MEET the new Il Divo. The multicultural, multilingual, multi-million-selling band have lost the ties and the open collars reflect a new looseness.
American David Miller says they joke about filming a Hard Day's Night-style movie about their behind-the-scenes antics.
"The four of us are really stupid," Miller says. "Our mentality debases into locker-room humour, our brains turn into children's brains. I get particularly dirty. If someone could capture it on film, it'd be hilarious."
"People think we're really serious," Frenchman Sebastien Izambard says. "We're the opposite of that."
Their sixth album Wicked Game arrives when at a time when it is difficult to sell music - the band wound up flogging it on the US home-shopping network QVC last month.
"We sold 10,000 albums in 20 minutes," Izambard says. "There's very few TV shows that have music on them any more."
"We should set up a residency on QVC," Miller jokes.
Wicked Game continues their move into more interesting cover versions. As well as the Chris Isaak title track, there's Stay by Shakespear's Sister, Roy Orbison's Crying and The Frames' Falling Slowly. All sung in either Italian or Spanish.
"The initial concept of Il Divo is to give pop music an operatic-ness, a sense of exoticism," Miller says.
"(Record label boss) Simon (Cowell) really does feel that having things in a foreign language adds something for Il Divo. Originally every song for this album was Italian and Spanish. We have big markets who need at least one bone thrown to them with a song in English. So they listened to us - Time to Say Goodbye is half-Italian half-English, Don't Cry for me Argentina is full English."
Izambard's Australian wife Renee chose the Orbison number Crying. "She suggested it to the record company for album three," Izambard says. "I remember it was a no. I kept sending the same songs over and over to the record company. Renee has a good nose for that, she knows the band."
Izambard has been writing songs outside Il Divo, including work with Darren Hayes. He is also taking acting classes in London, and is looking for an agent in Los Angeles.
"English not being my first language, it's harder," he says. "Sometimes I want to give up, but I want to pursue it. I could see myself as a Hugh Grant type, doing romantic comedies. I'm not Robert De Niro."
The foursome will tour Australia in February, with a back-to-basics stage show after their over-the-top last tour was the brainchild of Kylie Minogue's stage designer William Baker. "It was fun, but it ended up feeling a little bit stagey, very artsy," Miller says. "We realised it stands on its own, it doesn't need a whole lot of theatricality. Less is more."
HEAR Wicked Game (Sony) out tomorrow
SEE IL DIVO
VIC Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Feb 17, $99 to $249, Ticketmaster
NSW Sydney Opera House, Feb 14, $103.50 to $253.50; Hope Estate, Feb 18, $99.90 to $249.90; Ticketmaster
QLD Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, Feb 20, $99.90 to $249.90, Ticketek
VIC Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Feb 17, $99 to $249, Ticketmaster
NSW Sydney Opera House, Feb 14, $103.50 to $253.50; Hope Estate, Feb 18, $99.90 to $249.90; Ticketmaster
QLD Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, Feb 20, $99.90 to $249.90, Ticketek