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Spanish heartthrob Enrique Iglesias seeks to repeat past sucesses with his
new album, Insomniac.

It is less than a month before the release of Enrique Iglesias’ long-awaited and highly anticipated album, Insomniac, and the pop sensation is busy enrapturing an “intimate” group gathered at New York City’s impressive Gotham Hall.
Fans wielding signs “Papi, Te Amo,” and “Enrique, I’m traveling 1,600 miles to see you,” pack the venue, complete with a 120-foot high domed-ceiling and stained-glass skylight, as the man himself makes his way out onto the runway-stage. Clad in loose-fitting designer jeans, a T-shirt and baseball cap, Iglesias—looking more like the boy next door than seductor—immediately captivates the 1,200 guests with his sexy banter and playful moves.
“How many want to have sex tonight?” inquires Iglesias, as the room breaks into a frenzy. “How many are virgins?”
He then grabs an admirer’s camera and snaps a photo of his most intimate section. He snatches another woman’s video camera and starts to record the energy he and the band are creating. Later, he brings a cute Filipina on stage and tells her he will be her boyfriend for four minutes as he serenades her to his smash hit Hero. Iglesias caps off the moment by giving her some crowd-pleasing mouth-to-mouth. She isn’t the only one who gets to touch those spellbinding lips.
“I felt like I was in heaven. He left me without words,” says devotee, Denise Ramos, 25, fresh from stealing a kiss from the legendary heartthrob. “I love everything about him—his sex appeal and his sensuality on stage.”
Iglesias is back after a three-year hiatus, and his classic stage bravado never fails to titillate fans. While, yes, his smoldering presence can incite a crowd, it is his ability to make them feel desirable, loved and part of the show that takes this mega star vocalist to another stratosphere.
Perhaps one of the most intriguing parts to Insomniac is that Iglesias will be in the public eye once again, captivating the masses with his new music as he gets set for an international tour this fall.
“I really believe in this album so I want to tour around the world with it,” he declares.
Indeed, Iglesias has spent the past few years holed up in recording studios, from Los Angeles to New York, and from London to Sweden, creating his eighth album. Although he says it was his most difficult and frustrating to put together, it is also among his best work yet. His efforts appear to have paid off, with Insomniac debuting on the Billboard album charts at No. 17 two weeks after its June 12 release.
“The longer you are in the studio the bigger the chance you have of coming across something that is good,” Iglesias says, adding later, “Is it the one I enjoy listening to the most? I would say yes. But I also think the fans will like this album more because it’s more diverse musically. Of course that’s for them to decide.”
Fans did decide early on, pushing Dimelo, the Spanish version of Iglesias’ first single off Insomniac (Interscope Records) to become the No. 1 song on Billboard’s Latin music charts. It remained in the top slot at press time. Do You Know, the English version, was also picking up airplay on mainstream radio and climbing Billboard’s Top 100 Song charts, placing at No. 21 in late June.
Iglesias wrote or co-wrote almost all of the songs on Insomniac, working with a variety of respected music producers, including heavies Sean Garrett, Max Martin, Kristian Lundin and Anders Bagge. He also collaborated with Lil’ Wayne on the track Push to inflect some hip-hop into his signature style.
In total, Iglesias says he crafted some 50 songs during his three-year musical sojourn. Only 15—three of which are translated into Spanish from the English version—were deemed worthy of this album by Iglesias. The rest, he says, may be used at a later date—or simply not at all.
“My main objective was to have more variety and to concentrate on writing better songs,” he says.
Those goals would be met in the wee hours of the night, when Iglesias says his creative flow is at its peak. The perpetual night owl says that he dubbed this release Insomniac because 100 percent of it was recorded when most people are in bed, asleep.
“I didn’t lay a vocal down until 9 o’clock at night. My schedule was in the studio until 5 a.m., wake up at 2 and back in the studio at 6 p.m.,” he says. “I find more inspiration at night. I like being alone and in silence.”
For all of Iglesias’ efforts are drawing on the talents of a wide range of producers, Insomniac doesn’t veer too far from his trademark as romantic balladeer. The lyrics deal with falling in love, making love or pining for a love that has been lost.
“Ninety percent of the songs on the radio have to do with love,” he says. “It’s the one thing that’s the most inspirational and that everyone identifies with.”
Even so, Iglesias wouldn’t commit when asked if he drew from his own experience in writing these pieces. Although it is common knowledge that the singer has been with tennis pro Anna Kournikova for five years (though reports that the pair split have recently surfaced), he jokes sarcastically that he is in three relationships and that he frequents strip clubs and brings strippers back to his home for fun.
For all his humorous sidestepping when it comes to his private affairs, Iglesias couldn’t be more serious about his music.
Twelve years ago Iglesias burst onto the scene with the Spanish album Enrique Iglesias—one that also took three years to make. His self-titled debut sold more than 1 million copies three months into its release, and more than 7 million to date. The fledgling musician would soon become one of the most popular Spanish-language artists in the world, amassing 16 No. 1 Billboard Latin hits.
But the stunning singer wasn’t about to stop there. In 1999, he crossed over into the mainstream U.S. market with his first English album, Enrique, that included such favorites as Bailamos, Rhythm Divine and Be with You.
Then in 2001, came the critically-acclaimed Hero, off the album Escape that secured Iglesias’s musical prowess. The song would come to serve as a tribute of sorts to the victims of the September 11 World Trade Center attacks, with New York-based disc jockeys playing it constantly during that tragic time.
In total, Iglesias has sold more than 40 million records worldwide and has seven gold and multi-platinum albums under his belt. He’s earned numerous accolades including Grammy and Latin Grammy awards, American Music Awards and Premio Lo Nuestro Awards.
Impressive for someone who made a decision from the start not to ride on his father’s coattails. That father would be none other than Spain’s preeminent crooner, Julio Iglesias, considered to be the top-selling Spanish singer in history. The elder Iglesias married Isabel Preysler, a Filipina and Hola! magazine journalist, and the couple had three children, including Enrique. Born in Madrid in 1975, Enrique moved to Miami when he was 8.
In the early 1990s, when Iglesias decided to follow his passion of making music, he says he kept it hidden from his family, wanting to prove his melodious worth on his own. He pushed his demos under the pseudonym Enrique Martinez and it wasn’t until he scored a record deal with Fonovisa that he revealed his secret.
“I was scared that nothing would happen. I’ve always been independent,” he says. “I was afraid that I would jinx myself.”
Iglesias continues to strike a humble note when it comes to his music. With his magnetic star power, he could easily have put out another album without the toil and pressure he placed on himself. But Iglesias chose instead to expand on his repertoire and strive for that better sound. It’s a testament to the self-motivation and fierce dedication he brings to his artistry.
Iglesias doesn’t project where he might be in 10 years. He says he hopes it will be in music, but one can never know in this business. Perhaps acting could be in the cards. Iglesias recently enjoyed stints on the Robert Rodriguez film Once Upon A Time in Mexico, and the popular television sitcom Two and A Half Men, where he played a handyman.
“It’s always a challenge,” he says of the music industry. “It’s a fun career but you never know what’s going to happen.”
At least for now, with Insomniac, he may not have to lose anymore sleep.