Sébastien Izambard

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Sébastien Izambard


Img_capt = Sébastien Izambard in concert on Il Divo's World Tour 2007
Img_size = 180
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Sébastien Izambard
Born = birth date and age|1973|3|7
Paris, France
Instrument = Singing, guitar, piano
Genre = Operatic pop
Occupation = Musician, actor
Years_active = 2000–present
Label = Sony BMG
Associated_acts = Il Divo
Fiancee = Renee Murphy (fiancée)
Children = Luca and Rose
URL =

Sébastien Izambard (born March 7, 1973) is a member of the operatic pop musical quartet Il Divo. Izambard is the only member of the group who is not classically trained so, although he is a tenor in pitch, his voice is classified as "vox populi". [Rossi, Allegra. "Romancing the World: A Biography of Il Divo", London: Orion House, 2005. ISBN 0 75287 519 1 p. 45 ]

Early life

Izambard started his career as a pop musician in France, releasing a solo album called "Libre" [ [http://www.zennemis.net/01_nouvelles/news_archives.php?id_news=524 Les meilleurs Zennemis - Souvenez-vous... Sébastien Izambard ] ] and his song Si Tu Savais was ranked first in French Hit Charts. Besides a singer, Izambard is also an accomplished music composer and a piano and guitar player. [ [http://www.mcm.net/musique/ficheartiste/3896/ SéBASTIEN IZAMBARD - Biographie, albums, clips, cd sur MCM.net ] ] In Paris he has written music for many French artists. 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 band, contains two songs in French: "Je Crois En Toi" (a duet with Céline Dion) and "Pour Que Tu M’aimes Encore" (both originally by Céline, herself).

In 2001, he performed with Johnny Halliday as a guest in the Olympia Theater, Paris. [http://sebastienizambard.tripod.com/] His music, greatly influenced by Jeff Buckley, earns him the acknowledgement of French and Canadian audiences.

He recorded two videoclips and collaborated in solidarity projects like the Noël Ensemble, a record in which more than one hundred artists participated in order to raise funds for the fight against AIDS. As a member of "Il Divo", he continues working with a charity called Assistance Médicale Toit du Monde (AMTM) that helps poor children, even organizing a fund raising raffle last September for AMTM among his fans to win one of his Armani suits.

Izambard performed in February 2002 in Richard Cocciante’s musical “Le Petit Prince”, where he played the role of the Business Man. Before being a member of "Il Divo" he also performed in several theater plays as part of the group “La Troupe”.

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

Il Divo

In December 2003, he became a member of the international musical quartet Il Divo along with Urs Bühler (Switzerland), David Miller (U.S.) and Carlos Marín (Spain).

Besides their musical experience and prowess, the members of "Il Divo" are also recognized for their impeccable taste in fashion, dressing almost exclusively in Armani suits, along with their handsome looks. As a result of this, their first album, called "Il Divo" became a worldwide multiplatinum selling record when released in November 2004, entering "Billboard" at number four and selling five million copies worldwide in less than a year and knocking Robbie Williams from the number one spot in the charts. Their second album, "Ancora", was released on November 7, 2005 in the United Kingdom. Il Divo's third album, "Siempre", was released on November 21, 2006 in the United States and on November 27, 2006 internationally.

Private Life

Izambard is married to Renee Murphy, a former Sony BMG publicist whom he met while touring Australia in 2005.He announced on the [http://forum.ildivo.com/ Official Forum] that he has become a father on the 20th of March 2008 to twins Luca and Rose, a boy and a girl. [http://forum.ildivo.com/viewtopic.php?t=28932 Official forum] , thread of Izambard's announcement.]

Discography

* Il Divo (as member of Il Divo, 2004)
* Ancora (as member of Il Divo, 2005)
* The Christmas Collection (as member of Il Divo, 2005)
* Voices from the FIFA World Cup (as member of Il Divo, 2006)
* Siempre (as member of Il Divo, 2006)

Performances

*Il Divo Live Concert. Recorded at the Teatro Clásico in Mérida, Spain. For the "Encore" DVD, 2005.
*Il Divo World Tour Concert 2006
*Il Divo World Tour Concert 2007

ee also

* Libre (Sebastien Izambard)
* Si Tu Savais (song popularized by Sébastien Izambard)
* list of Francophone male singers

References

External links

* [http://www.ildivo.com Il Divo official website]
* [http://users.skynet.be/fa347552/actualite.htm French website (unofficial)]
* [http://perso.wanadoo.es/ildivo Spanish website (unofficial)]
* [http://www.myspace.com/sebastienfansite Myspace fansite (unofficial)]