 At the dawn of the new millennium,
Enrique Iglesias was the best-selling Latin recording artist in the world.
The son of multimillion-selling singer
Julio Iglesias,
Enrique Iglesias was born in Madrid, Spain, where he lived with his mother, his
brother
Julio, and his sister Chabeli. In 1982, his mother sent them to live in
Miami with their father. While there,
Enrique Iglesias was exposed to three different cultures and musical influences --
Hispanic, European, and American.
Enrique Iglesias' own career started when he was still attending Gulliver Private
School, a very prestigious school in Miami. He made his singing debut in a
production of Hello, Dolly, after which he began practicing his singing without
his parents knowing. After a year studying business at the University of Miami,
he decided to follow his passion for music. In 1995, he sang in person for his
soon-to-be manager, who at
Enrique Iglesias' insistence of not wanting to use his family name, first shopped
his demos as an unknown Central American singer named Enrique Martinez. It
wasn't until he earned a record deal with Fonovisa that
Enrique Iglesias told his father and mother of his aspirations. Then he flew to
Toronto where no one knew him and he could concentrate just on music, to record
for five months.
That first album, Enrique Iglesias (1996), sold more than a million copies in
three months (it earned him his first gold record in Portugal in a mere seven
days) and to date has sold more than six million worldwide. The second album,
Vivir (1997), enjoyed global sales of more than five million discs and launched
his first world tour, backed by sidemen for
Elton John,
Bruce Springsteen, and
Billy Joel. In a mere three years,
Enrique Iglesias had sold more than 17 million Spanish-language albums, more than
anyone else during that period. (The U.S. was his biggest market.) 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,
Enrique Iglesias moved to more mature content; his earlier material had been written
when he was 17 years old. Then came Enrique,
Enrique Iglesias' first Interscope album and first in English, which
achieved gold or platinum status in 32 countries and brought his global album
sales to a total of more than 23 million. In 2001 he released the follow-up,
Escape.
Enrique Iglesias alternated Spanish- and English-language albums during the next two
years, first offering the ballad collection Quizás in 2002, then the mainstream
English record Seven in 2003. ~ Ed Nimmervoll, All Music Guide
Contact Grabow for more information or to book
Enrique Iglesias for your next corporate or private event.
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