1997–1998: Vivir and Cosas Del Amor
Iglesias with
Ronald McDonald in 1999, his
Cosas del Amor tour was sponsored by McDonald's.
In 1997, Iglesias' stardom continued to rise with the release of
Vivir (
To Live),
which put him up with other English language music superstars in sales
for that year. The album also included a cover version of the
Yazoo song "
Only You", translated into Spanish as "Solo en Tí".
Three singles released from
Vivir ("
Enamorado Por Primera Vez", "
Sólo en Ti" and "
Miente") topped the Latin singles chart as well as those in several Spanish-speaking countries. Along with his father and
Luis Miguel, Iglesias was nominated for an
American Music Award
in the first-ever awarded category of Favorite Latin Artist. It was
said beforehand that the elder Iglesias would walk out if he did not win
the award. Iglesias lost out to his father, but did perform the song "
Lluvia Cae" at the event.
Insisting on playing stadiums for his first concert tour, that summer, Iglesias, backed by
sidemen for
Elton John,
Bruce Springsteen and
Billy Joel, played to sold-out audiences in sixteen countries. Beginning in
Odessa, Texas the tour went on to three consecutive nights in Mexico's
Plaza de Toros, two consecutive nights at
Monterrey's
Auditorio Coca Cola and two at the Estadio River Plate in
Buenos Aires, Argentina to over 130,000 people as well as 19 arenas in the U.S.
[16]
In 1998, Iglesias released his third album,
Cosas del Amor (
Things of Love). Taking a more mature musical direction, the album, aided by the popular singles "
Esperanza" and "
Nunca Te Olvidaré", both of which topped the Latin singles chart, helped cement his status in the Latin music scene.
Iglesias did a short tour of smaller venues to accompany the release of the album, with one show being televised from
Acapulco, Mexico. This was followed by a larger world tour of over eighty shows in even bigger venues. The
Cosas del Amor Tour was the first ever concert tour sponsored by
McDonald's.
He won an American Music Award in the category of Favorite Latin Artist against
Ricky Martin and
Chayanne.
The song "Nunca te Olvidaré" was also used as the theme music for a
Spanish soap opera of the same name and he sang the song himself on the
last episode of the series.
1999–2001: Enrique and Escape
Enrique Iglesias frequently kisses and hugs his fans on stage.
By 1999, Iglesias had begun a successful crossover career into the
English language music market. Thanks to other successful crossover
acts, most notably that of
Ricky Martin and
Gloria Estefan,
Latino artists and music had a great surge in popularity in mainstream
music. After attending one of his concerts in March 1999,
Will Smith asked Iglesias to contribute to the soundtrack of his movie
Wild Wild West. His contribution "Bailamos" was released as a single and became a number one hit in the US.
After the success of "
Bailamos", several mainstream record labels were eager to sign Iglesias. Signing a multi-album deal after weeks of negotiations with
Interscope, Iglesias recorded and released his first full CD in English,
Enrique. The pop album, with some Latin influences, took two months to complete. It contained the song "
Rhythm Divine", a duet with
Whitney Houston entitled "
Could I Have This Kiss Forever", and a cover of the
Bruce Springsteen song "
Sad Eyes".
In 2000, Iglesias performed at the
Super Bowl XXXIV halftime show alongside
Christina Aguilera,
Phil Collins, and
Toni Braxton. Shock jock
Howard Stern
repeatedly played a tape of a supposedly very off-key Iglesias on his
radio show and accused the Iglesias of not being able to sing live. On
June 8, 2000, Iglesias sang the song live on Stern's show with just a
guitar accompanying him. After the performance, Stern remarked, "I
respect you for coming in here; you really can sing".
Iglesias would remark that the controversy was the best promotion he could have. The album's single "
Be With You" became Iglesias's second number one single on
Billboard's Hot 100.
In 2001 Iglesias released his second English language album
Escape.
Where most of the Latin crossover acts of the previous year experienced
some difficulty matching the record sales of their first English
language albums, Iglesias actually went on to sell even more. The
album's first single, "
Hero", became a number one hit in the United Kingdom, and in many other countries. The entire album was co-written by Iglesias.
Escape is his biggest commercial success to date. The singles "
Escape" and "
Don't Turn Off The Lights"
became radio staples, faring well and placing highly or topping various
charts both in North America and elsewhere. A second edition of the
album was released internationally and contained a new version of one of
Iglesias's favorite tracks, "
Maybe", as well as a duet with
Lionel Richie called "
To Love a Woman".
Iglesias capitalized on the album's success with his "One-Night Stand
World Tour" consisting of 50 sold-out shows in 16 countries. Including
Radio City Music Hall and three consecutive nights in London's
Royal Albert Hall, the tour ended with a big show at
Stadium National Lia Manoliu in
Bucharest, Romania. The concert launched MTV Romania, with the video for "
Love to See You Cry" being the first to be shown on the channel.
The second leg of the tour, "
Don't Turn Off The Lights", was completed in the summer of 2002, with two sold-out nights in
Madison Square Garden and another two in Mexico's
National Auditorium. The tour finished with a single show in the
Roberto Clemente Coliseum in
San Juan,
Puerto Rico.
