The Promise (Il Divo album)
The Promise is the fourth studio album by the classical crossover group, Il Divo. The Promise was released globally on 10 November 2008, except in the US and Canada, where it was released 17 November, Ireland and Mexico where it was released on 7 November, and Japan, on 26 November. [1]The album reached the No.1 spot in the UK on 16 November. The album was produced by Steve Mac. It was announced on 10 September, that it will be named The Promise, although the track listing was at this time not yet disclosed.[2] In early messages to people who are members of the band's official site's mailing list, it revealed to them that 'Il Divo return with their richest and most diverse album to date.' It also revealed that the album would have twelve songs. Cover songs confirmed at this time were: Frankie Goes To Hollywood's "The Power of Love"; 'a haunting and beautiful interpretation of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah"'; the smouldering intensity of Lara Fabian's "Adagio"; and the fourth confirmed song then was ABBA's "The Winner Takes It All".
The Promise | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 17 November 2008 (US/Canada) 10 November 2008 (Worldwide) | |||
Genre | Classical crossover | |||
Label | Syco, Columbia | |||
Producer | Steve Mac | |||
Il Divo chronology | ||||
|
The Promise contains seven covers of existing songs, along with four new songs written especially for the album. The new songs included are: "La Promessa" (Italian), "Enamorado" (Spanish), "Angelina" (Spanish) and "La Luna" (Italian). Also contained on the album is a cover of the chart topping song "She" made famous by French tenor Charles Aznavour. "L'Alba Del Mondo" is an Italian adaptation of the song "I Knew I Loved You", a famous song based on "Deborah's Theme" from Once Upon A Time in America and written by Ennio Morricone. The final track on the album is a cover of the traditional hymn, "Amazing Grace".
On 24 October 2008, Il Divo flew across the ocean overnight specially for The Oprah Winfrey Show after they had been called by Winfrey on the phone on their way in the airport for a post-album recording vacation, to give a special performance on the show, where they performed the song "Amazing Grace". Following this the hymn made it into the MTV US top 20.
The album peaked No. 1 on the top classical albums on Billboard charts, and up until 12 September 2009, spent 43 straight weeks in the Top 10 list.
The album was released globally on 10 November 2008, except in the US and Canada, where it was released on 18 November 2008, Ireland where it was released on 7 November 2008, and Japan, on 26 November 2008.[3] The album reached the No.1 spot in the UK on 16 November 2008. The album was produced by Steve Mac. According to the credits on the DVDs, the bagpipes in Amazing Grace, both on this album and in the performance on the In the Coliseum DVD, are played by Robert White.[4]
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "La fuerza mayor" (The Power of Love) | Holly Johnson, Peter Gill | 5:01 |
2. | "La Promessa" | Jörgen Elofsson, Francesco Galtieri | 4:28 |
3. | "Adagio" | Remo Giazotto, Lara Fabian | 4:37 |
4. | "Hallelujah" (Aleluya) | Leonard Cohen | 3:21 |
5. | "L'alba del mondo" (I Knew I Loved You (Deborah's Theme)) | Ennio Morricone | 4:47 |
6. | "Enamorado" | Andreas Romdhane y Josef Larossi, Armando Manzanero, John Reid | 3:15 |
7. | "Angelina" | Alcarez Gómez, Gordeno, Andreas Romdhane y Josef Larossi | 4:32 |
8. | "Va todo al ganador" (The Winner Takes It All) | Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus | 3:48 |
9. | "La luna" | Hawid, Marinangeli, Andreas Romdhane y Josef Larossi | 3:51 |
10. | "She" | Charles Aznavour, Herbert Kretzmer | 2:51 |
11. | "Amazing Grace" | John Newton | 4:30 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
12. | "Por ti vuelvo a nacer" (With You I'm Born Again) | Carol Connors, David Condado | 3:39 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
12. | "Sortilegio De Amor" | Josef Larossi, Denisse De Kalaffe | 3:26 |
Charts
Certifications and sales
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA)[8] | Platinum | 70,000^ |
Austria (IFPI Austria)[9] | Gold | 10,000* |
Belgium (BEA)[10] | Gold | 15,000* |
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[11] | Gold | 19,343[11] |
Hungary (MAHASZ)[12] | Gold | 3,000^ |
Ireland (IRMA)[13] | 2× Platinum | 30,000^ |
Mexico (AMPROFON)[14] | Gold | 40,000^ |
Netherlands (NVPI)[15] | Platinum | 60,000^ |
New Zealand (RMNZ)[16] | Gold | 7,500^ |
Portugal (AFP)[17] | Platinum | 20,000^ |
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[18] | Platinum | 80,000^ |
Sweden (GLF)[19] | Platinum | 40,000^ |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[20] | Platinum | 30,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[21] | Platinum | 300,000^ |
United States (RIAA)[22] | Gold | 500,000^ |
Summaries | ||
Europe (IFPI)[23] | Platinum | 1,000,000* |
Worldwide | — | 2,700,000[24] |
*sales figures based on certification alone |
References
- Jonathan Cohen. (5 August 2008). The album reached the No.1 spot in the UK on 16 November.New Il Divo Album Set For November. Billboard .
- Il Divo fourth album finally named. (10 September). ildivo.com Accessed 12 September
- Cohen, Jonathan (5 August 2008). "New Il Divo Album Set For November". Billboard. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
- "Il Divo – The Promise (CD, Album)". Retrieved 15 November 2009.
- "The Promise [B&N Exclusive Version] by Il Divo". Barnes & Noble. 18 November 2008. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
- "Promise – Il Divo". iTunes Store (MX). Apple Inc. 3 August 2009. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
- "Los más vendidos 2008" (PDF) (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
- "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2008 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
- "Austrian album certifications – Il Divo – The Promise" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
- "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 2008". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
- "Il Divo" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
- "Adatbázis – Arany- és platinalemezek – 2009" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
- "Irish album certifications – Il Divo – The Promise". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
- "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Retrieved 29 March 2017. Type Il Divo in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and The Promise in the box under TÍTULO
- "Dutch album certifications – Il Divo – The Promise" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 26 May 2019. Enter The Promise in the "Artiest of titel" box.
- "New Zealand album certifications – Il Divo – The Promise". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
- "Portuguese album certifications – Il Divo – The Promise" (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Archived from the original on 10 December 2008. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
- "Spanish album certifications" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 2 July 2019. Select Albums under "Chart", enter 2008 in the field "Year". Select 48 in the field "Semana". Click on "Search Charts".
- "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2008" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
- "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Il Divo; 'The Promise')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
- "British album certifications – Il Divo – The Promise". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 26 May 2019. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type The Promise in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
- "American album certifications – Il Divo – The Promise". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 26 May 2019. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.
- "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 2010". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
- Davis, Hazel (16 May 2009). "Full House" (PDF). Billboard. p. 32. Retrieved 10 October 2019.