Son of a Superstar
Enrique Iglesias is often referred to as the 'King of Latin Pop.' He was born May 8, 1975 in Madrid, Spain, the son of Spanish pop music superstar Julio Iglesias. His father is best known for the international pop smash duet 'To All the Girls I've Loved Before' with country music legend Willie Nelson released in 1984. With some concern for the safety of his family, young Enrique moved to Miami at the age of 8 to live with his father. There he grew up enjoying the sheltered life of the son of a famous father attending a top level private school in Miami
Early Career on Stage
Enrique Iglesias made his first stage appearance in a high school production of Hello, Dolly! After a short time attending University of Miami, he decided to follow in his father's footsteps and pursue music as his career. Due to the fact that Enrique did not want to capitalize on his famous background, his future manager shopped demos around under the last name Martinez. After being signed to the Latin label Fonovisa, Enrique Iglesias headed to Toronto to record his first album.
Early Spanish Albums
The album Enrique Iglesias was released in 1995, and it was nearly an instant success. Eventually selling 7 million copies worldwide, it included 5 #1 Latin singles. The next two albums Vivir and Cosas del Amor were top sellers as well, and Enrique took home multiple Grammy and American Music Awards. Recognized as the world's top selling Spanish-language artist, Enrique Iglesias decided to attempt to expand his base of fans and take on the English language pop market.
English Language Breakthrough
The bilingual song 'Bailamos' was included on the Wild Wild West soundtrack in 1999, and it became a smash #1 pop single in the US. It was followed by the full-length album Enrique later in the year. The album became a platinum seller and included another #1 hit 'Be With You.' The follow up, 2001's Escape, became the biggest selling album of Enrique Iglesias' career. It includes the hit singles 'Hero' and 'Escape.'
Top Enrique Iglesias English Language Hits
- 1999 - 'Bailamos' #1
- 2000 - 'Be With You' #1
- 2001 - 'Hero' #3
- 2002 - 'Escape' #12
- 2007 - 'Do You Know? (The Ping Pong Song)' #21
- 2010 - 'I Like It' #4
- 2010 - 'Tonight (I'm Lovin' You)' #4
- 2011 - 'Dirty Dancer' #18
- 2014 - 'Bailando' #12
Return to Spanish
After his huge hit Escape, Enrique Iglesias decided to release a 4th Spanish language album Quizas. The album reached #12 on Billboard's pop chart, a particularly high placing for a Latin album. It included 3 #1 Latin singles bringing Enrique's total of Latin #1's to 16.
Seven
Seven, released in 2003, was the next English language album by Enrique Iglesias, and it turned into his first commercial failure in English. The album only reached #31 in the US and he failed to reach platinum status for the first time since 1998. Despite the album's failure, Enrique Iglesias followed it with his biggest world concert tour yet.
Insomniac and Greatest Hits
Enrique Iglesias Most Famous Songs
After a break of 4 years from releasing albums, Enrique Iglesias emerged with 'Do You Know (The Ping Pong Song),' the first single the album Insomniac. The album returned Enrique Iglesias to the top 20 of the US album chart for the first time since 2001. In 2008 greatest hits albums were released in both English and Spanish. The Spanish language collection was a top 20 hit in the US while the English language compilation made the top 5 in the UK.
Euphoria
For 2010 Enrique Iglesias put together his first bilingual album. It included guest appearances from both English language and Spanish language artists like Akon, Usher, Juan Luis Guerra, and Pitbull. The album returned Enrique Iglesias to the top 10 of the US album chart for the first time since 2001. The lead single 'I Like It' became his first top 10 since 2001 on the pop singles chart. It also became Enrique Iglesias' 21st #1 hit on the Latin songs chart in the US. Another single from Euphoria, 'Tonight (I'm Lovin' You),' also soared into the top 10 peaking at #4. It generated some controversy with the mix of the song titled 'Tonight (I'm F**kin' You).' Euphoria was the first Enrique Iglesias album to generate two top 10 pop hits since his first English language collection Enrique in 1999.
Enrique Iglesias Spanish Albums
Sex and Love
'Finally Found You,' the first single from Enrique Iglesias' album Sex and Love, was released in September 2012, more than 18 months before the album's ultimate release. It peaked at #24 on the pop singles chart and was followed by the songs 'Turn the Night Up' and 'Heart Attack' in 2013 both of which missed the top 40. The album Sex and Love finally appeared in March 2014 after the single 'I'm a Freak' failed to reach the Billboard Hot 100 at all. The album debuted at #8, Enrique Iglesias' highest chart ranking since Escape in 2001.
The song 'Bailando' (Spanish for 'dancing') was released as the sixth official single from Sex and Love just a month after the album hit stores. A Spanglish version broke through into the mainstream pop charts in the US and around the world. 'Bailando' reached #12 on the US pop chart and broke into the top 40 at adult contemporary and adult pop radio. It became Enrique Iglesias' 25th #1 hit on the Latin songs chart and won the Latin Grammy award for Song of the Year. With more than 1.5 billion views, the music video for 'Bailando' is the most watched Latin music video ever.