Enrique Iglesias: Biography

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Enrique Iglesias.Image via Wikimedia Commons

Who Is Enrique Iglesias?

Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (Spanish pronunciation: [enˈrike miˈɣel iˈɣlesjas ˈpɾejsleɾ]; born 8 May 1975) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He started his recording career in the mid-1990s on the Mexican label Fonovisa where he released three Spanish albums: Enrique Iglesias, Vivir and Cosas del Amor, becoming the bestselling Spanish-language act of the decade. By the turn of the millennium, he made a successful crossover into the mainstream English-language market.

He signed a multi-album deal with Universal Music Group for US$68 million with Interscope Records, releasing a string of hit English albums such as Enrique, Escape, 7, and Insomniac. During this time, he also released Spanish albums such as Quizás and 95/08 Éxitos under Universal Music Latin. In 2010, Iglesias parted with Interscope Records and signed with another Universal Music Group label, Republic Records, where he released two successful bilingual albums, Euphoria and Sex and Love. In 2015, he parted ways with Universal Music Group after over a decade. He signed with Sony Music and subsequently released two more bilingual albums, Final (Vol. 1) and Final (Vol. 2), with Sony Music Latin in Spanish and RCA Records in English.

Iglesias is one of the best-selling Latin music artists with estimated sales of over 100 million albums worldwide. He has had five Billboard Hot 100 top five singles, including two number-ones. Iglesias holds the record for the most number-one songs on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart with 27 songs and the Latin Pop Airplay chart with 24 songs. Iglesias holds the number-one position on the Greatest of All-Latin Artists charts and in October 2022 he was honored with the Top Latin Artist of All Time at the Latin Billboard Awards. Iglesias also has 14 number-ones on Billboard's Dance charts, more than any other male artist. He has earned the honorific title King of Latin Pop. In December 2016, Billboard magazine named him the 14th most successful and top male dance club artist of all time.

Early life

Early Life: Where Is Enrique Iglesias From?

Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler was born in Madrid, the third and youngest child of Spanish singer Julio Iglesias and Spanish-Filipina socialite and magazine journalist Isabel Preysler. Iglesias was raised with two older siblings, Chábeli and Julio Jr. One of his mother's aunts is actress Neile Adams, the first wife of American actor Steve McQueen, mother of actor Chad McQueen, and grandmother of actor Steven R. McQueen. His father's family is from Galicia and Andalusia; his father also claims some Jewish ancestry on his mother's side.

Iglesias later learned that he was born with a rare congenital condition known as situs inversus, in which some of the body's major organs, such as the heart, are situated on the opposite side of the body from where they would normally be located.

At first, Iglesias and his two siblings stayed with their mother; however, in December 1981, Iglesias's grandfather Dr. Julio Iglesias Puga was kidnapped by the armed Basque group ETA.

For their safety, Enrique and his brother Julio were sent to live with their father in Miami. There, they were brought up mostly by their nanny, Elvira Olivares, to whom Enrique later dedicated his first album.

Enrique Iglesias's Career and Major Works

Iglesias attended Gulliver Preparatory School, a private high school in Miami, where he developed an interest in writing songs. After graduating from high school, he attended the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, where he studied business but dropped out after a year to pursue a recording career.

Music career

Iglesias did not want his father to know about his plans for a music career and did not want his famous surname to help advance his career. In secret, he borrowed money from his family's nanny and recorded a demo cassette tape which consisted of a Spanish song and two English songs. He approached his father's former publicist, Fernán Martínez, the two promoted the songs under the stage name Enrique Martínez with the backstory of being a singer from Guatemala. Mexican record label Fonovisa signed him, and he temporarily moved to Canada to record his first album.

On 21 November 1995, Iglesias released Enrique Iglesias, a collection of light rock ballads, including hits such as "Si Tú Te Vas" (If You Go Away) and "Experiencia Religiosa" (Religious Experience). The record was released by label Fonovisa, along with Iglesias's following two albums. The record sold half a million copies in its first week, a then rare accomplishment for an album recorded in a language other than English. The record also ended up being certified Gold in another non-Spanish-speaking territory (Portugal) in its first week of release. The album sold one million copies in its first three months and went Platinum in the United States.

Enrique Iglesias's Personal Life and Relationships

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 edited to suit the show, with Por amarte Marisol, moriría (To love you, Marisol, I'd die). The album also showcased Iglesias's prowess as a polyglot, releasing both Italian and Portuguese editions, with most of the songs being sung in those languages.

Five singles were released from the album, including "Por Amarte", "No Llores Por Mí" (Don't Cry for Me) and "Trapecista" (Trapezist), all of which topped several of Billboard's Latin music charts. The album still holds the record for most number-one singles on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart. The album went on to win Iglesias the Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Performance.

1997–1998: Vivir and Cosas del Amor

In 1997, Iglesias's stardom continued to rise with the release of Vivir (To Live), which elevated him to the levels of popular English-language musicians (in sales) that year. The album also included a cover version of the Yazoo song "Only You", translated into Spanish as "Solo en Ti". Three singles were released from Vivir: "Enamorado Por Primera Vez" (In Love For the First Time), "Solo en Ti", and "Miente" (Lie), which topped the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart as well as the charts of several Spanish-speaking countries. Along with his father and Luís Miguel, Iglesias was nominated for an American Music Award in the first-ever awarded category of Favorite Latin Artist. Iglesias lost out to his father, but performed the song "Lluvia Cae" (Rain is Falling) at the event.

Where Is Enrique Iglesias Now? Recent Years

Insistent on playing large 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 play three consecutive nights in Mexico City's Plaza de Toros, two nights at Monterrey's Auditorio Coca-Cola, and two nights (with over 50,000 attendees each) at the Estadio Ciudad de La Plata in Argentina, totaling over 130,000 people. Additionally, Iglesias toured to 19 large indoor 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" (Hope) and "Nunca Te Olvidaré" (I'll Never Forget You), both of which topped the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart and helped cement his status in the Latin music scene.

Iglesias did a shorter tour of smaller venues to accompany the release of the album, with one show being televised from Acapulco, México. This was followed by another larger world tour, consisting of over 80 shows, in even bigger venues. The Cosas del Amor Tour was the first ever concert tour sponsored by McDonald's. He won the American Music Award for Favorite Latin Artist for a second time, this time winning against Ricky Martin and Chayanne. The song "Nunca te Olvidaré" was also used as the theme song for a Spanish soap opera of the same name, and Iglesias guest-starred and sang the song live on the finale episode of the series.

1999–2007: English market success

In 1999, Iglesias began a successful crossover career into the English-language pop music market. Thanks to other successful Latin crossover acts, most notably Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez, and soon thereafter Shakira, Spanish-language and Latino musicians experienced a great surge in popularity amongst the public. After attending one of Iglesias's concerts in March 1999, American actor Will Smith asked Iglesias to contribute a song to the soundtrack of his upcoming movie Wild Wild West; Iglesias's contribution of "Bailamos" was released as a single that year, becoming an international hit and peaking at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100. Following 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 record in English, Enrique. The pop album featured some clear Latin musical influences and took two months to complete. It contained the popular song "Rhythm Divine", a duet with Whitney Houston titled "Could I Have This Kiss Forever", and a cover of Bruce Springsteen's song "Sad Eyes".

Enrique Iglesias's Legacy and Impact

In 2000, Iglesias performed at the Super Bowl XXXIV halftime show with 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, accusing him of "not being able" to sing live. On 8 June 2000, Iglesias came to New York and sang the song, live and unplugged, on Stern's show with just an accompanying guitarist. After the performance, the two had an interview, and Stern remarked, "I respect you for coming in here; you really can sing." Iglesias noted that the recording could have been him, but that it was probably a recording made during a television taping where he was required to lip sync and not sing properly. He 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 chart.

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, with the album being certified Diamond for shipments of over 10 million copies. 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, 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 fifty sold-out shows in sixteen countries. Including Radio City Music Hall and three consecutive nights in London's Royal Albert Hall, the tour ended with a big show at Lia Manoliu Stadium in Bucharest, Romania. The concert launched MTV Romania, with the video for "Love to See You Cry" being the first music video to be shown on the channel. In 2002, Iglesias decided 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 twelve on the Billboard 200 albums chart, the highest placement of a Spanish-language album on the chart at that period. Quizás sold a million copies in a week, making it the fastest-selling album in Spanish in five years. All three singles released from the album all ended up topping the Latin chart, giving Iglesias a total of sixteen number ones on the chart. He currently holds the record for the most number-one singles on Billboard's Latin Chart. With the song "Para Qué La Vida", Iglesias reached a million spins on U.S. radio, becoming the first Latin act to do so. The video to the song "Quizás" was the first Spanish-language music video to be added to the selection on MTV's popular show Total Request Live.The album went on to win the Latin Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album. That year he embarked on an arena tour of the Americas. The "Don't Turn Off the Lights" tour 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.

By 2003, Iglesias had released his seventh album, which he called 7, the second to be entirely co-written by him. The album's sound was heavily influenced by 80s rock and pop. The album features the song "Roamer", which he wrote with his friend and longtime guitarist Tony Bruno and also featured an appearance from Kara DioGuardi, it also contains "Be Yourself", a song about independence; the chorus talks about how Iglesias's 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...

Enrique Iglesias's career continues to be documented by reputable media; the facts above are drawn from Wikipedia's biography and public records.

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