Enrique Iglesias Biography

Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler or better known for his stage name Enrique Iglesias (,  ; , born May 8, 1975) is a Spanish singer-songwriter, actor, and record producer based in America. Iglesias started his career in the mid-1990s on an American Spanish Language record label Fonovisa which helped turn him into one of the biggest stars in Latin America and the Hispanic Market in the United States becoming the biggest seller of Spanish-language albums of that decade. He has also credited his niece, Natalia Elisa Iglesias for inspiring him throughout his musical career. He made a successful crossover into the mainstream market and signed a 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 60 million units worldwide, making him one of the best selling Spanish language artists of all time. He has had five Billboard Hot 100 top five singles, including two number-ones, and holds the record for producing 23 number-one Spanish-language singles on the Billboards Hot Latin Tracks. He has also had 12 number-one songs on Billboard's Dance charts, more than any other single male artist. Altogether, Iglesias has amassed 70 number-one rankings on the various Billboard charts. Billboard has called him The King of Latin Pop and The King of Dance.

Early life

Iglesias was born in Madrid, Spain, and is the third and youngest child of singer Julio Iglesias and socialite and magazine journalist Isabel Preysler. Isabel Preysler's aunt is Neile Adams, first wife of Steve McQueen, making Iglesias second cousins with Steven R. McQueen. He was raised with two older siblings: Chabeli Iglesias and Julio Iglesias, Jr.. His mother is Filipino and his father is of Spanish ancestry from Galicia and Andalusia. His father also claims to have Jewish ancestry on his mother's side. His parents were divorced in 1979.

In 1986, Iglesias' grandfather, Dr. Julio Iglesias Puga, was kidnapped by the armed Basque 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. As his father's career kept him on the road, the young Iglesias was raised by the family nanny. He attended the prestigious Gulliver Preparatory School, where he made his singing debut in a production of Hello, Dolly!. Although his mother is ethnically Filipino, Enrique does not speak Tagalog. Iglesias is fluent in Spanish and English, the latter influencing and making a regular appearance in his songs. Iglesias later 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, Fernán Martínez, the two promoted the songs under the stage name 'Enrique Martínez' with the backstory of being an unknown singer from Guatemala. Iglesias was signed the Mexican label Fonovisa. After dropping out of college, he traveled to Toronto to record his first album.

Music career

1995"96: Enrique Iglesias

On July 12, 1995, Iglesias released Enrique Iglesias, a collection of light rock ballads, including hits such 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, going Gold in Portugal within the first week of release, and sold over a million copies in the next three months.

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 Billboard's Latin charts. The album went on to win Iglesias a Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Performance.

1997"99: Vivir and Cosas Del Amor

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".

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.

Insisting on playing stadiums for his first concert tour, that summer, Iglesias, backed by sidemen for Elton John, Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel, played to sold-out audiences in sixteen countries. Beginning 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.

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 Chayanne. 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.

1999"2001: Enrique and Escape

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 and Gloria Estefan, Latino artists and music had a great surge in popularity in mainstream music. After attending one of his concerts in March 1999, Will Smith asked Iglesias to contribute to the soundtrack of his movie Wild Wild West. His contribution "Bailamos" was released as a single and became a number one hit in the US.

After the success of "Bailamos", several mainstream record labels were eager to sign Iglesias. 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. It contained the song Rhythm Divine, a duet with Whitney Houston entitled "Could I Have This Kiss Forever", and a cover of the Bruce Springsteen song "Sad Eyes".

In 2000, Iglesias performed at the Super Bowl XXXIV halftime show alongside Christina Aguilera, Phil Collins, and Toni Braxton. Shock jock Howard Stern repeatedly played a tape of a supposedly very off-key Iglesias on his radio show and accused the Iglesias of not being able to sing live. On June 8, 2000, Iglesias sang the song live on Stern's show with just a guitar accompanying him. After the performance, Stern remarked, "I respect you for coming in here; you really can sing". Iglesias would remark that the controversy was the best promotion he could have. The album's single Be With You became Iglesias's second number one single on Billboard's Hot 100.

In 2001 Iglesias released his second English language 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, Iglesias actually went on to sell even more. 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.

Escape is his biggest commercial success to date. 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 internationally and contained a new version of one of Iglesias's favorite tracks, "Maybe", as well as a duet with Lionel Richie called "To Love a Woman".

Iglesias 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 Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

2002"2004: Quizas and 7

In 2002 Iglesias chose to release a fourth Spanish-language album titled Quizás (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 number 12 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, the highest placement of a Spanish language album on the chart at the time. Quizás sold a million copies in a week, making it the fastest-selling album in Spanish in 5 years. The three singles released from the album all ended up topping the Latin chart, giving Iglesias a total of 16 number ones on the chart. He currently holds the record for the most number one singles on 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 "Quizás" was the first Spanish language music video to be added to the selection on one of 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. Iglesias included songs from Quizás in his "Don't Turn Off the Lights Tour", and the album went on to win a Latin Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album.

By 2003 Iglesias released his seventh album, which he called 7, the second to be 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 did not 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.

With this album, Iglesias went on his biggest world tour to date. The highly publicised tour started with twelve shows in the United States ending with Iglesias playing at Houston Rodeo and continued on to several countries, most of which he'd never previously visited playing to sold-out arenas and stadiums in Australia, India, Egypt and Singapore before ending his tour in South Africa.

2007"09: Insomniac, 95/08 Exitos and Greatest Hits

After a two year hiatus Iglesias released his new album Insomniac on June 12, 2007. The album was so named due to it being recorded mainly at night. The album contained a more contemporary pop style than that of previous albums. The album's highlights include "Push", with rapper Lil' Wayne, as well as "Ring My Bells", and a cover of Ringside's "Tired of Being Sorry".

The first single "Do You Know? (The Ping Pong Song)" was released on April 10, 2007. It was the Iglesias's highest charting song on the Hot 100 since "Escape" it was also a hit throughout Europe peaking in the top 10 in many countries and the Spanish version entitled "Dímelo" was number one on Hot Latin Tracks for 12 weeks becoming his second best performing song on that chart.

Iglesias followed up with the ballad "Somebody's Me", which was released as a single in the American continent. The song was played extensively on AC radio and peaked high on Billboard's Hot AC. In Europe, the second single was "Tired of Being Sorry", which performed well in many countries; he recorded a version of the song with French singer Nâdiya which was number one in France for eleven weeks.

On July 4, Enrique Iglesias became the first Western artist to play a concert in Syria in three decades when he performed for a sold-out crowd of 10,000 in the capital Damascus and in the same week performed on Live Earth in Hamburg.

The Insomniac World Tour was launched at the Dome in Johannesburg, South Africa, the same venue he ended his last world Tour and took him to sold out arenas throughout Europe. It was his first arena tour of the UK with him playing venues such as Manchester's MEN Arena and Wembley Arena. The tour ended with Iglesias performing at newly opened L.A. Live. A second leg of the tour has taken him throughout Latin America from Mexico to Argentina.

A solo version of "Push" was added to the soundtrack of the movie Step Up 2 the Streets. The song was regarded as the third single from the album. A music video was shot which features the film's lead actors. Despite never being officially added to radio the song has charted in several countries and is one of his most highly rated songs amongst fans.

Iglesias's song "Can You Hear Me" has been chosen as the official song of the UEFA Euro 2008 football tournament. He performed the song live at the June 29, 2008 final in Vienna, Austria. The song featured on a re-issue of the Insomniac album being released in certain countries.

Iglesias released a Spanish Greatest Hits album named 95/08 Exitos on March 25, 2008 which included his seventeen number one songs on Hot Latin Tracks chart, plus two new songs. The first single was the song "Dónde Están Corazón", which is written by Argentine star Coti and became Iglesias's 18th number one single on Billboards Hot Latin Songs. The album debuted at number one on Billboard's Latin Albums Chart and number eighteen on the overall Billboard 200 albums chart. It was Iglesias's second Spanish album to debut in the top 20 of the Billboard 200 (Quizás debuted at number twelve in 2002). The album was certified double Platinum (Latin field) in the U.S. and in some Latin American countries.

The album's second single "Lloro Por Ti" had an official remix featuring Wisin & Yandel which also reached number one. Iglesias did a tour of the US. Beginning in Laredo, Texas and ending at the Izod Center in New Jersey he was accompanied though most of the tour with Bachata band Aventura who also performed "Lloro Por Ti" with him at the Premios Juventud.

Iglesias was a surprise performer at the Lo Nuestro Awards, opening the show with a medley of "Dónde Están Corazón" and "Dimelo". He also performed at the Billboard Latin Music Awards, where he received a special award.

After the success of his Spanish Greatest Hits compilation, Iglesias released a compilation of his English language hits on November 11. The album includes "Can You Hear Me" as well two new songs. The first single is entitled "Away" featuring Sean Garrett and was followed by "Takin' Back My Love" featuring Ciara. The album debuted at number three on the official UK Albums Chart and sold over 80,000 copies in its first two weeks of release alone.

Iglesias was the winner of two World Music Awards in the categories of "World's Best Selling Latin Performer" and "World's Best Selling Spanish Artist", in the ceremony held in Monaco on November 9, 2008.

2010"2011: 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. The album has won Billboard Music Award for Top Latin Album, Billboard Latin Award for Latin Album of the Year and Latin Pop Album of the Year and was nominated for Latin Grammy Award for Album of the Year. 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, Sunidhi Chauhan, Ludacris, Pitbull, Juan Luis Guerra and his third duet with Wisin & 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. The song was also featured in the MTV reality series, Jersey Shore. "Cuando Me Enamoro" was released as the lead Spanish single from the album, and also became the theme song of a Mexican telenovela of the same title produced by Televisa. 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. As of January 2011 "Tonight (I'm Fuckin' You)" broke into the top 10 on the Billboard charts reaching no 4 and became another big success. The song was released only for digital download in the U.S. although was featured on some Editions of "Euphoria" in Europe and some Asian areas. The song has became his first number one on the US Pop Songs and Hot 100 airplay Charts. A remix version of "Dirty Dancer" was released and became his ninth Dance Club play chart topper making him the male with the most number-one dance singles, tying with Prince & Michael Jackson. "Ayer" serves as the albums seventh single. The Euphoria Tour has taken him across the US, Canada UK and Europe. A second which has taken him to Australia will include leg will include fellow artists Pitbull and Prince Royce and will be across North America. In August 2011, he released the lead single from the extension, "I Like How It Feels", to radio.

2013: 10th studio 'bilingual' album

On August 25, 2012, Iglesias unveiled his brand new single, "Finally Found You", a collaboration with American rapper Sammy Adams. It was released to the US iTunes Store on September 25, 2012. The song was released in UK on December 9, 2012. On December 8, 2012, Iglesias performed at Y100 Jingle Ball in Miami and the iHeartRadio Festival interview session before the shows Iglesias stated he's working on some new music and - when asked about his time in the studio - Iglesias said, "It's kind of like going fishing, you never know when you're going to catch a big one." Continuing on to tell what fans can expect to hear, he said he's ready to try something new saying, "I come out with so many albums and I want to make sure that if I come out with an album it sounds new. At least to me." It has been confirmed that Iglesias will be working with Mark Taylor, The Cataracs, and Carlos Paucar for his new album.

On May 31, 2013 Iglesias performed at the Mawazine Festival in Rabat, Morocco. The show broke the highest attendance record as more than 120,000 fans gathered to watch the concert which is considered as the highest as of yet.

On June 29, 2013 Republic Records confirmed that Enrique's first single from his upcoming album is titled "Turn the Night Up". The single is set to release in the middle of July. Iglesias released a special video which featured photos and videos that fans had sent in, fans could also make their own version using media from their personal Facebook albums. The song was be released to US Top 40 radio on July 22, 2013. On July 18, 2013 Iglesias uploaded the single's cover art on his official website.

On August 24, 2013, "Loco" was released on iTunes as the lead Spanish single from his upcoming album. The smooth bachata track features vocals from urban bachata superstar Romeo Santos. The single released worldwide on August 26, 2013. The official music video premiered on the same day. Billboard released an article stating that the new album would also include collaborations with Latin stars Marco Antonio Solís and Pitbull, in addition to Romeo Santos. The album is to be released sometime in November.

On September 17, 2013 Y100 Radio played Enrique's third single from his upcoming bilingual studio album. The single is titled Heart Attack and is set to release in September 2013. It will officially impact Top 40/Mainstream radio in the U.S. on October 1, 2013.

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 iTunes number one. He also co-wrote Jennifer Lopez's song Dance Again released in 2012, which reached number-one position in the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs.

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, Chayanne, 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 of Robin in season 3 of the CBS hit TV show How I Met Your Mother.

Iglesias also played the part of an evil Roman emperor in an Pepsi Music 2004: Britney Exclusive|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 Pepsi Music 2004: Britney Exclusive|commercial. He's also starred in commercials for Tommy Hilfiger, Doritos and for Viceroy watches.

Personal life

Iglesias received surgery in 2003 to remove a circular mole from the right side of his face, citing possible concerns that over time it could become cancerous.

Iglesias dated playboy model Samantha Torres in 1997. In late 2001, he started dating tennis player Anna Kournikova. In June 2008, Iglesias told the Daily Star that he had married Kournikova the previous year and that they are currently separated. They have since reconciled.

Discography

• Enrique Iglesias (1995)
• Vivir (1997)
• Cosas del Amor (1998)
• Enrique (1999)
• Escape (2001)
• Quizás (2002)
• 7 (2003)
• Insomniac (2007)
• Euphoria (2010)

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1997	Fools Rush In	"Si Tu Te Vas"	Soundtrack
1999	Wild Wild West	"Bailamos"	Soundtrack Nominated " Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Song from a Movie
2000	2000 Teen Choice Awards	Himself	Host
2001	I Love the New Millennium	"Hero"	Soundtrack
	Smallville: "Craving"
2003	Scrubs: "My Friend the Doctor"
	Once Upon a Time in Mexico	Lorenzo	Debut in Hollywood
2004	Pepsi Music 2004: Britney Exclusive	Evil emperor	TV advert
2005	Premios Juventud 2005	Himself	Host
2006	Zoom	"Hero"	Soundtrack
2007	America's Next Top Model, Cycle 9: "The Girls Who Crawl"	Himself	Special guest
	Live with Regis and Kelly		Co-host
	Dancing with the Stars		Musical guest
	How I Met Your Mother	"Gael"	TV guest; 2 episodes: "Wait for It" and "We're Not from Here"
	Two and a Half Men	"Fernando"	TV guest
2008	Step Up 2: The Streets	"Push"	Soundtrack
	Rob & Big: "Poop in the Pool"	"Do You Know?"
	Beverly Hills Chihuahua	"Hero"
	Lady Godiva
2010	Hot Tub Time Machine
	Jersey Shore	"I Like It"
2011	The X Factor (U.S.)	Himself	Guest judge along with Nicole Scherzinger
2012	Glee	"Hero"	The song "Hero" was covered by Sam Evans and New Direction males as part of a mashup with Bamboléo.

Tours

• Vivir World Tour (1997)
• Cosas Del Amor (1998)
• Enrique World Tour (2000)
• One Night Stand Tour (2002)
• Don't Turn Off The Lights Tour (2002)
• Seven World Tour (2004)
• Insomniac World Tour (2007)
• Greatest Hits Tour (2009)
• Euphoria Tour (2010"12)
• Enrique Iglesias & Jennifer Lopez Tour (2012)
• Enrique Iglesias India Tour (2012)

Awards and nominations

See List of awards and nominations received by Enrique Iglesias for more information

• Iglesias has won 16 Billboard Music Awards and 26 Billboard Latin Music Awards, as well as 5 American Music Awards, a Grammy, a Latin Grammy and 7 World Music Awards. He also won an award for Best International Pop Act at the MTV India Awards. As well as being named "King of Latin Pop", he has won 15 Premios Lo Nuestro awards. In 2000, he was also awarded Most Fashionable Artist at the VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards. In 2001, for the release of his second English studio album Escape, he received awards for Best-Selling Pop Male Artist and European Male Artist at the World Music Awards. Iglesias also won an award for Most Successful Spanish Artist of the Decade at Premios Ondas in 2002.

See also

• List of best-selling Latin artists
• List of best-selling music artists