Enrique Iglesias
Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (born May 8, 1975), better known as Enrique Iglesias, is a Spanish pop music singer-songwriter. Iglesias started his musical career on Mexican label Fonovisa. This helped turn him into one of the most popular artists in Latin America and in the Hispanic or Latino market in the United States, and the biggest seller of Spanish language albums of the 1990s. Before the turn of the millennium, he made a crossover into the mainstream English language market, signing a unique multi-album deal with Universal Music Group for an unprecedented US$48,000,000, with Universal Music Latino to release his Spanish albums and Interscope to release English albums. In 2010, he parted with Interscope and signed with another Universal Music Group label, Universal Republic.
Iglesias has sold over 55 million records worldwide, making him one of best selling music artist of all time. Iglesias has had five Billboard Hot 100 top five singles, including two #1s, and holds the record for producing 22 number 1 Spanish-language singles on the Billboard‘s Hot Latin Tracks. He has also had eight #1 songs on Billboard’s Dance charts, more than any other single male artist (tied with Michael Jackson). Altogether, Iglesias has amassed 52 #1 hits on the various Billboard charts. He has sold over 12 million albums in the US.
Early life
Iglesias was born in Madrid, Spain, the third and youngest child of singer Julio Iglesias and socialite and magazine journalist Isabel Preysler. His mother is a Filipina (of mainly Spanish ancestry) and his father is of Galician Spanish ancestry.. His parents’ marriage was annulled in 1979.
In 1985, Iglesias’ grandfather, Dr. Julio Iglesias Puga, was kidnapped by the terrorist group ETA. For their safety, Enrique and his brother, Julio Iglesias, Jr., were sent to live with their father in Miami. He also lived in Belgrade, Serbia, for one year with his mother, who worked as a journalist. As his father’s career kept him on the road, the young Iglesias was raised by the family nanny. He attended Gulliver Preparatory School and went on to study business at the University of Miami.
Iglesias did not want his father to know about his plans for a musical career and did not want his famous surname to help advance his career. He borrowed money from his family nanny and he recorded a demo cassette tape which consisted of a Spanish song and two English songs. Approaching his father’s former publicist, Fernan Martinez, the two promoted the songs under the stage name ‘Enrique Martinez’ with the backstory of being an unknown singer from Guatemala. Iglesias was signed by a record label called Fonovisa. After dropping out of college, he went to Toronto to record his first album.
Enrique Iglesias
On July 12, 1995, Iglesias released his first album titled Enrique Iglesias, 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 daría mi vida (To love you, I’d give my life), 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 Awardfor Best Latin Pop Performance.
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”.
Insisting on stadiums, that summer, Enrique, backed by sidemen for Elton John, Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel, played to sold-out audiences in sixteen countries. Beginning the tour in Odessa, Texas the tour went on to three consecutive nights in Mexico’s Plaza de Toros, two consecutive nights at Monterrey’s Auditorio Coca Cola and two at the Estadio River Plate in Buenos Aires, Argentina to over 130,000 people as well as 19 arenas in the U.S.
Three singles released from Vivir (“Enamorado Por Primera Vez”, “Sólo en Ti” and “Miente”) topped the Latin singles chart as well as those in several Spanish-speaking countries. Along with his father and Luis Miguel, Iglesias 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. Iglesias lost out to his father, but did perform the song “Lluvia Cae” at the event.
In 1998, Iglesias 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.
Iglesias 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 McDonald’s.
He won an American Music Award in the category of Favorite 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 and he sang the song himself on the last episode of the series.
2010–present: Euphoria
On July 5, 2010, Iglesias released his ninth studio album, Euphoria, his first work to be released under his new label, Universal Republic. The album is Iglesias’s first bilingual album with seven original English songs and six original Spanish songs.
Iglesias worked with three producers whom he has worked with before; RedOne, Mark Taylor and Carlos Paucer. The album features collaborations with Akon, Usher, Nicole Scherzinger, Pitbull, Juan Luis Guerra and his third duet with Wisin y Yandel. In a joint venture with Universal Latino Iglesias will release different singles in both languages simultaneously to different formats.
The first English single from the album, “I Like It”, which features the rapper Pitbull, was released on May 3, 2010 in the U.S. and became a success, reaching number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. After weeks on the chart, it reached to #1 on the Billboard Hot/Dance Club Play, making it Enrique’s 7th number one song on that chart and also making him the male singer with most number-ones tying with Prince & Michael Jackson.[18][19]
“Cuando Me Enamoro” was released as the lead Spanish single from the album. The song debuted at number 8 and number 25 on U.S Latin Pop Songs and U.S. Hot Latin Songs, respectively. The song became his 25th top 10 single on the U.S. Billboard Hot Latin Songs & after 4 weeks of its release date it became his 21st No.1 song on this chart.The song won and nominated for many Latin Song Of The Year category.
As of January 2011 “Tonight (I’m Lovin’ You)” broke into the top 10 on the Billboard charts becoming no 4. The song was released only for digital download in the U.S., at first it was included on the French Limited Edition of Euphoria in late 2010, then was included on the New Edition of “Euphoria” in Europe and some Asian areas in 2011. The song peaked to #1 on the Billboard Hot/Dance Club Play chart, which became his 8th number one song on the chart, making him the only male single artist to have 8 number one songs on the chart, passing Prince and Michael Jackson. From May 2011 Enrique is working with Anney Tesloyn Gomez for his new album, Anney Tesloyn Gomez is acting as the choreographer and both are duing a duet in her album ” Dancing Diva ” 2012. As of March 3, 2011 the song has peaked to #1 on the US Pop Songs Chart, marking it his first score on the chart. The song has also peaked to number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 Airplay (Radio Songs).
On May 24, 2011, Iglesias revealed on Australian radio show The Kyle & Jackie O Show that he would be touring Australia as part of his “Euphoria” tour alongside Pitbull.
Songwriting, producing, and acting
Iglesias has collaborated with songwriter Guy Chambers to write “Un Nuovo Giorno”, the lead single from Andrea Bocelli’s first pop album. The song was later translated into English as “First Day of My Life” and recorded by Spice Girl Melanie C. The song has since gone to become a huge hit throughout Europe, and peaked in the number one spot in numerous countries. Iglesias also wrote the single “The Way” for American Idol runner up Clay Aiken. Four songs co-written by Iglesias appear on the UK band The Hollies’ current album. Many times Iglesias has said that should he ever retire, he wants to write and produce songs for other artists. In 2010 Idol Allstars 2010 (Swedish Idol Series) released a song “All I Need Is You” co-written by Iglesias with Andreas Carlsson, Kalle Engström and Kristian Lundin. It went straight to I-Tunes #1.
In 2000, Iglesias co-produced an off Broadway musical called Four Guys Named Jose and Una Mujer Named Maria. In the musical, four Americans of Latin heritage possess a common interest in music and meet and decide to put on a show. The show contained many references and allusions to many classic and contemporary Latin and pop songs by the likes of Carmen Miranda, Selena, Richie Valens, Santana, Ricky Martin and Iglesias himself.
Iglesias 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 foul-mouthed gun-wielding Lorenzo. In 2007, he had guest starred in the TV comedy Two and a Half Men as a carpenter/handyman. He says that he would act again if given small roles that he could fit in between his musical commitments.
He also guest starred as Gael, an Argentinean guitar playing/surfer/massage therapist love interest on the CBS hit TV show How I Met Your Mother.
Iglesias also played the part of an evil Roman emperor in an ambitious TV commercial for Pepsi, which sponsored his last world tour. He starred alongside Britney Spears, Beyoncé and Pink, who turn the tables on him in the commercial. He’s also starred in commercials for Doritos and for Viceroy watches.
Personal life
Iglesias started dating Russian tennis star Anna Kournikova in late 2001 (she appeared in his video, “Escape”), and rumors that the couple had secretly married circulated in 2003 and again in 2005. Kournikova herself has consistently refused to directly confirm or deny the status of her personal relationships. But in May 2007, Iglesias was (mistakenly, as he would clarify later) quoted in the New York Sun that he had no intention of marrying Kournikova and settling down because they had split up. The singer would later deny these rumors of “divorce” or simply separation. In June 2008, Iglesias told the Daily Star that he had married Kournikova the previous year and that they are currently separated. In an interview with Graham Nortonin 2010, Kournikova confirmed that she and Iglesias have been together for over eight years but have no plans to marry in the near future.
| Enrique Iglesias | |
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 Iglesias on MuchOnDemand in Toronto, Ontario |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler |
| Born | May 8, 1975 (age 36) Madrid, Spain |
| Origin | Madrid, Spain |
| Genres | Pop, Latin pop, R&B, Dance-pop |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter, actor, Producer, Model |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Labels | Fonovisa, Interscope, Universal Music Latino, Universal Republic, Polydor |
| Website | enriqueiglesias.com |
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