Real Music People

Where has Enrique Iglesias been hiding these last few years? The Latin heartthrob, who saw his star rise earlier this decade with the crossover success of such songs as ”Hero” and ”Escape,” all but disappeared from the spotlight except for tabloid speculation about his romantic relationship with tennis pinup Anna Kournikova. Iglesias, 32, has a decent excuse for his self-imposed hiatus. After a string of back-to-back records, the singer devoted three years to work on his latest disc, ”Insomniac,” released this month. It has 15 songs featuring typical Iglesias come-ons (”On Top of You”) and lovelorn laments (”Wish I Was Your Lover”). But he also takes a musical detour by adding rock and hip-hop sensibilities. What he or for that matter any person does if there own will and life, fans just like to speculate and then create gossip that would never ever change his decisions. As for his relationship with Tennis diva Anna, leave it for them to decide who the wanna carry on with life together. He has repeatedly said that the two are doing fine but it is us who want to be the other way, so it creates something spicy to read for us.

When the always restless Enrique Iglesias is in the process of recording a CD, he works at night and sleeps during the day. So, it comes as little surprise that his latest disc is titled “Insomniac”.
What does raise the brow, however, is that it took Iglesias nearly four years to cut the project. Previously, the self-described hyperactive singer/songwriter recorded seven albums in eight years.
“This CD drove me nuts”, Iglesias tells Billboard with exasperation. “I say that because I beat myself up. There have been times when it was fun, but there were times where it has been …”
But Iglesias says that whatever the sales outcome, there was no lack of effort. Indeed, he went through about 50 songs before culling the final 12 for the disc. There are three Spanish counterparts of the English tracks, including “Dimelo” the chart-topping Spanish version of lead off single “Do You Know? (The Ping Pong Song)”.
The disc’s musical menu reflects its diverse cast of studio chefs that include Mark Taylor, Max Martin, Johnta Austin, Sean Garrett and Brian Kidd. The evenly paced album runs from the effervescent pop of “Do You Know?” to the heartfelt ballad “Miss You” dedicated to Iglesias’ girlfriend Anna Kournikova, to “Push” a chunky pop/hip-hop entry featuring rapper Lil Wayne.
“If you were to tell anybody Enrique Iglesias is doing a song with Lil Wayne, they’d be like, “What?” Iglesias says. “And in the beginning, I thought, “I don’t know” But once I sang it, got confident and finished it, it worked.”
Interscope/Geffen/A&M chairman Jimmy Iovine says that “Insomniac” is Iglesias’ most varied disc, adding, “albums today have to be diverse. To me, an album is like a mixtape today. I don’t think anybody wants to hear an album where every song has the same beat. So, if I’m an artist, I want to do an album that really shows my reach. Enrique’s star appeal ties it all together.”