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Many people think pop and opera are two music genres that don’t go together, but Il Divo, a pop-opera crossover band, is here to prove them wrong.

After more than seven years together and more than 26 million albums sold worldwide, Il Divo has stood the test of time. The latest testimony of the band’s continuing popularity was a concert last December in Asuncion, Paraguay, where the group played in front of a crowd of almost 34,000 people, their largest audience to date. Earlier that year, the band was also named “Artist of the Decade” at the Classical Brit Awards.

Having released its sixth studio album, “Wicked Game,” last November, Il Divo is set to perform in Jakarta once again on Feb. 25 as part of its fourth world tour. The concert will be Il Divo’s third in Indonesia, after performing in February 2007 at Senayan and in September 2009 at the Ritz-Carlton Ballroom, where the group will perform again this year.

Founded by former American Idol judge Simon Cowell in 2004, Il Divo consists of Spanish baritone Carlos Marin, American tenor David Miller, Swiss tenor Urs Buhler and French pop singer Sebastien Izambard.

A novelty in the music industry, Il Divo’s self-titled debut album topped the British music charts in November 2004. The band repeated that success with the albums “Ancora” (2005) and “The Promise” (2008).

Even though the quartet also records original songs, Il Divo is mostly known for covering famous pop songs and giving them an opera-style twist. Among the band’s biggest hits are smoldering cover versions of Toni Braxton’s “Un-break My Heart,” Rolf Lovland’s “You Raise Me Up,” Eric Carmen’s “All by Myself” and, most recently, Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game.”

Another asset that sets Il Divo apart is their international appeal, with songs in English, Spanish, French, Italian and Latin.

On the band’s official Web site, Marin called the recording of the latest album “unbelievable,” saying, “you can really hear the evolution. And that connection between us, the way that the combination produces magic, it’s stronger than ever.”

Buhler added that the group is excited about the record, which he described as “the best thing we’ve ever done.”

But even though the Swiss tenor is happy about “Wicked Game,” he said the band is always aiming for more success and growth.

“We’re constantly trying to push things upwards, to a different level,” he said. “Whenever we do something new, we want to do it better. And we’re still managing to do that, which fills me with great satisfaction.”

Besides the title track, which was also the first single, “Wicked Game” features renditions of the songs “Time to Say Goodbye,” “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina,” and “Come What May.”

According to Miller, the one trademark that makes Il Divo unique is “the range of colors that the four of our voices has.”

French member Izambard, who was already a well-known pop singer in his home country before joining Il Divo, added that, naturally, the band owes most of its popularity to the loyal fans.

“You can receive all the prizes in the world,” he said, “but if you don’t have an audience to perform to, well, you can keep your award on the mantelpiece, but what does it give you?

“Nothing is ever taken for granted,” he added. “The biggest achievement is seeing all the fans out there. And they are still there, seven years on.”

While the tickets for Il Divo’s last concert in Jakarta were rather expensive, ranging from Rp 2 million to Rp 10 million ($222 to $1,110), this time around the band’s fans can take a sigh of relief: Ticket prices for this year’s performance start at Rp 750,000.

Il Divo
Live in concert
Saturday, Feb. 25
The Ritz-Carlton Ballroom, Pacific Place
South Jakarta
For ticket information, visit www.bigdaddy.co.id