Sébastien Izambard

French pop singer, songwriter, and producer Sébastien Izambard rose to international success in the mid-2000s as a member of the multinational classical crossover group Il Divo. Enduring a tumultuous childhood, the Paris native taught himself to play guitar and piano, and to sing by ear, eventually breaking into the French pop scene in 2000 with his debut album Libre. He scored a hit with his single "Si Tu Savais" and spent the next few years promoting his own singing career and serving as a songwriter and producer to a number of other artists. Izambard also became active in musical theater, appearing in a production of Le Petit Prince in 2002. In late 2003, he was recruited by British producer/entrepreneur Simon Cowell to join Swiss singer Urs Bühler, American David Miller, and Spaniard Carlos Marín in Il Divo, an operatic pop vocal quartet whose multi-platinum 2004 debut catapulted them into mainstream international success. Loosely inspired by the Three Tenors, the four vocalists in Il Divo -- of which Izambard was the only self-taught member -- quickly rose to global fame and spent the next decade touring the world, recording seven albums, and taking on high-profile gigs like the FIFA World Cup and Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee. While maintain his career with Il Divo, Izambard continued to occasionally write and produce other artists and became active in philanthropy, promoting several charities. In 2018, he resumed his solo career, releasing the pop album We Came Here to Love. ~ Timothy Monger, Rovi