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For the economist and president of the
Inter-American Development Bank, see Enrique V.
Iglesias.
----

After the widely publicized kidnapping of his
grandfather in Spain, Iglesias moved to Miami in
1985, at age 10. While in Miami, Enrique enjoyed
the luxury of being the son of a billionaire, but
he developed a taste for simpler things, a fact
that would later surface in his concerts, where he
appeared in plain clothes, including white cotton
shirts. 

Iglesias first performed while in high school, in
the musical Hello, Dolly! (play/movie)|Hello
Dolly. While attending the University of Miami, he
was auditioned by his future manager, who was
impressed. Using the pseudonym Enrique Martínez,
the two  promoted his demos across various record
labels. Months later, Iglesias was signed by
Fonovisa and went to Toronto to record his first
album in total anonymity. 

==Enrique Iglesias==

In 1995, he released his first album in Spanish
language|Spanish. Titled Enrique Iglesias, this
was 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|telenovela Marisol, but with a twist:
instead of Por amarte yo moriría (To love you,
I'd die), the words were Por amarte Marisol,
moriría (To love you, Marisol, I'd die). The CD
also yielded Italian language|Italian and
Portuguese language|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 award as Best
Latin Artist.

==Vivir==

In 1997, Iglesias' star continued to rise with the
release of Vivir (To Live), which put him up with
other English language|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".

After this success, Enrique embarked on his first
concert tour. Insisting on playing large arenas
and stadiums, that summer Enrique, backed by
sidemen for Elton John, Bruce Springsteen and
Billy Joel, played to sold-out audiences all over
the world.

Three singles released from Vivir, "Enamorado por
Primera Vez", "Solo en Tí" and "Miente", topped
the Latin Singles Chart as well as those in
several Spanish-speaking countries. Along with his
father and Luis Miguel, Enrique 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. Enrique lost out to
his father this time, but did perform the song
"Lluvia Cae" at the event.

==Cosas del Amor==

In 1998, Enrique 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",
helped cement his status in the Latin music scene.

Enrique 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
McDonalds.

Enrique won an American Music Award in the
category of Favourite 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.

==Enrique==

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, Latino artists and
music had a great surge in popularity in
mainstream music. Iglesias' contribution to the
soundtrack of Will Smith's movie Wild Wild West,
"Bailamos" became a No. 1 hit single. 

After the success of "Bailamos", several
mainstream record labels were eager to sign
Enrique. 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 and
contained a duet with Whitney Houston called
"Could I Have this Kiss Forever" and a cover of
the Bruce Springsteen song "Sad Eyes". The album's
second single, "Be with You", became his second
No. 1.

==Escape==

Enrique followed up in 2001 with the 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, Enrique actually went on to sell even
more. The album's first single, "Hero", became a
No. 1 hit in the United States, Great Britain, and
in many other countries. The entire album was
co-written by Iglesias.

Escape is Enrique's biggest commercial sucess to
date. Upon its release, it displaced Michael
Jackson's album, Invincible, from its chart
position and soon outsold it. 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 internationaly and contained a new
version of one of Enrique's favorite tracks,
"Maybe", as well as a duet with Lionel Richie
called "To Love a Woman".

Enrique 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 Roberte
Clemente Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

==Quizas==

Returning to his native language, and hot on the
heels of his biggest-selling album in 2002,
Iglesias chose to release a fourth
Spanish-language album titled Quizas (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 No. 12 on Billboard's Album
Chart, the highest placement of a Spanish-language
album on the chart. Quizas sold a million copies
in a week, making it  the fastest-selling album in
Spanish in five years. The three singles released
from the album all ended up topping the Latin
chart, giving Iglesias a total of sixteen  No. 1's
on the chart. He currently holds the record for
the most No. 1 singles on the 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 "Quizas" was the first
Spanish-language  video to be added to the
selection on 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.
Enrique Iglesias included songs from Quizas in his
"Don't Turn Off the Lights Tour", and the album
went on to win a Latin Grammy for Best Pop Vocal
Album.

==Seven (7)==

In 2003 Enrique released his seventh album, which
he called Seven, the second to be entirely
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 didn't 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. The latter became a dance hit.

With this album, Iglesias went on one of his
biggest world tours to countries he'd previously
never visited. He then played to sold-out arenas
in Australia, India and Singapore before ending
his tour in South Africa.

==Awards and Achievements==


1996

*Premio Lo Nuestro: Best Interpretation (Si Tú Te
Vas)
*Premio Lo Nuestro: Best Composer (Si Tú Te Vas)
*Premio Lo Nuestro: Best New Artist 
*Premios Eres: Best Song 
*Premios Eres: Best Video 
*Premios Eres: Best Launch 
*Ace Award: Vocalist of the Year 
*Premio TV Novelas: Best Male Vocalist 
*Billboard Award: Album of the Year - New Artist 
*World Music Award: Hispanic Artist of the Year
*World Music Award: Revelación of the Year

1997

*Grammy: Best Latin Performer
*ASCAP Award: Si Tu Te Vas
*ASCAP Award: No llores Por Mi
*ASCAP Award: Por Amarte
*Billboard Music Award: Album of the Year (Vivir}
*ACE Award: Performer of the Year
*Billboard Music Award: Artist of the Year
*Radio Music Awards : Best Artist Contemporary
Format

1998

*Billboard Award: Best Latin Pop Artist

1999

*American Music Award: American Music Award:
Favorite Latin Artist

2001

*World Music Award: Best Selling Pop Male Artist
*World Music Award: Best Selling European Pop
Artist
*World Music Award: Best Latin Artist
*American Music Award: Favorite Latin Artist

2002

*Premio Onda: Most successful Spanish artist of
the last decade.
*American Music Award: Favorite Latin Artist

2003

*Latin Grammy: Best Male Pop Album (Quizas)

2005

*Latin Billboard Awards: Latin Dance Club Play
Track Of The Year "Not In Love/No Es Amor (Club
Remixes)."

==Life and Career==


Enrique Iglesias became one of the best-selling
Spanish music artists in the world and he also set
a few records of his own. He has said that if he
has children and they wish to follow in his
footsteps, he would naturally expect them to be
better than he is.

Iglesias has 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
gun-wielding Lorenzo. He says that he would act
again if given small roles that he could fit in
between his musical commitments.

Enrique also played the part of an evil Roman
emperor in an ambitous TV commercial for Pepsi,
which sponsored his last world tour. He starred
alongside Britney Spears, Beyonce and Pink
(musician)|Pink, who turn the tables on him in the
commercial.

Enrique has been linked to a number of women, from
former Miss Universe Alicia Machado to teen queen
Christina Aguilera. He currently dates Russian
tennis star and model Anna Kournikova.

More recently, Enrique has been a guest on Oprah
Winfrey's talk show, surprising one of his fans
and spending the day with her.  Enrique will soon
appear in a commercial for the Tommy Hilfiger
fragrance called "True Star Men", which Enrique is
endorsing.

==Discography==
===Albums===
* (1995) Enrique Iglesias (Platinum US) (WW sales:
7 mil.)
* (1996) Version en Italiano
* (1996) Canta em Portuguese
* (1997) Vivir (Platinum US) (WW sales: 5 mil.)
* (1998) Cosas del Amor (Gold US)
* (1998) Remixes
* (1999) Bailamos (Gold US)
* (1999) Enrique (Platinum US) (WW sales: 5 mil.)
* (1999) The Best Hits (Gold US)
* (2001) Escape (x3 Platinum US)
* (2002) Quizas (x2 Platinum US)
* (2003) Seven (7)

* (note) All albums listed here were released
while Enrique was still with the record label that
released them. There are several compilation
albums such as the 'Best Hits' and 'Greatest Hits'
released by Fonovisa after Enrique left them.
Listed here are the only "Authorised" Enrique
productions.

===Singles===
*1999 "Bailamos" #1 US, #4 UK
*1999 "Rhythm Divine" #3 US, #45 UK
*2000 "Be With You" #1 US
*2000 "Could I Have This Kiss Forever" (with
Whitney Houston) #7 UK
*2001 "Hero" #1 US, #1 UK
*2002 "Escape" #3 US, #3 UK
*2002 "Don't Turn Off The Lights" #15
*2002 "Love To See You Cry" #12 UK
*2002 "Maybe" #12 UK
*2003 "To Love A Woman" (Lionel Richie featuring
Enrique Iglesias) #19 UK
*2003 "Addicted" #11 UK
*2004 "Not In Love" (featuring Kelis) #5 UK

==See also==
*Best selling music artists — World's
top-selling music artists chart.
*List of number-one hits (United States)
*List of artists who reached number one on the Hot
100 (US)
*List of number-one dance hits (United States)
*List of artists who reached number one on the US
Dance chart

==External links==
*http://www.enriqueiglesias.com Enrique Iglesias
Official Site.
*http://www.ncaaticketsnow.com/miami-tickets.asp
University of Miami: Famous Alumni.
*http://www.nndb.com/people/906/000025831/ Enrique
Iglesias profile, NNDB