Born May
8, 1975 in Madrid, Spain, Enrique Iglesias has
followed in his father's large footsteps with
even larger footsteps of his own. The hot singer
that just released his first English language
album has had a long history in the music
industry and already is the best selling Latin
recording artist in the world, though Ricky
Martin may claim the same distinction. Enrique
released his first album in 1995 although
secretly had been planning the release since the
age of 16. Although he was the son of a famous
musician, Enrique and Julio are not very close,
as during his childhood his father was mostly
away from home busy with his own music career.
His mother also was distant as well, being a
Madrid journalist. Enrique counted on the
guidance of his nanny, Elvira Olivares, during
his childhood in Miami. He moved from Spain to
Miami when he was only 7, mostly because of
terrorism threats in his home country, where his
grandfather had been kidnapped just prior.
Before you think Enrique used his father to gain
acceptance as a musician, think again, as he
kept his musical aspirations a secret, saying "I
never wanted to tell my parents. It felt funny.
I respected it so much, and I wanted it so much.
Like, if you're eating dinner with your parents
and you tell them, "Dad, I want to be a pilot,"
he's like, "Shut up and keep on eating." I never
wanted to hear that."
His
first album was a huge success and to date has
sold over 6 million copies and his second album,
Vivir, has also sold multi-millions.
Enrique's talent stretches across several
languages, having recorded in Italian, Portugese,
English, and his native Spanish. He recently
told MTV "Yeah. I just have the best of both
worlds. I can do English and I can do Spanish.
What I used to do in Spanish was mainstream,
mainstream pop music. That's what I wanted to do
in English. When I was doing this album, that's
what I wanted to create: a mainstream pop album.
Because that was mainly my influence growing up,
as a little kid. That kind of music." But don't
label Enrique a crossover artist, as he says
"Everyone is talking about this whole Latino
movement and this "crossover." I hate that word,
"crossover." I don't know if it's because it
puts too much pressure... not really, in a way,
but I just don't like that word." Before the
dreaded crossover, Enrique enjoyed his greatest
success as in 1996 Enrique won a Grammy for Best
Latin Performer, and in 1997 Billboard awarded
him Album of the Year. He did recently get
awarded as the Favorite Latino Artist at the
Sixth Annual Blockbuster Awards as well.
Enrique's career is not without controversy
though, as in 1999 two executives from his label
Fonovisa, pleaded not guilty in Los Angeles to
charges related to illegally paying radio
stations to play songs by their artists, which
included Enrique. It also is known that Enrique
and Ricky Martin are very competitive rivals,
much in the same way as Jennifer Lopez and Salma
Hayek are on the big screen. In fact, Enrique
was recently dumped by model Adriana Beiga
supposedly in favor of Martin. Although Adriana
says in a recent interview that she is seeing
neither since both do not have time for
relationships because of the workload involved
in their careers. It also was reported that
Enrique's longtime lover Sofia Vergara also
ended her relationship with him. Most recently
he was seen grinding on the dance floor with
Christina Aguilera after their performance in
VH1's Men Strike Back.
It is
interesting to note though that Enrique has
claimed to many to be a virgin, though
interviews with Beiga and Vergara seem to
dispute that. If it is the case, likely it is
due to the messy divorce between his parents
when Enrique was growing up. That being said,
don't feel too bad for Enrique, as he is one of
the most desired men on the planet, even being
awarded People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful
People distinction in 1998. He reponded to MTV's
questioning about women on Miami chasing him all
the time by saying "That's a good side of my
job." His video, Be With You, features a
kissing scene with hot young actress Shannon
Elizabeth, although its unclear what if any the
two's relations are off the camera (it should be
noted though that Shannon is engaged and says
the two are only friends).
Occupation:
Musician
Date
of Birth:
May 8,
1975 Place
of Birth:
Madrid,
Spain
Marital Status:
Single
Do you think Enrique is currently the
world's top male solo artist?