Il Divo have revealed that they were reluctant to sign up to the chart-topping group - until they met creator Simon Cowell. The multi-national pop-opera stars - Urs Buhler, Sebastien Izambard, David Miller and Carlos Marin - admitted that, as trained classical musicians, and with Simon's reputation for manufactured pop music, they took some convincing. "American Idol was already around by the time we formed," said tenor David. "It definitely kind of stuck like a thorn in our minds." American David said he was the only person who had heard of Simon before Il Divo, but the other members were nearly put off by the X Factor-style audition process. "I had the audition in Paris and I wanted to run away," confessed French pop singer Sebastien. "I wasn't really sure I wanted to do this because it's working in a different way." But a meeting with Simon, who's currently judging the next crop of talent on The X Factor, eased their fears. "He said he didn't want it to be 'I'm Simon Cowell, look what I've just made'," according to David, who says Simon was keen for Il Divo to make an individual name for themselves. Il Divo have launched a new book, Il Divo: Our Music, Our Journey, Our Words.
