Son of a Superstar:
Enrique Iglesias was born May 8, 1975 in Madrid, Spain, the son of Spanish pop music superstar Julio Iglesias. 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 with 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 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 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 so far. It includes the hit singles "Hero" and "Escape."
Top Enrique Iglesias English Language Hits:
With US pop chart placings.
- 1999 - Bailamos, #1
- 2000 - Be With You, #1
- 2001 - Hero, #3
- 2002 - Escape, #12
- 2003 - Addicted, #19
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 the Future:
After a break of 4 years from releasing albums, Enrique Iglesias emerged with "Do You Know (The Ping Pong Song)," the first single from an upcoming album Insomniac.
