Il Divo tour will continue 'in tribute' to late Carlos Marín, guest vocalist to fill in

The remaining members of Il Divo will continue their tour following the death of baritone member Carlos Marín last month.

The pop-opera fusion vocal quartet, comprised of David Miller from the United States, Sébastien Izambard from France and Urs Bühler from Switzerland, announced on Instagram Thursday that their "For Once in My Life Tour" tour will go on as a greatest hits tour "in tribute" to Marín.

The tour will also feature guest vocalist, baritone Steven LaBrie, and "be filled with Il Divo’s hits from their vast catalog of songs with an incredible stage production." Tickets for originally scheduled dates will be honored.

Marín died in December at age 53.

"It is with heavy hearts that we are letting you know that our friend and partner, Carlos Marín, has passed away," the band announced on social media at the time. "He will be missed by his friends, family and fans. There wiIl never be another voice or spirit like Carlos.

Il Divo singer Carlos Marín dies at 53 after hospitalization: 'There will never be another'

"For 17 years the four of us have been on this incredible journey of Il Divo together, and we will miss our dear friend. We hope and pray that his beautiful soul will rest in peace."

The official Il Divo Twitter account announced Dec. 10 that remaining shows for the month had been rescheduled "due to illness." On Dec. 16, the account tweeted that Marín had been admitted to the hospital, though a cause was not disclosed in either announcement.

The "popera" fusion group, Il Divo, was built by music producer and singing competition judge Simon Cowell in 2004.   

Cowell mourned Marín on social media Dec. 19: "I am finding this so difficult to put into words how I feel right now. I am devastated Carlos Marín has passed away. He loved life. He loved performing and always had so much appreciation towards the fans who supported the group from day 1. Rest in peace Carlos. I will miss you."

The concept for Il Divo was essentially a boy band for pop-opera fanatics, with photogenic members sporting beautifully crafted suits and singing melodramatic songs that tug at the heartstrings. Except for Izambard, the members were classically trained. 

The formula made them wildly successful around the globe, with platinum albums, major tours and, in the United States, PBS specials. But the group has never achieved the critical respect it deserves, Izambard told The Arizona Republic, part of the USA TODAY Network.

"Our success is due to our audience," he said in 2014. "Radio doesn't know where to play us. We're not a cool band. We don't sing like Miley Cyrus. I don't think people give us credit because of how we got together." 

Contributing: Hannah Yasharoff, USA TODAY