Enrique Iglesias is the best-selling Latin recording artist in the world.

In three years he has sold more than ten million copies of his first two albums, entitled ENRIQUE IGLESIAS and VIVIR. Now his new album, COSAS DEL AMOR, includes six songs written by Iglesias himself. Never before has any performer achieved so much in so little time. Winner of the GRAMMY Award for the Best Latin Pop Performer, Enrique Iglesias is the most impressive Hispanic phenomenon of the last 25 years and he appears to be the greatest international star in this next decade.

Born on May 8, 1975, in Madrid, Spain, Enrique Iglesias began his career in 1995, when he was barely 20 years old and made his appearance in the music world with his first album, which he had been secretly planning since he was 16 without anyone, not even his family, knowing. He has been on top ever since.

In the first three months he sold his first million copies and he earned his first gold record in Portugal after three weeks on the market.

His first album, ENRIQUE IGLESIAS, has sold 5.8 million copies and VIVIR (January 1997) has sold over five million copies throughout the world.

In the United States alone he has earned two platinum records, as certified by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), for sales of over two million copies of his first two records. Nine of his songs have ranked number one on the radio stations of over 19 countries in the Americas, Europe and Asia, proof of how solid his international career is.

The singles, SI TU TE VAS, POR AMARTE, EXPERIENCIA RELIGIOSA, TRAPECISTA and NO LLORES POR MI from the first album, ENRIQUE IGLESIAS, and ENAMORADO POR PRIMERA VEZ, SOLO EN TI, MIENTE y REVOLUCION, have been number one on the Billboard Magazine list in the United States and in 18 other countries.

He has recorded in three languages, including Italian, Portuguese and, of course, Spanish. He set out planning to record in English, his second language, but decided to begin his career in Spanish and hopes to record his first album in English in the year 2000. He has already written various songs in English. To date, Enrique Iglesias has written the lyrics and music for 16 songs on his three albums.

In 1997 he did his first World Tour, entitled VIVIR, which included 78 concerts in 13 countries, which were attended by more than 720,000 people. During his first world tour, Iglesias performed at various stadiums with a capacity of over 50,000 spectators each. In the United States he performed at 19 arenas. For the Latin American part of his tour, two cargo planes were charted to transport all his stage, lighting and sound equipment.

When the VIVIR World Tour went to Europe, it became necessary to charter a Jumbo cargo jet. This tour, which was well-received by the critics, is considered the biggest one by a Latin performer, making Iglesias not only the best-selling Latin recording artist but also the most successful one on stage.

Enrique Iglesias is a perpetual jokester, sportsmanlike, enthusiastic, an old-fashioned romantic, an optimist, a devotee of the cinema, a loyal television viewer and an inveterate consumer of any and all music that falls into his hands.

He hates photographs, phoniness, limousines, people with ulterior motives and getting up early. Since the age of seven, he has lived in Miami, Florida, where he went to school, and he has enjoyed the best of three cultures --Hispanic, European and American --, each with its own musical influence, which is what interests him most.

Enrique Iglesias' list of awards and trophies is impressive, including 116 platinum records, 227 gold, 26 international awards, including the 1996 Grammy to the Best Latin Performer, 1997 Billboard Magazine Album of the Year, World Music Award to the best-selling Latin recording artist in the world, seven Premio Lo Nuestro awards, two ACE Performer of the Year awards, two ASCAP to the Best Composer in 1996 and 1997, and nominations for Best Latin Performer in the Grammy Awards and the American Music Awards in 1997.

Enrique Iglesias' music in Spanish has also conquered Asia, where he has earned gold or platinum records in countries including Taiwan, Thailand and Singapore. He has also done intensive and successful promotional work. His face has appeared on over 250 magazine covers and he has recorded over 190 television programs in 23 countries.

He will begin his second world tour in February 1999 and plans to perform 80 concerts in the Americas, Europe and Asia.

Courtesy ENRIQUEIG.COM