When thinking of classical/pop-opera-type male vocal groups Il Divo has to be my "true north"; there's an archived post about them here. Since their success others have emulated their style, and while still lacking polish, glamorous settings and international followings, they still do a darn good job! Several groups of this style have been discovered via TV talent shows: America's Got Talent (AGT), and Britain's Got Talent (BGT). One such group appeared on AGT auditions just last week, they call themselves Vox.
A group called Collabro competed in BGT last year:
Anybody notice the "we've only been together for a month" thing in both the AGT and BGT clips? Oh, and those phoney expressions captured on the faces of BGT judges. There was a hint of the same at AGT too, not shown in the clip. (LOL!!!) Oh the manipulation! But the lads are good.
The Texas Tenors performed for the judges of AGT in 2009
3 Redneck Tenors came from AGT's second season, in 2007. "Redneck" is a gimmick, but it possibly brings them audiences who could otherwise have dismissed this music style as "not our thang".
Finally, one from my "true north", singing one of my favourite songs too, all the while glad-handing ladies of the audience:
Four good looking guys from different nations who sing like angels, wear Armani suits and are just made for gals to sigh over. They didn't naturally gravitate to one another, nor did one of them recuit the others. Il Divo was a brainchild of Simon Cowell of American Idol fame (or notoriety.) It was he who brought the four guys together some four years ago. Musically they blend wonderfully well, but do the four have anything in common astrologically?
Their natal Suns and Moons are scattered, but I notice a loose pattern in that each has either Sun and/or Moon in Cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra - Cardinal signs in general are energetic, dynamic, proactive).
Sebastien Izambard = Pisces/Aries David Miller = Aries/Virgo Urs Buhler = Cancer/Gemini Carlos Marin = Libra/Cancer.
I've checked, and each Moon will stay within the sign shown at 12 noon in charts below. In the absence of times of birth, rising signs remain a mystery, which is a pity.
Left to right: Urs Buhler, Sebastien Izambard, Carlos Marin, David Miller
Four very different personalities. This is confirmed in a 2007 article by Rebecca Hardy. A few snippets give some ideas about the characters who make up Il Divo.
"An uneasy silence settles over Il Divo, following Urs Buhler's emphatic statement: "We're not best friends and we're never going to be best friends."
Urs ("very quiet, very reserved, into heavy metal and bikes and likes things on time", according to the others)............ David Miller, 34, the American who's wearing a striped shirt and an astonishing number of wooden beads around his wrists ("talks a lot, easy to make contact with but difficult to go deeper", according to the others).............
Carlos Marin, the Spaniard and, at 38, the oldest in the group ("very passionate, says what he thinks without thinking before he speaks")............ "We each had a huge ego from our solo careers," he says smoothly. It's a difficult thing when somebody says: 'These guys are going to be your friends for the next ten years.'................I'm Spanish and in my language you can swear a lot, but when you translate it into English it can sound very bad, so there was a lot of misunderstanding. But now the good thing is we're like brothers - a family. We understand each other." He smiles. Urs stares back, not returning the smile..............
Sebastien Izambard, 34, the charismatic Frenchman with the come-to-bed eyes ("arrogant but also sensitive") interjects: "You forget all of this - all of the being tired, being grumpy, having conflict with each other - when you're on stage. That is a magical moment."
(Click on image to enlarge)
Saturn lies opposite Neptune in 3 of the 4 charts, but quincunx in Marin's case. Saturn and Neptune move slowly and because the lads' birth years are quite close, each has this Saturn-Neptune aspect: career needs opposite creativity - a dynamic tension common to 3 singers, with the quincunx providing a rather different tension for Marin. Saturn IS opposite Sun and Mercury in Marin's case though, so there's still a Saturn opposition involved.
From the article linked above it's quite clear that the guys' success comes at a price. They get tired from the constant travel. Saturn's discipline and restrictions opposite or qunincunx Neptune's creativity connects to this. There's proof, from their own comments:
"Carlos says: "We were at a press conference and they put up the names of every country we were No 1 in and there were 37. "We said: 'My God, we're bigger than we think we are.' We hadn't realised, because we were always on the road."
Urs, David and Sebastien nod. The boys are in agreement on this point.
"The hardest thing for me is the travelling because we have such a lack of time," says Sebastien. "Everybody's scared to stop because you might become unfamous or earn less money. My best time is after the gig, when I go back to my room. I have to create my own space."
"Me too," says Carlos, the only married member of the group.
Urs cuts in: "I don't spend any time with the group than what is work time."
David interrupts: "That's not true."
You could cut the atmosphere with a knife now.
"It is true," insists Urs."
Sun(self) is close to Venus (music) in the same 3 singers' charts, with again Marin's line-up a little different: Sun/Mercury together. Marin's chart is configured in "funnel" pattern with Saturn as the funnel - his energies are totally focused on career. I'd guess he's the most driven of the four. The other three charts have a wider, more varied spread.
A wild guess this, but based on Sun/Moon positions, the group splits into two factions. I think that Carlos Marin and David Miller will find it easy to relate to each other, and Buhler and Izambard likewise, any problems are more likely to arise in the crossover.
I enjoy the kind of crossover style (operatic/popular) which Il Divo does so well. Carlos Marin's voice in particular gives me goosebumps, it's reminiscent of my old favourite in this genre, Mario Lanza.
