The One AND the Only One

Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (born on May 8, 1975 Madrid, Spain), better known as Enrique Iglesias, is a Spanish singer, songwriter and actor.

Iglesias started his musical career with Mexican indie label Fonovisa, which helped turn him into one of the most popular artists in Latin America and in the Latino market in the United States, selling more Spanish language albums than any other artist in that period of time.

Before the turn of the millennium he made a crossover into the mainstream English language market, signing a unique multi-album deal with Universal Music for an unprecedented $48,000,000, with Universal Music Latino to release his Spanish albums and Interscope to release English albums.

Iglesias has sold over 60 million records worldwide, he has won a Grammy and Latin Grammy and has had two Billboard Hot 100 #1s and one #3, and holds the record for producing 19 number #1 Spanish-language singles on the Billboards Hot Latin Tracks.

Despite being a son of a big singer, Enrique who was born on May 8, 1975 didn't want to take the advantage of his father's famous name. Without telling his father, he borrowed money from his nanny and recorded a demo which was later handed to his father's former publicist Fernan Martinez. Together, they then promoted the songs under the stage name Enrique Martinez with the backstory of being an unknown singer from Guatemala.

After securing a record deal with a label called Fonovisa, he decided to focus more in music. He was hard at work on his debut album and dropped a self-titled effort "Enrique Iglesias" in 1995 when he was just 20. He indeed got the talent and proved it by selling half a million ...

Early life and career

Iglesias was born in Madrid, the third and final child of Spanish singer Julio Iglesias and Filipina socialite and magazine journalist Isabel Preysler. He is of Filipino and Spanish descent. His parents divorced in 1978, and the following year their father moved to Miami, Florida to continue with his musical career.

In 1985, Iglesias' grandfather, Dr. Julio Iglesias Puga was kidnapped by the terrorist group ETA. Fearing for his grandchildren's safety, Enrique and his brother were sent to live with their father in Miami. He also lived in Belgrade, Serbia for one year with his mother, who worked as a journalist. As his father's career kept him on the road, the young Iglesias was raised by the family nanny. In 1993 he graduated from Gulliver Preparatory School, and went on to study business at the University of Miami.

Enrique did not want his father to know about his plans for a musical career, and did not want his famous surname to help advance his career. Citing his early inspiration from his teenage lover, Christie Debler, Iglesias borrowed money from his family nanny, and he recorded a demo tape which consisted of one Spanish song and two English songs. Approaching his father's former publicist Fernan Martinez, the two shopped the demo tape under the stage name 'Enrique Martinez' with the backstory of being an unknown from Guatemala. Iglesias was signed by a then small indie record label called Fonovisa. Dropping out of college he went to Toronto, Ontario, Canada for six months to record his first album.

Career

1995-1997 Enrique Iglesias
Main article: Enrique Iglesias

July 12, 1995, Iglesias released his first album titled Enrique Iglesias, a collection of light rock ballads, including such mega-hits as "Si T? 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 Marisol, but with a twist: instead of Por amarte dar?a mi vida (To love you, I'd give my life), the words were Por amarte Marisol, morir?a (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 M?", and "Trapecista" topped the Latin charts. The album went on to win Iglesias a Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Performance.