On July 5, 2010, Iglesias released his ninth studio album, Euphoria, his first work to be released under his new label, Universal Republic. The album is Iglesias's first bilingual album with seven original English songs and six original Spanish songs. The album has won Billboard Music Award for Top Latin Album, Billboard Latin Award for Latin Album of the Year and Latin Pop Album of the Year and was nominated for Latin Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Iglesias worked with three producers whom he has worked with before; RedOne, Mark Taylor and Carlos Paucer. The album features collaborations with Akon, Usher, Nicole Scherzinger, Sunidhi Chauhan, Ludacris, Pitbull, Juan Luis Guerra and his third duet with Wisin & Yandel. In a joint venture with Universal Latino Iglesias will release different singles in both languages simultaneously to different formats.
The first English single from the album, "I Like It", which features the rapper Pitbull, was released on May 3, 2010 in the U.S. and became a success, reaching number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was also featured in the MTV reality series, Jersey Shore. "Cuando Me Enamoro" was released as the lead Spanish single from the album, and also became the theme song of a Mexican telenovela of the same title produced by Televisa. The song debuted at number 8 and number 25 on U.S Latin Pop Songs and U.S. Hot Latin Songs, respectively. The song became his 25th top 10 single on the U.S. Billboard Hot Latin Songs & after 4 weeks of its release date it became his 21st No.1 song on this chart. As of January 2011 "Tonight (I'm Fuckin' You)" broke into the top 10 on the Billboard charts reaching no 4 and became another big success. The song was released only for digital download in the U.S. although was featured on some Editions of "Euphoria" in Europe and some Asian areas. The song has became his first number one on the US Pop Songs and Hot 100 airplay Charts. A remix version of "Dirty Dancer" was released and became his ninth Dance Club play chart topper making him the male with the most number-one dance singles, tying with Prince & Michael Jackson. "Ayer" serves as the albums seventh single. The Euphoria Tour has taken him across the US, Canada UK and Europe. A second which has taken him to Australia will include leg will include fellow artists Pitbull and Prince Royce and will be across North America. In August 2011, he released the lead single from the extension, "I Like How It Feels", to radio.
After a two year hiatus Iglesias released his new album Insomniac on June 12, 2007. The album was so named due to it being recorded mainly at night. The album contained a more contemporary pop style than that of previous albums. The album's highlights include "Push", with rapper Lil' Wayne, as well as "Ring My Bells", and a cover of Ringside's "Tired of Being Sorry".
Enrique Iglesias performing on November 29, 2007
The first single "Do You Know? (The Ping Pong Song)" was released on April 10, 2007. It was the Iglesias's highest charting song on the Hot 100 since "Escape" it was also a hit throughout Europe peaking in the top 10 in many countries and the Spanish version entitled "Dímelo" was number one on Hot Latin Tracks for 12 weeks becoming his second best performing song on that chart.
Iglesias followed up with the ballad "Somebody's Me", which was released as a single in the American continent. The song was played extensively on AC radio and peaked high on Billboard's Hot AC. In Europe, the second single was "Tired of Being Sorry", which performed well in many countries; he recorded a version of the song with French singer Nâdiya which was number one in France for eleven weeks.
On July 4, Enrique Iglesias became the first Western artist to play a concert in Syria in three decades when he performed for a sold-out crowd of 10,000 in the capital Damascus and in the same week performed on Live Earth in Hamburg.
The Insomniac World Tour was launched at the Dome in Johannesburg, South Africa, the same venue he ended his last world Tour and took him to sold out arenas throughout Europe. It was his first arena tour of the UK with him playing venues such as Manchester's MEN Arena and Wembley Arena. The tour ended with Iglesias performing at newly opened L.A. Live. A second leg of the tour has taken him throughout Latin America from Mexico to Argentina.
A solo version of "Push" was added to the soundtrack of the movie Step Up 2 the Streets. The song was regarded as the third single from the album. A music video was shot which features the film's lead actors. Despite never being officially added to radio the song has charted in several countries and is one of his most highly rated songs amongst fans.
Iglesias's song "Can You Hear Me" has been chosen as the official song of the UEFA Euro 2008 football tournament. He performed the song live at the June 29, 2008 final in Vienna, Austria. The song featured on a re-issue of the Insomniac album being released in certain countries.
Iglesias released a Spanish Greatest Hits album named 95/08 Exitos on March 25, 2008 which included his seventeen number one songs on Hot Latin Tracks chart, plus two new songs. The first single was the song "Dónde Están Corazón", which is written by Argentine star Coti and became Iglesias's 18th number one single on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs. The album debuted at number one on Billboard's Latin Albums Chart and number eighteen on the overall Billboard 200 albums chart. It was Iglesias's second Spanish album to debut in the top 20 of the Billboard 200 (Quizás debuted at number twelve in 2002). The album was certified double Platinum (Latin field) in the U.S. and in some Latin American countries.
The album's second single "Lloro Por Ti" had an official remix featuring Wisin & Yandel which also reached number one. Iglesias did a tour of the US. Beginning in Laredo, Texas and ending at the Izod Center in New Jersey he was accompanied though most of the tour with Bachata band Aventura who also performed "Lloro Por Ti" with him at the Premios Juventud.
Iglesias was a surprise performer at the Lo Nuestro Awards, opening the show with a medley of "Dónde Están Corazón" and "Dimelo". He also performed at the Billboard Latin Music Awards, where he received a special award.
After the success of his Spanish Greatest Hits compilation, Iglesias released a compilation of his English language hits on November 11. The album includes "Can You Hear Me" as well two new songs. The first single is entitled "Away" featuring Sean Garrett and was followed by "Takin' Back My Love" featuring Ciara. The album debuted at number three on the official UK Albums Chart and sold over 80,000 copies in its first two weeks of release alone.
Iglesias was the winner of two World Music Awards in the categories of "World's Best Selling Latin Performer" and "World's Best Selling Spanish Artist", in the ceremony held in Monaco on November 9, 2008.
In 2002 Iglesias chose 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 12 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, the highest placement of a Spanish language album on the chart at the time. Quizás sold a million copies in a week, making it the fastest-selling album in Spanish in 5 years. The three singles released from the album all ended up topping the Latin chart, giving Iglesias a total of 16 number ones on the chart. He currently holds the record for the most number one singles on 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 "Quizás" was the first Spanish language music video to be added to the selection on one of 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. Iglesias included songs from Quizás in his "Don't Turn Off the Lights Tour", and the album went on to win a Latin Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album.
By 2003 Iglesias released his seventh album, which he called 7, the second to be 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 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 Kelis.
With this album, Iglesias went on his biggest world tour to date. The highly publicised tour started with twelve shows in the United States ending with Iglesias playing at Houston Rodeo and continued on to several countries, most of which he'd never previously visited playing to sold-out arenas and stadiums in Australia, India, Egypt and Singapore before ending his tour in South Africa.
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 and Gloria Estefan, Latino artists and music had a great surge in popularity in mainstream music. After attending one of his concerts in March 1999, Will Smith asked Iglesias to contribute to the soundtrack of his movie Wild Wild West. His contribution "Bailamos" was released as a single and became a number one hit in the US.
After 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 CD in English, Enrique. The pop album, with some Latin influences, took two months to complete. It contained the song "Rhythm Divine", a duet with Whitney Houston entitled "Could I Have This Kiss Forever", and a cover of the Bruce Springsteen song "Sad Eyes".
In 2000, Iglesias performed at the Super Bowl XXXIV halftime show alongside 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 and accused the Iglesias of not being able to sing live. On June 8, 2000, Iglesias sang the song live on Stern's show with just a guitar accompanying him. After the performance, Stern remarked, "I respect you for coming in here; you really can sing". Iglesias 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.
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. 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, faring well and 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 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 Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
In 1997, Iglesias' stardom continued to rise with the release of Vivir (To Live), which put him up with other 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".
Three singles released from Vivir ("Enamorado Por Primera Vez", "Sólo en Ti" and "Miente") topped the Latin singles chart as well as those in several Spanish-speaking countries. Along with his father and Luis Miguel, Iglesias 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. Iglesias lost out to his father, but did perform the song "Lluvia Cae" at the event.
Insisting on playing 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 three consecutive nights in Mexico's Plaza de Toros, two consecutive nights at Monterrey's Auditorio Coca Cola and two at the Estadio River Plate in Buenos Aires, Argentina to over 130,000 people as well as 19 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" and "Nunca Te Olvidaré", both of which topped the Latin singles chart, helped cement his status in the Latin music scene.
Iglesias 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 McDonald's.
He won an American Music Award in the category of Favorite Latin Artist against Ricky Martin and Chayanne. The song "Nunca te Olvidaré" was also used as the theme music for a Spanish soap opera of the same name and he sang the song himself on the last episode of the series.
On July 12, 1995, Iglesias released Enrique Iglesias, a collection of light rock ballads, including hits such 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, going Gold in Portugal within the first week of release, and sold over a million copies in the next three months.
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 Por amarte Marisol, moriría (To love you, Marisol, I'd die). The CD also yielded Italian and 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 Billboard's Latin charts. The album went on to win Iglesias a Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Performance.
Intent on making it without the help of his father or his famous last name, Iglesias started shopping demos of his work to various producers under the name Enrique Martinez. He'd recorded the cassette, which featured one Spanish song and a pair of English tunes, by secretly borrowing money from his nanny.
Hard work soon paid off, and in 1995 Iglesias, much to the chagrin of his parents, inked a record contract. Later that year, Iglesias's self-titled debut album hit CD stores.
The record proved to be more of a hit than Iglesias had ever imagined, going gold in Portugal in just seven days, and selling more than 6 million copies worldwide. The following year Iglesias took home numerous accolades, including a 1996 Grammy Award for best Latin performer, Billboard's "Artist of the Year" and "Album of the Year" honors, and a pair of American Music Awards.
Iglesias's 1997 follow-up, Vivir, went big as well, registering more than 5 million in sales and launching the singer's first-ever world tour. In 1999, he made a career breakthrough with the song "Bailamos" ("We Dance"); released as a single, the song soon became a No. 1 hit on the U.S. charts and was featured in the popular film Wild Wild West, starring actor Will Smith. Iglesias met with even greater success three years later, when he released his first all-English record, Enrique (2000), including the songs "Rhythm Divine" and "Be With You."
Just when it seemed like Iglesias's career had hit its peak of success, the singer-songwriter released his most successful album to date: Escape (2001). Iglesias co-wrote the album (his second English record), which includes the incredibly popular songs "Escape," "Maybe," "Don't Turn Off The Lights" and "Hero."
Following Escape's success, Iglesias went on to release several other recordings, including the 2003 album 7; 2007's Insomniac, including the popular song "Push"; and 2010's Euphoria, which includes the singles "I Like It" and "Ayer." By early 2012, Iglesias had sold more than 40 million albums worldwide.
Tall and good-looking, with an air of coolness that sets him apart from his father, Iglesias has always been careful to maintain an artistic separation from his famous dad. Rumors have also circulated that that two men aren't close, but Julio has always maintained he's proud of his son. "What has happened to him is sensational," he has said. "Parents hope for great things for their children, but how do you imagine such success?"
Indeed, in the years since he first came on to the scene, Iglesias has achieved international stardom that in many ways rivals his father's career. Billboard has even gone so far as to label him "The King of Latin Pop" and "The King of Dance."
