Male Narrator: They are the most popular classical crossover group in the world.

They come from four different countries.

Each one of them represents different cultural background.

By their unique way, they make classical vocal popular around the world.

Withstanding the test of time, Their voices break the barrier between nations, and they are getting more and more popular.

Vocal Gentlemen, first time in Beijing.

They visited Life of Music, and told us the lengendary music stories of the group.

【Title: Life of Music】

Sun Xiaomei: Hello dear audience, this is CCTV Life of Music show.

I'm the hostess Sun Xiaomei. Welcome to our show.

Today we have several very special guests here.

They come from different countries, they speak different languages,

But music brought them together. And together they sing in beautiful harmonies, and they make classic even more classic.

This is Vocal Gentlemen.

Male Narrator: They come from 4 different countries,

Each one of them represents different cultural background.

By their unique way, they make classical vocal popular around the world.

Withstanding the test of time, they already have 150 gold and platinum discs in 33 countries.

Their voices break the barrier between nations, and they are getting more and more popular.

Now, let us welcome: Vocal Gentlemen!

Sun Xiaomei: Welcome! Please! Welcome! Hello, hello...

Welcome, our friends from the distance, please take a seat.

Now, Vocal Gentlemen are sitting in front of us for real.

Would you please introduce yourselves briefly?

Seb[in French]: Hello, I'm Sebastien, I'm from France.

Urs[in German]: Hello, I'm Urs, I'm from Switzerland.

Sun Xiaomei: OK, our friend from Switzerland!

Carlos[in Spanish]: I'm Carlos, I'm from Spain. Hola!

Audience: Hola!

David: I'm David, I'm the American.

Sun Xiaomei: Welcome, you four gentlemen.

Wow, now someone in our audience is speaking to Carlos in Spanish.

Si! I can speak Spanish, too.

I'm kidding!

We can see that on the table, we've put some simple Chinese food.

As we know that our four gentlemen just got off the plane. They came directly from the airport to our studio.

We know that you haven't ate yet, you may be a little bit hungry.

So we prepared some delicious Beijing food. Let me introduce these food to you, ok?

In the middle is the Beijing Kung Pao Chicken. Over there is the small ribs with sweet sauce.

And the four small dishes, are some traditional Beijing snacks.

Four gentlemen, please take the chopsticks and try it. Come on, please try it.

This is our special way to welcome you today. Please don't be shy, try it.

This is a bit spicy.

Sebastien doesn't eat spicy. Maybe you can try the small ribs?

How is it?

David, you like spicy?

When he eats Kung Pao Chicken, he doesn't eat the chicken, nor does he eat the peanuts,

He only eats the chili pepper in the seasoning.

There's something better for you. Now, please look.

Please welcome the head chef from Dadong Peking Roast Duck!

Have you been welcomed in this way before?

Dadong Peking Roast Duck is a very authentic and very popular Peking Roast Duck restaurant.

Today we have invited the head chef Mr.Liu Xinmin here. He'll prepare some roast duck for you.

Our authentic Peking Roast Duck.

You should try it, as you are in Beijing now.

How does it feel eating Peking Duck in Beijing? Does it taste different from the Chinese Roast Duck in your countries?

Please tell us after you try it.

And we all know that a few days ago, in Shanghai our four gentlemen just had their first concert in China this tour.

Would you please tell us what you think of Chinese audience?

We've heard that you've tried some Chinese food in Shanghai, as well.

OK, now our duck is ready. We could let them try it.

Let's eat first.

Urs[in Chinese]: Thank you.

Thank you Chef Liu for coming.

Let us welcome Vocal Gentlemen again.

Male Narrator: David Miller, from Colorado, USA. He's the highest tenor in the band.

He has a nickname "Baby Bear". He's got the childish side of him.

He's very sincere, cute, honest and friendly.

Even though he likes to play jokes and laugh, he is very serious when it comes to work.

He has a very rigorous attitude towards music.

He has been loving music since he was very young. He graduated from the renowned Oberlin Conservetory of Music in USA with excellent grades.

He's got a bachelor's degree in Vocal Performance and a Master's degree in Opera Theatre.

Sun Xiaomei: I would like to start with David, David Miller.

So you come from the America. I've learned that your hometown is Colorado State, right?

The big valley, the famous big valley?

Male Narrator: Carlos, from the very exotic city, Madrid, Spain.

He's got a lot of Latin characters. Maybe we could say that he is both elegant in manners and extremely passionate in heart.

He's a gentleman with mature charms and sense of humour.

He may be the one who fits the traditional concept of male charms best in the band.

He is the only baritone in the band.

At a very young age, he had the reputation of "music prodigy".

He had his first album released at age 10.

He made his name in the Spanish productions of Les Miserables, Man from La Mancha, etc.

He is very famous in Spain, and he has won acclaim as "primo baritono".

Sun Xiaomei: I always feel that Carlos looks like the bullfighter from some Spanish Movie I've seen.

Right? He looks like the actor, the title role.

And we've heard that it seems Carlos has the plan of performing in a movie.

Would you please tell us about your hometown in Spain, is it Madrid?

And he looks like some star from action movies, as well. He's got the charisma, the unique charisma.

I think it would be great to see you in a Kungfu movie, an action movie someday.

Stunning.

Oh, I would like to take Kungfu class with you. I don't know Kungfu.

Now this is Urs from Switzerland.

Male Narrator: Urs Buhler is the other tenor in the band.

He has got the romancism in his blood.

He is just like a swiss watch, very precise, very punctuate. He likes everything to be neat and graceful.

Different from his usual slightly sombre appearnce, He loves Motorcycles, heavy metal music.

At age 17, when he was still in high school, he joined a local rock band and started his singing career.

In his early career, Urs had performed many Oratorios and done a lot of solo works.

To pursuit his music career, he went to Netherlands to study at Sweelink Conservatorium in Amsterdam

with many famous vocalists to improve his vocal performing skills.

Sun Xiaomei: Urs, so Urs' hometown is known as "the watertower of the Europe". And he's a fan of Motorcycles, right?

So now when you sing, do you feel the sense of motion of the Motocycles in your music?

Male Narrator: Sebastien is from Paris, France, the city known as "the capital of romance".

Unlike the vogue and luxury of Paris, this french gentleman is very modest, very sensitive.

He likes Champagne, red wine. Sebastien is not only very romantic, but also has a spirit of adventure. He likes to fly (an airplane).

As the only self-taught singer in the band, even though he lacks the professional training,

but he is very talented and broad. He's very good at instruments like guitar, piano, etc.

He is also a very good composer and song writer.

He was involved in many french artists' album producing.

Sun Xiaomei: He is from Paris. There's a doggerel describing Paris,

it says: Paris, lots of pretty girls, flowers, and dogs. Is that true?

Male Narrator: In December, 2003, after two years' global talent search by the famous music producer Simon Cowell,

these four young vocalists from different countries, with different cultural backgrounds came together.

They named the group with a beautiful and unique Italian word, Il Divo.

In Italian, it means "divine music performer".

However, before joining the group, they all have their own careers and lives.

Why did they choose to give up their uprising careers, and start another adventurous journey?

What kind of conflicts and struggles did they went through in making this decision?

Please keep watching, Life of Music.

Sun Xiaomei: Now let's go back to their group. The group has a very nice Italian name.

But many audience may feel a little bit strange like I do, as your group was established in UK,

then why don't you have a British name, but an Italian name? Why?

Truly, the four of them do sing in one unique voice. I don't think that's questionable.

From our conversations so far, we could feel that these four gentlemen are really really lovely. And they have very different personalities.

Now let's guess by instinction, (who's the most romantic one?)

I think as David is from America,

I think as David is from America, maybe he is more inclined to freedom. Is that right? Are you more free than the others?

Sun Xiaomei: You are very romantic.

He said that sure he is very romantic, but he is not the most romantic one.

Would you tell me that among the four of you, who is the most romantic one?

We know that in nowadays in many Asian countries, in many areas, many stars are not very willing to

put their private lives before the public eyes. Because that makes them less mysterious.

But after reading many interviews of you, I feel that you seem to be different.

You seem to be very happy, and you are willing to share your happiness, your joy with your audience. Is that true?

Sun Xiaomei: He said he's the only single one. Do you want to find your wife in China?

Sun Xiaomei: Here we have many single ones.

【Subtitle: 2008, at the coliseum,in Crotia】 【Amazing Grace】

Sun Xiaomei: I have another question for David. I heard that before joining Il Divo, you have taken

many important roles in many musicals and operas. What exactly were you doing at that time? How long had it been?

Urs has worked at Dutch opera. Maybe we could say when they found you,

you were already quite accomplished.

So when you got the news that they wanted you to join the group, what were you doing?

And for Carlos, actually at the time of the audition, he was already very famous, especially in Spain.

Why did you go to such an audition?

Sun Xiaomei: He was quite proud.

I think it kind of feels like the story of "Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage", right?

In the beginning he was kind of acting very proudly, how do you say that in English?

Acting like a diva.

For Sebastien, I know that you are the only self-taught singer in the group.

You have many experiences in music producing, composing, etc.

I heard that you are preparing for a solo album, is it true?

Sun Xiaomei: (Jokingly)They are preparing to exclude him.

I think maybe in near future, maybe Sebastien will write some songs for their group.

I think this is quite possible, right?

Male Narrator: In spring, 2004, in a studio in London, Vocal Gentlemen started rehearsing and recording for their first eponymous album, Il Divo.

Using classical vocal techniques to interpret classic pop songs, this was a style that nobody has ever tried before.

The format of such a group was unprecedented as well.

At that time, probably no one knew whether this group was going to success or not.

But it turned out that they eliminated everybody's doubt and worry with their music.

The first week their first album was released, it knocked the king of british pop music,

Robbie Williams down with a thunder-like pose, and landed straight to the top of the chart.

Moreover, in shortly two months' time, they sold more than 1 million copies. And the album became one of the top 10 best-selling albums of 2004 in UK.

By now, they have released 5 studio albums, and have 150 gold and platinum discs in 33 countries.

Looking back, what memories do they recall of the recording of their first album?

How do they deal with it when there's friction among them?

From so many years, what insights and reflections do they have?

Please keep watching, Life of Music.

Sun Xiaomei: A few days ago, when I found out that I was going to interview you,

I went to get your albums, especially the first one, as you have several already.

I listened very carefully, then I have a question.

I was thinking, many songs I've heard, they sound rather familiar.

But after you re-interpret them, surprisingly they feel very fresh to us.

Everybody could feel the fresh impulse in them.

I think this is very difficult to achieve in making covers of well-known songs.

Please tell us, how did you manage to do that?

Then we should say that using classical vocal techniques to convey this new idea, for you, was an experiment, on the other hand, it was also an adventure.

Did you ever consider whether this was going to success, or would it fail?

I've learned that it seems that you went into the studio and started recording the second time you met each other?

Then do you remember, what was the situation when you first did the recording for the album?

I think that your group is really amazing, you make the classical popular, and the pop music you make becomes classic.

This is my sincere experience.

And I know, four people working together

Seb[in Chinese]: Thank you.

Sun Xiaomei: You are welcome.

you've been working together for so many years, it must be very difficult.

As you come from different countries, and we've heard that sometimes you have

frictions and disagreements. I would like to know where do these

frictions and disagreements come from? Are they from the differences of your personalities, or are they from

your different understandings of music?

I feel that "a family" is very well-said. And best friends? of course.

But I'm thinking maybe another word is even better to describe the four of them,

I think it would be "brothers".

Male Narrator: 2006 was an unsual year for Il Divo.

They were invited to sing the official title song, "The Time of Our Lives" of

2006 FIFA World Cup, with the queen of R&B, Toni Braxton, in front of millions of audiences live and before TVs.

This not only helped the charm of their music continued to expand on a global scale, but also

brought many Chinese audience to know and understand their music.

Look, our audience are very excited. Our four handsome fellows are very happy as they watched this MV, too.

I feel that I was brought back to the brilliant moment in 2006.

I don't know if you could recall the time when you performed in front of so many

TV audience all around the world, how did it feel?

Football fan, very fervent football fan he is.

I know that at the end of last year, you released your fifth album, Wicked Game.

There is a very famous song, which all of us are very familiar with, Don't Cry For Me Argentina.

Today we have this rare opportunity to have you here with us Chinese fans,

Would you please sing for us for a little bit right now? Don't Cry For Me Argentina.