Friday, April 30, 2010

Interview

Part I



Part II

(Source: YouTube)

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

New US Tour Date

Julio Iglesias
Grove of Anaheim
Anaheim, CA
Saturday, June 19 8:00 PM

Sunday, April 18, 2010

His Passion is music

His passion is music
Singer Julio Iglesias has been making people happy since winning a song contest in the '60s
By John Berger

If I were one of Julio Iglesias' millions of female fans, I probably would have lost it -- maybe when the telephone rang precisely when his assistant had said he would be calling, maybe sometime during the interview. Or maybe I would have succeeded in tamping my feelings down, been as professional and matter-of-fact as possible while we were talking, then called my closest gal pal and let her eat her heart out.

But, hey, I'm a guy. I've respected Julio's talent and commercial success for years, but I'm still an entertainment writer with almost 40 years on the job. With that as perspective, I'll add that Julio was a great interview.

"I'm working at being alive," he said with a hearty laugh, responding to my opening question about the projects he's working on these days. He called from Argentina and was preparing to fly to Peru and the final shows of his South American tour.

That was more than a month ago. After several schedule changes, Iglesias will finally return to Honolulu for a one-nighter tomorrow at the Blaisdell Concert Hall. In the meantime he's delighted fans in the Philippines, China, Japan and Australia.

Entertaining international audiences isn't a problem for a man who has sold an estimated 300 million albums worldwide over the past 40 years. However, in addition to wowing audiences with his singing, he can also talk to them -- Iglesias speaks fluent English, French, Italian and Portuguese in addition to his native Spanish. He's also recorded individual songs in several other languages.

"It is not easy to record (in languages you don't speak), but you get to the culture of the people in its own way and they understand that you've made an effort," he said. "To sing in Chinese is not very easy for an Occidental, but it's OK because you explain yourself and you make people happy, and that's what it's all about in an artist's life."

Iglesias has been making people happy since the late 1960s, when he won a songwriting competition in Spain and was signed by the Spanish subsidiary of Columbia Records. Hits in several European countries followed, and he was already an international star when he moved to Florida and embarked on a successful campaign to break into the mainstream English-speaking American market.

He first made the American pop charts with "Amor," which reached No. 105 on Billboard's "Bubbling Under" chart in 1983. His breakthrough came less than a year later when his now iconic duet with Willie Nelson, "To All the Girls I've Loved Before," hit No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was certified platinum for sales of more than 2 million copies.

Iglesias recalled it as "an amazing situation -- a perfect combination in a way that was unusual."

"I am very grateful to Willie because he was patient enough to give me time to understand the English (lyrics) because I was not an English-speaking person at that time, and very grateful too because the song has character."

He volunteered that he doesn't feel that way about some of his other work. Iglesias said he made "mistakes" in some of the songs he chose -- his recent album "Romantic Classics," in particular -- but sees the mistakes as part of the learning process.

And, after more than 40 years as a recording artist, singing is still his passion.

"If I don't sing, am I going to wait for life to bring me to reconciliation with my past? No. The past is OK, but the future is much more interesting for me," he said. "The passion for me is music, and my passion for music is still alive -- I would say it is more alive than ever.

"If you lose your passion for your profession, you lose your passion for many things."


(Source: http://www.starbulletin.com/features/20100416_his_passion_is_music.html)

July Tour Dates

According to julioiglesias.com and ticketmaser, the July concerts have been removed from the schedule. Please check with the venue for additional information.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Julio returns to Las Vegas

Julio Iglesias
June 10, 11, 12
Las Vegas, NV
The Las Vegas Hilton
Ticket Info: 1-800-222-5361

Sunday, April 11, 2010

NEW 2010 TOUR DATES

June 2010-

25- Rising Sun, IN (CINCINNATI, OH AREA)
28- Friant, CA (FRESNO, CA AREA)
29- Modesto, CA

July 2010-

3- Wendover, NV (SALT LAKE CITY, UT AREA)
13- Vienna, VA (WASHINGTON, DC AREA)
16- Morristown, NJ
23- Richmond, British Columbia (VANCOUVER AREA)
24- Coquitlam, British Columbia (VANCOUVER AREA)

Hooked on Julio



Hooked on Julio
By S. Indra Sathiabalan

Pictures: Legendary singer and heartthrob, Julio Iglesias recieving a LifetimeAcievement Award from Adrian Lim, the managing director of SonyMusic Malaysia. Sunpix: Anwar Faiz


PETALING JAYA (April 6, 2010): IF you measure a singer's success by the number of albums sold, or the number of platinum and gold awards received, then Julio Iglesias would certainly rank high on the list.

The Latin crooner has, to date, released 79 albums, and sold a staggering 300 million copies in 14 languages, besides being a recipient of more than 2,600 platinum and gold awards. Not bad for a football player who turned to singing after a near-fatal car accident left him paralysed and unable to walk for almost two months.

Julio got his big break when he won the prestigious Spanish song festival The Benidorm with his self-penned song 'Vida Sigue Igual' (Life Goes On) in 1968.

By 1971 he has sold his first million records and charmed millions of ladies across the globe.
To date, Julio has given over 5,000 concerts in 600 cities around the world and more than 60 million people have seen him live.

The 66-year-old was down in Kuala Lumpur recently for his fifth concert in the country, and though he has aged a bit, his smooth-as-silk vocals still managed to vow the crowd at the Plenary Hall at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre on April 1.

Earlier, Julio gave a press conference, where he admitted that "the biggest privilege for an artiste is to come back to places they have performed in before".

Read more about the interview in theSun newspaper tomorrow.

Meanwhile, here are some Julio quotes.

>> On his future plans after recording a 35 song compilation album and a tribute album to his favourite artistes: “After that if I am not dead, I will make a new album of Christmas songs because I have never done a Christmas album. You never know. The future for me is to work, to learn, to help, to enjoy, to be thankful to the people and to be grateful.”

>> On contemporary music:“With contemporary music I get confused. Because everyday there are new artistes. They asked me about Lady Gaga the other day. I promise you, the first time I heard about her was in the Philippines a week ago and my promoter said to me that people are crazy about Lady Gaga’s music. So I wanted to see who was Lady Gaga. So I was interested and I turned on MTV to see who she was.”

>> On touring and singing:“Organically I know if I stop singing, I will start to die.”
>> On being a successful Latin artiste: "I'm the Latin artiste who has been the most successful in history at representing the Latin culture. The stylings of my words are immodest, but it's the truth."
>> On Love: "Love is like wine. To sip is fine, but to empty the bottle is a headache."
>> On retiring: "You retire when you are sick and when you can't do it any more or when the public retires you. That's the most painful, because that's the one that leaves you wanting to accomplish more." -- theSun

Saturday, April 10, 2010

San Marco, Italy

Julio performs "Me Va, Me Va" in San Marco, Italy.



"When You Tell Me That You Love Me"

(Source: YouTube)

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Romancing the crowd Julio style


THE Starry Starry Night with Julio Iglesias concert at the Plenary Hall, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, started 15 minutes late.

But when the 66-year-old ­balladeer came on stage singing Nathalie before turning on his charm with a “Hello Malaysia!”, the crowd warmly welcomed him with loud applause.

Iglesias was happy to be back in Kuala Lumpur. “I love Malaysia and everyone in my entourage is so impressed with what you have achieved since we were here the last time,” he said.

“Thank you very much for ­coming. I first came to Malaysia when I was 12. Now I’m 47 ....” The crowd roared with laughter.

“I love Kuala Lumpur. It was in Malaysia that I first kissed my wife ... and that got me five kids and cost me millions, so thank you very much, Kuala Lumpur.” Again, the audience roared with delight.

Iglesias went on to deliver a repertoire that featured some of the greatest hits of his career – a mixture of Spanish, Italian and ­English songs.

A consummate entertainer, he knew how to engage the audience and mesmerise them with his romantic songs. He was vibrant and charismatic, humorous and engaging. He got the audience to sing along with him on Always on My Mind and Mammy Blue.

He is both a gentleman and ­gracious mentor, too. At one point in the beautiful duet, All of You, with backup singer Wendy Moten, he nudged her forward while he took a few steps back to allow her to bask in the limelight as she sang her part. It’s this little gesture that showed his humility and humanity.

When he sang hits such as Begin the Beguine or Me Va, Me Va, he’s in a world of his own – with his eyes closed and his right hand drawing figures in the air, then stopped at his stomach and caressed it, pouring his emotions and soul into his ­singing and transporting his listeners to another realm. That’s the power and magic of Iglesias.

When he sang his English hits (Crazy, To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before, Can’t Help Falling in Love), the crowd was in love.

Each time he sang a number from his Tango album, he was ­accompanied on stage by a talented pair of tango dancers, Soledad Fernandez and Herman Gelosi. They were superb.

“I love Asia ... my first wife, I have 25 wives (the crowd roared with laughter) ... no, no, I have just two,” he joked.

“My first was Filipino so I ­understand the culture of Southeast Asian people very much. I know in Malaysia, you have a perfectionist ideal ... very unique and very clean.

“But tonight, let’s be a little dirty. Let’s imagine when you go back home, with your wife, partner, lover ... let’s dance the tango.

“But don’t get too excited because with tango, you will get pregnant immediately ... and in vertical position!” The audience roared again.

A brief account of his recent trip to Haiti left the audience and ­himself, raw. But he recovered enough to deliver the beautiful Fragile, a song he recorded with Sting.

Time seemed to stand still when Iglesias sang his farewell song and someone in the audience shouted their love to him. He smiled, raised his hands clasped as if in prayer and left the stage after 90 minutes of singing, only to reappear soon after for an encore.

In fact, he came back twice. The audience seemed not to get enough of this romantic balladeer. The magic is still intact despite the advancing years. – Isaac Zulen

(Source:http://www.thesundaily.com/article.cfm?id=45257)


Sunday, April 4, 2010

Julio Iglesias receives Lifetime Achievement award in Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur, April 01 (ANI): Spanish superstar Julio Iglesias received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Sony Music Malaysia at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel yesterday.

Sony Music managing director Adrian Lim presented the award.

The balladeer will be performing a 90-minute concert of hits recorded over more than 40 years at a “Starry Starry Night with Julio Iglesias” concert at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre’s Plenary Hall, tonight.

“It was a big honour to be invited to perform here for the first time, many years ago,” The New Straits Times Online quoted him, as saying.

“And it’s an even bigger honour to be asked to return for another concert. When I close my eyes and sing, I lose my nationality and become one with the audience.

“I love Malaysia and everyone in my entourage is so impressed with what you have achieved since we were here the last time,” he added. (ANI)


More at : Julio Iglesias receives Lifetime Achievement award in Malaysia
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/entertainment/julio-iglesias-receives-lifetime-achievement-award-in-malaysia_100342137.html#ixzz0k928otwQ

Friday, April 2, 2010

Julio works his magic on Malaysia


Julio Iglesias works his magic on Malaysia
By S. INDRAMALAR

KUALA LUMPUR: Multiple grammy winner Julio Iglesias charmed thousands of his fans at his concert dubbed “Starry Night” at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre last night.
Charmer: Iglesias belting out one of his hits to fans during his 90-minute concert at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre yesterday.


The 66-year-old balladeer did not disappoint by performing many of his popular hits like “Nathalie”, “Tango”, “Begin the Beguine” and “All of You”. Although the show started 90 minutes late, agitating the audience, they soon forgave their idol after he turned on his charm. “Hello Malaysia!” he exclaimed at the start.


“Thank you very much for coming. You know (it was) in Kuala Lumpur (that) I kissed my wife for the first time. And that got me 5 kids and cost me millions of dollars! So thank you very much Kuala Lumpur!” he said as the crowd laughed.


Last night’s performance was Iglesias’ fifth in Malaysia.