Music: Enrique Iglesias Tries Something New
Enrique Iglesias has been no stranger to collaborating with other artists on his albums.
But his latest CD, “Euphoria,” more than ever, saw him venture into the world of hip-hop, as guests such as Ludacris, Pitbull and Akon are features on the album.
Whether this signals anything more than any temporary foray into more of a hip-hop-inflected sound is anyone’s guess, but Iglesias said his choice of collaborators was an attempt to step in some fresh directions musically.
“I like working with artists that come from completely different musical backgrounds,” Iglesias said. “There’s always a risk, and at times in the past and throughout my career, I’ve actually worked with other artists that come from different musical styles and it didn’t quite work. In this one, I kind of approached it a little bit different. What I did is I actually wrote the songs first and then I thought about, okay, who can give the song like a different (spin)? Who can kind of change this song up a little bit and who would it be cool to work with and do this with, and that approach helped me a lot on this album.
Iglesias has found that looking into other genres for collaborators has also been a good way to grow as a songwriter.
“I was used to writing a type of song or I had a certain style, and then sometimes the only way you can truly change that style is by co-writing and working with people that come up with completely different style and melodies and have different lyrical approach to a song,” he said. “And I realize that’s really what works, if you really want to change it up and get out of your comfort zone. Again, sometimes it might work, sometimes it might not, but when it works it’s definitely worth it.”
The attempts Iglesias made to broaden his sound on “Euphoria” seem to have worked well. The CD has spawned one hit, “I Like it,” that has gone top five on more than a dozen different “Billboard” magazine singles charts (including the “Hot 100”) as well as a pair of songs that have topped the Latin pop charts, “Cuando Me Enamoro” and “No Me Digas Que No.” In addition, the song “Tonight (I’m Loving You),” which was released as a download only single, topped the “Hot 100” chart earlier this year.
A deluxe version of the CD will be released in November that will include a new single, “I Like How It Feels” (a collaboration with Pitbull) as well as the new track, “Mouth2Mouth,” with Jennifer Lopez.
“Euphoria” has added to what is already an impressive list of success for Iglesias, the youngest son of singer Julio Iglesias.
He started his career in the mid-1990s concentrating on light pop ballads sung in Spanish with three CDs released on the Mexican label Fonovisa that made him a major star south of the border.
He began his attempts to crack the U.S. market in 1999 with the CD, “Enrique,” which included a duet with Whitney Houston, “Could I Have This Kiss Forever.” Then came the 2001 CD, “Escape,” which became his big breakthrough in the states behind the hits “Don’t Turn Off The Lights” and “Escape.“ That success continued with the 2003 CD “7” and the 2007 CD, “Insomniac.” The latter CD included his first forays into hip-hop, with “Push,” a collaboration with Lil Wayne, one of the highlight tracks on the CD
As the two Latin hits from “Euphoria” suggest, this is the first Iglesias CD to contain songs sung in Spanish and English. In the past he has done separate Spanish-language and English-language CDs, but he liked taking the blended approach this time around.
“I loved doing this album, making it bilingual,” Iglesias said. “I always wanted to make this type of album, where I was able to combine English and Spanish.
“I just thought it was the right thing to do at this time,” he said. “A lot of the Hispanic people in the U.S., they listen to English music and vice versa. So, I just felt it was the right time to do it.”
Iglesias is now on a fall tour that precedes the deluxe re-issue of “Euphoria.” Although the shows are in arenas, Iglesias said his show is designed to connect with the audience.
“The cool thing about the stage is very interactive with the audience,” he said. “ They’re may favorite venues to play because they’re big. You know, they can be up to 15,000 people or more, but still you can make I very intimate and I think you can do that by creating…That all comes down to the design of the stage and that’s actually, when we design the stage, we always have that in mind. Obviously, the people in the front can see you very close up, but how can you also get to the people in the sides and all the way to the people in the back to see you up close, and we always have that in
mind.”
TO GO: Enrique Iglesias Euphoria Tour with Pitbull and Prince Royce will play Miami on Saturday, October 22. Doors open at 7pm. $16.50 – $126.50. AmericanAirlines Arena, 601 Biscayne Blvd, Miami. For info: aaa.com
