Profile of Enrique Iglesias on Famous Like Me

Enrique Iglesias (born May 8, 1975 in Madrid, Spain) is a Miami-based singing sensation and multimillion-album seller. Enrique is son of famous Spanish singer Julio Iglesias and Spanish-mestiza Philippine socialite Isabel Preysler. He is the brother of Chabeli Iglesias and Julio José Iglesias.

After the widely publicized kidnapping of his grandfather in Spain, Iglesias moved to Miami, Florida in 1985, at age 10. While in Miami, Enrique enjoyed the luxury of being the son of a billionaire, but he developed a taste for simpler things, a fact that would later surface in his concerts, where he appeared in plain clothes, including white cotton shirts.

Iglesias first performed while in high school, in the musical Hello Dolly. While attending the University of Miami, he was auditioned by his future manager, who was impressed. Using the pseudonym Enrique Martínez, the two promoted his demos across various record labels. Months later, Iglesias was signed by Fonovisa and went to Toronto to record his first album in total anonymity.

Enrique Iglesias

In 1995, he released his first album in Spanish. Titled Enrique Iglesias, this was a collection of light rock ballads, including such mega-hits as "Si Tú Te Vas", "Experiencia Religiosa", and others. The record sold half a million copies in its first week, a rare accomplishment then for an album recorded in a language other than English.

His song "Por Amarte" was included in Televisa's telenovela Marisol, but with a twist: instead of Por amarte yo moriría (To love you, I'd die), the words were Por amarte Marisol, moriría (To love you, Marisol, I'd die). The CD also yielded Italian and Portuguese editions of the album, with most of the songs translated into those languages.

Five singles released from this album, such as "Por Amarte", "No Llores por Mí" and "Trapecista", topped the Latin charts. The album went on to win Iglesias a Grammy award as Best Latin Artist.

Vivir

In 1997, Iglesias' star continued to rise with the release of Vivir (To Live), which put him up with other English-language music superstars in sales for that year. The album also included a cover version of the Yazoo song "Only You", translated into Spanish as "Solo en Tí".

After this success, Enrique embarked on his first concert tour. Insisting on playing large arenas and stadiums, that summer Enrique, backed by sidemen for Elton John, Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel, played to sold-out audiences all over the world. The tour is considered by many to be the biggest tour by a Non-English speaking act of that time.

Three singles released from Vivir, "Enamorado por Primera Vez", "Solo en Tí" and "Miente", topped the Latin Singles Chart as well as those in several Spanish-speaking countries. Along with his father and Luis Miguel, Enrique was nominated for an American Music Award in the first-ever awarded category of Favorite Latin Artist. It was said beforehand that the elder Iglesias would walk out if he did not win the award. Enrique lost out to his father this time, but did perform the song "Lluvia Cae" at the event.

Cosas del Amor

In 1998, Enrique released his third album, Cosas del Amor (Things of Love). Taking a more mature musical direction, the album, aided by the popular singles "Esperanza" and "Nunca Te Olvidaré", both of which topped the Latin singles chart helped cement his status in the Latin music scene.

Enrique did a short tour of smaller venues to accompany the release of the album, with one show being televised from Acapulco, Mexico. This was followed by a larger world tour of over eighty shows in even bigger venues. The Cosas del Amor Tour was the first ever concert tour sponsored by McDonalds.

Enrique won an American Music Award in the category of Favourite Latin Artist against Ricky Martin and Los Tigres del Norte . The song "Nunca Te Olvidaré" was also used as the theme music for a spanish soap opera of the same name.

Enrique

By 1999, Iglesias had begun a successful crossover career into the English-language music market. Thanks to other successful crossover acts, most notably that of Ricky Martin, Latino artists and music had a great surge in popularity in mainstream music. Iglesias' contribution to the soundtrack of Will Smith's movie Wild Wild West, "Bailamos" became a No. 1 hit single.

After the success of "Bailamos", several mainstream record labels were eager to sign Enrique. Signing a multi-album deal after weeks of negotiations with Interscope, Iglesias recorded and released his first full CD in English, Enrique. The pop album, with some Latin influences, took two months to complete and contained a duet with Whitney Houston called "Could I Have this Kiss Forever" and a cover of the Bruce Springsteen song "Sad Eyes". The album's second single, "Be with You", became his second No. 1.

The final single from the album was the song "You're My #1". Rerecorded and released in selected territories as a duet with local acts. Alsou in Russia, Sandy & Junior in Brazil and Valen Hsu in Asia.

Escape

Enrique followed up in 2001 with the album Escape. Where most of the Latin crossover acts of the previous year experienced some difficulty matching the record sales of their first English-language albums, Enrique actually went on to sell even more. The album's first single, "Hero", became a No. 1 hit in the United States, Great Britain, and in many other countries. The entire album was co-written by Iglesias.

Escape is Enrique's biggest commercial success to date. Upon its release, it displaced Michael Jackson's album, Invincible, from its chart position and soon outsold it. The singles "Escape" and "Don't Turn Off the Lights" became radio staples, faring well and placing highly or topping various charts both in North America and elsewhere. A second edition of the album was released internationaly and contained a new version of one of Enrique's favorite tracks, "Maybe", as well as a duet with Lionel Richie called "To Love a Woman".

Enrique capitalized on the album's success with his "One-Night Stand World Tour" consisting of 50 sold-out shows in 16 countries. Including Radio City Music Hall and three consecutive nights in London's Royal Albert Hall, the tour ended with a big show at Stadium National Lia Manoliu in Bucharest, Romania. The concert launched MTV Romania, with the video for "Love to See You Cry" being the first to be shown on the channel.

The second leg of the tour, "Don't Turn Off the Lights", was completed in the summer of 2002, with two sold-out nights in Madison Square Garden and another two in Mexico's National Auditorium. The tour finished with a single show in the Roberte Clemente Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Quizas

Returning to his native language, and hot on the heels of his biggest-selling album in 2002, Iglesias chose to release a fourth Spanish-language album titled Quizas (Perhaps). A more polished musical production than his previous Spanish albums and containing more introspective songs, the album's title track is a song about the strained relationship Iglesias has with his famous father.

The album debuted at No. 12 on Billboard's Album Chart, the highest placement of a Spanish-language album on the chart. Quizas sold a million copies in a week, making it the fastest-selling album in Spanish in five years. The three singles released from the album all ended up topping the Latin chart, giving Iglesias a total of sixteen No. 1's on the chart. He currently holds the record for the most No. 1 singles on the Billboard's Latin Chart. His last single from the album, "Para Que la Vida", reached a million spins on U.S. radio, the only Spanish-language song to do so.

The video to the song "Quizas" was the first Spanish-language video to be added to the selection on MTV's popular show Total Request Live. Iglesias performed the song on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, becoming the first to sing a Spanish song on the show, and opening doors for other artists such as Ricky Martin, Juanes and Jorge Drexler to perform their Spanish material. Enrique Iglesias included songs from Quizas in his "Don't Turn Off the Lights Tour", and the album went on to win a Latin Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album.

Seven (7)

In 2003 Enrique released his seventh album, which he called Seven, the second to be entirely co-written by Iglesias. Among its more 1980s-inspired material, it features the song "Roamer", which he wrote with his friend and longtime guitarist, Tony Bruno. The CD also contained the song "Be Yourself", a song about independence. (The chorus talks about how Iglesias' own parents didn't believe he'd ever succeed in his singing career.) The first single was the song "Addicted", and was followed closely by a remix of the song "Not in Love", featuring Kelis. The latter became a dance hit.

With this album, Iglesias went on one of his biggest world tours to countries he'd previously never visited. He then played to sold-out arenas in Australia, India and Singapore before ending his tour in South Africa.

Awards and Achievements

1996

• Premio Lo Nuestro: Best Interpretation (Si Tú Te Vas)
• Premio Lo Nuestro: Best Composer (Si Tú Te Vas)
• Premio Lo Nuestro: Best New Artist
• Premios Eres: Best Song
• Premios Eres: Best Video
• Premios Eres: Best Launch
• Ace Award: Vocalist of the Year
• Premio TV Novelas: Best Male Vocalist
• Billboard Award: Album of the Year - New Artist
• World Music Award: Hispanic Artist of the Year
• World Music Award: Revelación of the Year

1997

• Grammy: Best Latin Performer
• ASCAP Award: Si Tu Te Vas
• ASCAP Award: No llores Por Mi
• ASCAP Award: Por Amarte
• Billboard Music Award: Album of the Year (Vivir}
• ACE Award: Performer of the Year
• Billboard Music Award: Artist of the Year
• Radio Music Awards : Best Artist Contemporary Format

1998

• Billboard Award: Best Latin Pop Artist

1999

• American Music Award: American Music Award: Favorite Latin Artist

2001

• World Music Award: Best Selling Pop Male Artist
• World Music Award: Best Selling European Pop Artist
• World Music Award: Best Latin Artist
• American Music Award: Favorite Latin Artist

2002

• Premio Onda: Most successful Spanish artist of the last decade.
• American Music Award: Favorite Latin Artist

2003

• Latin Grammy: Best Male Pop Album (Quizas)

2004

• MTV India Award: Best Male Pop Act International

2005

• Latin Billboard Awards: Latin Dance Club Play Track Of The Year "Not In Love/No Es Amor (Club Remixes)."

Life and Career

Enrique Iglesias album sales currently total forty million making him one of the best-selling Spanish music artists in the world. Enrique has yet to overtake his father's great sales figures but in terms of single-album sales he has outsold Julio arguebly justifying the label his record company gave him as "best selling spanish artist in the world" and certainly the best selling of the last decade. Enrique has said that if he has children and they wish to follow in his footsteps, he would naturally expect them also to be better than he is.

It has been said that the young Iglesias considers himself a writer first and a singer second so it's no suprise that songs Enrique has written/co-written for himself have been allowed to be sung by other artists. The first instance being American idol Clay Aiken's "The Way". Enrique also collaborated with songwriter Guy Chambers to write "Un Nuovo Giorno", the lead single from Andrea Boccelli's first pop album. The song was later translated into English as "First Day Of My Life" and recorded by Mel C. Many times Enrique has said that should he ever retire that he wants to write and produce songs for other artists.

Iglesias has also developed an interest in acting, starring alongside Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek and Johnny Depp in the Robert Rodriguez film Once Upon a Time in Mexico, in which he played the gun-wielding Lorenzo. He says that he would act again if given small roles that he could fit in between his musical commitments.

Enrique also played the part of an evil Roman emperor in an ambitous TV commercial for Pepsi, which sponsored his last world tour. He starred alongside Britney Spears, Beyonce and Pink, who turn the tables on him in the commercial.

Enrique's career hasn't been without controversy. In June of 2000 radio personality Howard Stern recieved a tape of a supposedly off key Iglesias singing along to the track "Rhythm Divine". Stern played this humorous clip throughout the week on his radio show insinuating that Enrique couldn't sing well outside the studio and even suggested that Enrique did not sing on his own albums in the same front as shamed pop duo Milli Vanilli. Enrique flew straight in to New York from Italy were he'd performed a duet with Luciano Pavarotti to appear on Stern's show. Enrique sang acoustic versions of "Rhythm Divine" and "Be With You" proving to Stern that he could indeed sing. Stern told Enrique he had silenced his critics. Enrique would go on to say that controversy and his apearance on the show was the best promotion he could have.

Enrique has been linked to a number of women, from former Miss Universe Alicia Machado to teen queen Christina Aguilera. He is currently married to Russian tennis star and model Anna Kournikova.

More recently, Enrique has been a guest on Oprah Winfrey's talk show, surprising one of his fans and spending the day with her. Enrique will soon appear in a commercial for the Tommy Hilfiger fragrance called "True Star Men", which Enrique is endorsing.

Discography

Albums

• (1995) Enrique Iglesias (Platinum US) (WW sales: 7 mil.)
• (1996) Version en Italiano
• (1996) Canta em Portuguese
• (1997) Vivir (Platinum US) (WW sales: 5 mil.)
• (1998) Cosas del Amor (Gold US)
• (1998) Remixes
• (1999) Bailamos (Gold US)
• (1999) Enrique (Platinum US) (WW sales: 5 mil.)
• (1999) The Best Hits (Gold US)
• (2001) Escape (x3 Platinum US)
• (2002) Quizas (x2 Platinum US)
• (2003) Seven (7)

• (note) All albums listed here were released while Enrique was still with the record label that released them. There are several compilation albums such as the 'Best Hits' and 'Greatest Hits' released by Fonovisa after Enrique left them. Listed here are the only "Authorised" Enrique productions.

Singles

• 1999 "Bailamos" #1 US, #4 UK
• 1999 "Rhythm Divine" #32 US, #45 UK
• 2000 "Be With You" #1 US
• 2000 "Could I Have This Kiss Forever" (with Whitney Houston) #3 UK
• 2001 "Hero" #1 US, #1 UK
• 2002 "Escape" #12 US, #3 UK
• 2002 "Don't Turn Off The Lights" #15 US
• 2002 "Love To See You Cry" #12 UK
• 2002 "Maybe" #12 UK
• 2003 "To Love A Woman" (Lionel Richie featuring Enrique Iglesias) #19 UK
• 2003 "Addicted" #11 UK
• 2004 "Not In Love" (featuring Kelis) #5 UK

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