Enrique Iglesias

Enrique Iglesias
Son of the famous Spanish singer Julio Iglesias and the Filipina journalist Isabel Preysler, Enrique Iglesias is one of the best-selling Spanish music artists in the world with album sales currently over forty million. Iglesias has had five Billboard Chart #1s singles in English and holds the record for most ever Spanish language #1s on Billboard's Hot Latin Tracks with seventeen. He is also the best selling Latin act in the United Kingdom as well the Best Selling International Artist in India.

Born on May 8, 1975, in Madrid, Spain, Iglesias's career started on Indie label Fonovisa who helped turn him into one of the most popular artists in Latin America selling more Spanish albums than any other artists in that period of time. Before the turn of the millennium he made a crossover into the mainstream English market and signed a unique multi-album deal with Universal Music for an unprecedented $48,000,000, with Universal Music Latino to release his Spanish albums and Interscope to release English albums.

Raised by his nanny, Elvira Olvarez, Iglesias lived with his father in Miami, Florida and used to visit his mother every summer after they got divorced when Iglesias was just 3. Iglesias enjoyed the luxury of being the son of a millionaire while in Miami but later developed a taste for simpler things.

His first album, Enrique Iglesias (1996), sold more than a million copies in three months and to date has sold more than six million worldwide. In 1997, Iglesias' star continued to rise, when he released Vivir, which put him up in sales with other, English music superstars for that year. In the same year he also launched his first world tour, backed by sidemen for Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, and Billy Joel. In a mere three years, Iglesias had sold more than 17 million Spanish-language albums, more than anyone else during that period. He also won the 1996 Grammy for Best Latin Performer, 1996's Billboard Artist of the Year, Billboard's Album of the Year for Vivir, two American Music Awards, a World Music Award, eight Premio Lo Nuestro Awards, two ACE Performer of the Year Awards, and ASCAP prizes for Best Composer of 1996 and 1997, in addition to countless accolades around the world.

With 1998's Cosas del Amor, Iglesias shifted to more serious and mature content. By 1999, Iglesias had begun a successful cross-over into the English music market. "Rythm Divine" was what introduced Iglesias to audiences world-wide by becoming a number 1 hit. Then came Enrique, his first album in English. The album's first single, "Hero", became a number one hit in the United Kingdom, and in many other countries. The entire album was co-written by Iglesias. In 2001 he released the follow-up, Escape. Iglesias alternated Spanish- and English-language albums during the next two years, first offering the ballad collection Quizas in 2002, then the mainstream English record 7 in 2003. Four years later the single "Do You Know" announced the coming of his 2007 album Insomniac.

Throughout the early 2000s Enrique Iglesias steadily gained a firm foothold as the biggest-selling Latin pop star on the market. Iglesias's albums showed an increasing command of the pop medium with their blend of romantic balladry, radio-ready pop, and adult contemporary fare.

His latest album Insomniac (2007) pushes the singer's profile even further into the commercial stratosphere with its slick, glossy sound and the newfound presence of urban contemporary grooves designed for the club. The album is almost entirely in English, and the inclusion of club-oriented tracks--such as "Push," which features a cameo by rapper Lil Wayne, and "Do You Know? (The Ping Pong Song)"--are a clear appeal to young, hip audiences. Yet Iglesias is still the sexy crooner without missing a beat ("On Top of You"), and also sings a couple songs in Spanish to keep his Latin listeners in the loop ("Alguien Soy Yo"). In short, Iglesias covers all the bases on this sharp, stylish release, adding even more fuel to his reign as the king of contemporary Latin pop.

He also has a flare for song writing and has collaborated with many other songwriters. Some of the songs written by him for other singers have gone to become huge hits. Iglesias has also stated many times that should he ever retire, he wants to write and produce songs for other artists.

Iglesias has yet to overtake his father's great sales figures, but has outsold Julio in single-album sales, arguably justifying the label his record company gave him as 'best selling Spanish artist in the world'. He is the best-selling Spanish language artist of the last decade. Iglesias 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.