over 28 million copies worldwide discs.[1] In 2000, he launched the solo album titled Libre, reaching number No. 1 ranking with the single "Si tu savais"[2] achieving excellent sales ranking in France, Canada and Belgium.[3] Currently, Izambard writes, produces and composes for pop artists of international stature.[4]

Izambard is an active member of the French organization AMTM (Assistance Médicale Toit du Monde) and global ambassador for the Sanfilippo Children's Foundation.[5][6]

Early life

Izambard's childhood was hard; his parents were divorced and his father left when he was six. He grew up in a poor single parent household and lived with his mother in a room little bigger than 100sqft on the top floor of a block of apartments in Parisian Dense with her great-grandmother. He studied at the Lycée Janson de Sailly in Paris, considered one of the best schools in Europe.[7]

As his mother worked, he grew accustomed to solitude and independence. At the age of 12, he cooked cakes as a gift for her after her workday. He confessed that for him, becoming an adult was more a way to learn to get out of trouble, as before his parents separated, he witnessed violence, drugs and abuse. Due to this psychological impact, he became a cautious, introverted and repressed child. However, with the help of child specialists, he was able to overcome this feeling of repression.[8]

Musical career

Soloist

Izambard started his career as a pop musician in France, releasing a solo album called Libre[3] and his song "Si Tu Savais" was ranked first in French Hit Charts.[3] Besides being a singer, Izambard is also an accomplished music composer, pianist, and guitar player[3] In Paris he has written music for many French artists. In 2001, he performed with Johnny Hallyday as a guest in the Olympia Theater in Paris.[9] His music, greatly influenced by Jeff Buckley, earns him the acknowledgement of French and Canadian audiences.

French singer Florent Pagny is his musical godfather.[10]

Musical theatre

Izambard performed in February 2002 in Richard Cocciante's musical Le Petit Prince, where he played the role of the Business Man. He also performed in several theatre plays as part of the group La Troupe.

He was preparing his second album with Francis Madjouli and Lionel Florence when he became involved with Il Divo.

Il Divo

Izambard in 2014

While recording his second solo album after collaborating on Le Petit Prince, Izambard attended an audition for the musical The Sun King. While waiting, he met Geraldine Larrosa, (Innocence) and her then-partner Carlos Marín, who spoke to him after hearing Izambard sing in online videos. Marín said it was worth a try, so Izambard went to the Bastille in Paris, where the auditions were being held by Sonny Takhar. Hearing Izambard "Caruso" performed the song while playing the piano himself, relaxed and convinced that he had nothing to lose since he thought would lead nowhere. However, Cowell heard him and offered him the job. Izambard said to himself "Je ne regrette rien (I have nothing to lose)",[11] accepted and devoted himself in the global musical quartet Il Divo in December 2003, along with Urs Bühler (Switzerland), David Miller (US) and Carlos Marín (Spain). Izambard is the only member of the group who is not classically trained.

Izambard has said that he has two dreams while being in Il Divo: composing a song for the quartet, and singing songs in French. In fact, Ancora, the second album of the group, contains two songs in French: "Je Crois en toi" (a duet partially in French with Céline Dion) and "Pour Que Tu M'Aimes Encore." "I Believe in You" is an original song for both artists, while "Pour Que Tu M'Aimes Encore" is Dion's, considered to be her most famous song in French.

Their first album, called Il Divo became a worldwide multiplatinum selling record when released in November 2004, entering Billboard at number 4; it sold five million copies worldwide in less than a year and knocked Robbie Williams from the number one spot. Their second album, Ancora, was released on 7 November 2005 in the United Kingdom. Il Divo's third album Siempre was released on 21 November 2006 in the United States and on 27 November 2006 internationally. Their latest album, The Promise, was released on 10 November 2008 (world) & 18 November 2008 (US), and shot straight to number 1 in the United Kingdom. In 2013 they published A Musical Affair, the songs of which are inspired by famous plays and musicals.

On 9 June 2006, Il Divo performed the 2006 FIFA World Cup official song "The Time of Our Lives" with R&B singer Toni Braxton live, at half-time, during the opening match between Germany and Costa Rica and again a month later at 9 July closing ceremony.[12][13] The song is available exclusively on the Voices from the FIFA World Cup compilation album and on the European reissue of Braxton's album Libra but not on any Il Divo album. Il Divo have been on several world tours and have received 50 gold and platinum awards. Their last tour in 2014 covered 5 continents and over 33 countries.

On 12 December 2008, Il Divo performed their new song at the Swedish Idol 2008 finale in the Globen Arena in Stockholm, Sweden.[14] The Paraguay show was Il Divo's biggest capacity performance to date and took place on 20 December 2011, at the Defensores del Chaco Stadium in Asuncion, for 33,900 people.[15][16]

13 May 2012 Il Divo performed the song "Caruso" with a staging of riding the rhythm of the song during the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II at Windsor for the entire royal family and Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.[17]

On 6 September 2012, it was announced that Il Divo would release a Greatest Hits album. The album was produced by Alberto Quintero and featured songs spanning Il Divo's successful eight-year career to date, as well as four new songs including "My Heart Will Go On", "I Will Always Love You", "Can't Help Falling in Love" and "Alone".[18]

On 19 July 2014, Il Divo performed before a capacity crowd at Edinburgh Castle esplanade where a pop festival took place ahead of the 2014 Commonwealth Games. The group performed "Amazing Grace".[19]

On 23 March 2015, it was announced that Il Divo was the winner of the 2015 Silver Clef Award, giving them the coveted Classic PPL. The gala award ceremony took place on 3 July at the Grosvenor House Hotel, a five-star hotel in London.

Record producer and composer

Izambard says that composing and writing songs is his passion, writing for the pleasure of writing. Before joining Il Divo, he wrote and produced songs for other French artists.

In parallel with Il Divo, Izambard continued writing songs with pop stars in the world; as with Australian Darren Hayes, the lead singer of Savage Garden; the star of The Phantom of the Opera Ramin Karimloo; Guy Chambers;[20] and with the lyricist Don Black.[21]

In November 2014, Izambard led the project to create an album with different Australian artists for raising money. Izambard, with the help of Sony Pictures Entertainment, produced along with the Spanish producer Alberto Quintero, producer as well of some of the albums of IL Divo, the album titled For Bringing Hope Isla and Jude, which was released on 5 December 2014 with the single written by Kate Bush "This Woman's Work", for St. Filippo Foundation.[22][23]

Izambard in 2012

Duets and collaborations

Izambard in 2014

Izambard has made many music & duets collaborations with major artists, both alone and with a member of Il Divo.

Philanthropy

Izambard is an active member of two charities: the French organization AMTM (Assistance Médicale Toit du Monde)[39] which helps poor children in Nepal and India, where during one of his campaigns to raise funds in September 2008, Seb raffled off several of his Armani suits, and the Australian Sanfilippo Children's Foundation organization, of which he is global ambassador.[40]

He recorded two videoclips and collaborated in solidarity projects such as the Noël Ensemble, a record in which more than one hundred artists participated in order to raise funds for the fight against AIDS.

Personal life

Izambard became engaged to Australian Renée Murphy on 1 June 2007 and they married 17 August 2008 in France. Renée was a publicist for Sony BMG when she met Izambard in Australia in 2005, who was on a tour with the group.[41]

A few months before the wedding, on 20 March 2008, Sebastien and Renée became parents of twins, Rose and Luca,[42] who were born in Port-Royal, a famous maternity in Paris. On 20 May 2011, the couple's third child, a son, Jude was born.

On 11 September 2018, Murphy began divorce proceedings at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in Los Angeles. In a Bolivian interview on 29 May 2019, he confirmed he had a new girlfriend.

Discography

Izambard in 2014

Singer

Solo

Studio albums

Il Divo

Studio albums
  1. 2004 – Il Divo
  2. 2005 – Ancora
  3. 2006 – Siempre
  4. 2008 – The Promise
  5. 2011 – Wicked Game
  6. 2013 – A Musical Affair
  7. 2015 – Amor & Pasión
  8. 2018 – Timeless
Seasonal album
  1. 2005 – The Christmas Collection
Albums Collections
  1. 2012 - The Greatest Hits
Live albums
  1. 2009 – An Evening with Il Divo: Live in Barcelona
  2. 2014 – Live in Japan
  3. 2016 – Live in Japan 2016

Collaborations other albums

  1. 2000 – Nöel Ensemble[43]
  2. 2005 – On ne change pas; Celine Dion (Il Divo)
  3. 2006 – Voices from the FIFA World Cup (Il Divo)
  4. 2006 – Libra; Toni Braxton (Il Divo)
  5. 2014 – Engelbert Calling; Engelbert Humperdick, song "Spanish Eyes".[29] (Il Divo)
  6. 2015 – Los Dúos; Juan Gabriel[44] song "Amor eterno" (Il Divo)

Musical theater

  1. 2002 – Le Petit Prince, (Studio version)
  2. 2002 – Le Petit Prince, (Full version)

Producer

  1. 2014 – Hope – This Woman's Work[45][46][47]

Composer

  1. 2010 – Ramin[48] de Ramin Karimloo
  2. 2011 – Secret Codes and Battleships[49] de Darren Hayes

Videography

Soloist

  • Official video
  1. 2004 – Libre

Musical works

  • Musical
  1. 2002 – Le Petit Prince

Il Divo

  • Documentary / Concert
  1. 2004 – Live at Gotham Hall[50][51]
  2. 2005 – Encore[52]
  3. 2005 – Mamá[53]
  4. 2006 – The Yule Log: The Christmas Collection[54]
  5. 2006 – Live at the Greek Theater[55]
  6. 2008 – At the Coliseum
  7. 2009 – An Evening with Il Divo: Live in Barcelona
  8. 2011 – Live in London
  9. 2014 – Live in Japan[56]
  10. 2016 – Live in Japan 2016
  • Official video
  1. 2004 – Regresa a mí
  2. 2005 – Mama
  3. 2006 – Time of our Lives.
  4. 2014 – Le Temps Des Cathédrales
  5. 2014 – Who Wants to Live Forever
  6. 2014 – Aimer
  7. 2014 – Can You Feel the Love Tonight
  8. 2014 – Memory
  9. 2015 - Amor & Pasión -Trailer-

References

  1. ↑ "Il Divo crowned Silver Clef winners". 23 March 2015.
  2. ↑ "Il Divo: Putting the pop in opera". Irish Examiner. 12 June 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Sébasien Izambard, cantante popular en Francia, ahora forma parte de Il Divo". 2014.
  4. ↑ "Il Divo: Poner el pop en la ópera". 12 June 2014.
  5. ↑ "Artists unite bringing Hope for Isla and Jude". Radio Today. 29 November 2014.
  6. ↑ "Il Divo singer Sebastian Izambard's fight to save Sanfilippo kids through Hope for Isla and Jude charity song". Daily Telegraph.
  7. ↑ Eced, Teresa Marín (1991). Lycée Janson de Sailly (colegio). Univ de Castilla La Mancha. ISBN 978-84-7729-107-7.
  8. ↑ "Entrevista com Sebastien Izambard e David Miller".
  9. ↑ http://sebastienizambard.tripod.com/%5B%5D
  10. ↑ "Seb recently sat down with The Sunday Telegraph Seven Magazine to discuss the Best French language records. Read a transcription of the article below". Il Divo. 15 November 2011. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
  11. ↑ "Il Divo: Poner el pop en la ópera. Entrevista a Sebastien 'Divo' Izambard". 12 January 2014.
  12. ↑ Archived 12 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ↑ FIONA: DIVO – Mirror.co.uk
  14. ↑ Parkström, Sara (9 December 2008). "Il Divo gästar idolfinalen". Expressen (in Swedish). Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  15. ↑ Branco, Marlene Aponte (21 December 2011). "Polca, guarania y ópera en una cálida noche de festejo patrio". Diario ABC Color (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  16. ↑ Coronel, Jorge (21 December 2011). "Il Divo celebró en concierto el Bicentenario del Paraguay". Diario ABC Color (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  17. ↑ "Windsor celebra el Jubileo de Diamante de forma espectacula". Hola. Archived from the original on 18 May 2012.
  18. ↑ "The Greatest Hits – Deluxe Limited Edition | The Official Il Divo Site". Ildivo.com. Archived from the original on 1 June 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
  19. ↑ "BBC One - Live at Edinburgh Castle, Il Divo - Amazing Grace live at Edinburgh Castle".
  20. ↑ ""Me encanta hacer música pop todavía", admite Izambard"". 12 June 2014.
  21. ↑ "Il Divo may have won the Artist of the Decade award at the Classical Brit Awards at the Royal Albert Hall the evening before we meet, but Sebastien Izambard isn't the sort of person who lets such things go to his head". Il Divo. 1 October 2015. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015.
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Natalie Bassingthwaighte breaks her music silence to help sick siblings Isla and Jude". News.com. 23 November 2014.
  23. ↑ "Sebastien Izambard, signing up to help a Sydney family find a cure for their sick children was an easy choice". Sebastien Izambard. 8 November 2014. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014.
  24. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "IL DIVO: NOUVEAU CLIP POUR L'ALBUM " A MUSICAL AFFAIR " MAINTENANT DISPONIBLE". People Inside. Archived from the original on 5 December 2014.
  25. ↑ "Il Divo con Barbra Streisand para el nuevo álbum". Digital Spy. 13 September 2013.
  26. ↑ "Il Divo, actuará el próximo martes 4 de noviembre en el Palacio de los Deportes de Madrid". mujer.es. Archived from the original on 5 December 2014.
  27. ↑ "Il Divo cantará el tema de la telenovela Sortilegio". Dechismes. Archived from the original on 2 July 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2009.
  28. ↑ "Nominados a los Premios TvYNovelas 2010". Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  29. 1 2 "The Engelbert Humperdinck 2014 duets album has a new star act. Il Divo have re-recorded Engelbert's classic 'Spanish Eyes' with the legendary singer". Noise 11. 22 December 2013.
  30. ↑ "Il Divo – Un asunto Musical, Con Heather Headley". Playbill. 5 September 2013.
  31. ↑ "En 2001 actuó con Johnny Halliday como invitado en su concierto en el teatro Olimpia". Wanadoo.es.
  32. ↑ "JENIFFER LOPEZ, IL DIVO, MORRISON Y DE VITA SALEN DEL CD DE JUAN GABRIEL". Archived from the original on 23 September 2015.
  33. ↑ "Katherine: es un placer trabajar con Il Divo, son estrellas clásicas". Wales Online. 11 April 2013.
  34. 1 2 3 "Il Divo canta Broadway con Michael Ball, Barbra Streinsand y Kristin Chenoweth". Europa Press. 22 September 2013.
  35. ↑ "Il Divo acerca Broadway a Madrid.El cuarteto vuelve esta noche a la capital para presentar su sexto disco, 'A musical affair'". El Mundo. 4 November 2014.
  36. ↑ "Simon Cowell: 7 artistas que surgieron con el famoso productor". Radio Programas del Perú. 7 October 2014. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
  37. ↑ "We Will Rock You star Mazz Murray to join IL DIVO as guest star". London Theatre 1. 18 August 2014.
  38. ↑ "Il Divo y Toni Braxton presentarán el himno oficial del Mundial en la inauguración". El País. 8 June 2006.
  39. ↑ "Assistance Médicale Toit du MondeE – AMTM". 2014.
  40. ↑ "Sebastien Izambard announced official ambassador Sanfilippo children's Foundation". 2014. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014.
  41. ↑ Adams, Cameron (17 February 2007). "Song in their hearts". Herald Sun. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
  42. ↑ Official forum|date=2014 Archived 3 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine, thread of Izambard's announcement.
  43. ↑ "Sebastien Izambard Noel Ensemble". Archived from the original on 25 September 2015.
  44. ↑ "Los dúo le ha significado muchas felicidades al cantante no sólo por haber vuelto a grabar sus éxitos con nuevos arreglos, sino por haberlos cantado acompañado de grandes figuras de la música contemporánea".
  45. ↑ "Australian Artists Unite Bringing 'Hope For Isla & Jude'".
  46. ↑ "Artists unite bringing Hope for Isla and Jude". 29 November 2014.
  47. ↑ "Il Divo singer Sebastian Izambard's fight to save Sanfilippo kids through Hope for Isla and Jude charity song".
  48. ↑ "Musica de Sébastien Izambard".
  49. ↑ "Darren Hayes – Secret Codes & Battleships (2011) – Universal AU, EMI Europe".
  50. ↑ "Il Divo – Gotham Hall Performance (2005)". DVD-peliculas. December 2004.
  51. ↑ "Il Divo Live at Gotham Hall 2004". Music Me m. December 2004.
  52. ↑ "Encore. Il Divo en el teatro romano de Mérida en España". Il Divo. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015.
  53. ↑ "Videoclip de Mamá, de Il Divo". Il Divo.
  54. ↑ "An Evening with Il Divo: Live in Barcelona". Il Divo. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015.
  55. ↑ "Il Divo Live at the Greek Theater". Il Divo. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015.
  56. ↑ "Il Divo anuncia el lanzamiento de 'Live in Japan', n CD con Dvd en edición deluxe". Il Divo. Archived from the original on 10 September 2015.
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