Enrique Iglesias’ album Sex and love is out in the stores and how! The Spanish sensation talks about how music came to his rescue when he was a teenager and how trading on family name was a no-no
The most important thing about music for youIJ
For me, it’s the vibe and the connect you with the audience through your notes. When you’re onstage, it’s all about the vibe. If you’re not moving along with your music and you’re not feeling good, people notice that.
What made you take up musicIJ
During my adolescence, I would very easily slip into a depression about things not materialising. The teenage is always the most difficult part of growing up and I had no clue of how to deal with my life. It is then that I realised that song writing was a major help. It was like therapy. My parents (especially my father, Julio Iglesias) had no idea that I was writing music behind his back. While still a teenager, I borrowed $2,500 from my babysitter to make a demo recording and since then there has been no looking back.
Was it tough to have such a famous fatherIJ
I didn’t want to trade on my family name and went by a different identity each time I would send out my demo records. It is funny but I had quite a few different aliases. One of them being Martinez. After several rejections, a Mexican record company wanted to sign me by that name.
Why a Mexican companyIJ
I was also very puzzled when the company approached me with the offer. I had no idea what this Mexican record company was all about. I read up about them in the Billboard magazine, and realised they were pretty big. I don’t know why but I just wanted to sing for them. I decided to give it a shot and sign up their contract. At that time I did not even have an option to fall back on.
Do you think the name Iglesias made a differenceIJ
It made a world of a difference to me. I am my fathers greatest fan and will always remain. But as far as people are concerned the surname has had a positive and a negative impact. When I am performing, the surname gets me the desired attention. But if you falter than people make fun of you.
Tell us about your journey so farIJ
I was 20 when my first eponymous album, sung in Spanish, was released under my real name. It sold more than a million copies in just three months. I then went on to record a string of big-selling albums. In 1999, Bailamos was released. Though it has a Spanish title (meaning ‘we dance’), it was my first song aimed at the English-speaking market and it went to No 1 on the Billboard Top 100 chart. There are songs in my career that I consider miracle songs and this is one.