Julio Iglesias to melt hearts in Poughkeepsie

Julio Iglesias to melt hearts in Poughkeepsie
By Paula Ann MitchellFreeman staff

To all the girls he’s loved before (and those he hasn’t), guard your tender hearts. The man on the Bardavon Opera House stage this Sunday just may steal it away—in a glance or a song.

That performer could be none other than the Grammy-Award winning Julio Iglesias, the Spanish crooner, who’s sold more than 300 million albums in 14 languages, released 77 albums and been the recipient of more than 2,600 Platinum and Gold records in his illustrious career.

Sony Entertainment lists Iglesias as one of the top-10, best-selling music artists in history. In April, the singer received a Lifetime Achievement award from Sony Music Entertainment Malaysia for his extraordinary 43-year career.

Iglesias will be bringing his 2010 “Starry Night” world tour to the Poughkeepsie venue at 35 Market St. June 6 at 7 p.m., marking the first time the singer has ever been to the Mid-Hudson Valley.“I’m going to sing 43 years of music,” Iglesias recently told the Freeman. “For sure, I’ll be doing the classics, the songs people know. I play the music people want me to play,” he said in a phone call from Romania.

The “Starry Night” tour is named after his third English album, which enjoyed record-breaking sales in more than 50 countries. Iglesias will be traveling to five different continents for this year’s tour.It features some of his classic romantic ballads like “Crazy,” “Me Olvide de Vivir” (I Forgot to Live), “Hey!” and “Lo Mejor de tu Vida” (The Best of your Life).

He said he wants his entire audience, not just the female fans, to tremble with each note that he crafts and each breath that he takes.“For me, it is all about passion. I put passion into everything,” he said. “I sing because it is what I do with my life and what I love to do.”And it’s not just his velvety voice and the feeling he communicates in his music that steal the ladies’ hearts.

At 66, the debonair Iglesias still flaunts taut and chiseled features, gleaming white teeth and a muscular physique—the very picture of the “Latin Lover.”“I love them all,” he said of his fans all over the globe. “Not just the ladies, but I do love them most, and I learn from them and I respect them. It’s like a marriage between an artist and his audience.”Strangely, though, this wasn’t how it was supposed to turn out for the singer, who was born in Madrid in 1943 as Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva.In his younger days, Iglesias had studied law in Madrid and enjoyed success as a goalkeeper for the Real Madrid soccer team.

A car accident in 1963 ended his sports career, resulting in a compression of his spinal cord. It didn’t look too good for a man who was just 20 years old at the time.Doctors weren’t sure he’d ever be able to walk again, and it forced him to reach deep within to find courage and meaning.“There is much more acceleration in your brain and your soul when you have situations that cause you to change. You become a survivor,” Iglesias said.He began tinkering with stringed instruments, particularly the guitar, to regain hand strength, and in the process Iglesias discovered his musical gift.The singer’s big break came in 1968 when he won a music contest with his original song, “La Vida Sigue Igual” (Life Stays the Same).Not long after, he singed a deal with Discos Columbia, the Spanish branch of Columbia Records, and released his debut album La Vida Sigue Igual in 1969.Iglesias rose to international prominence in the 1970s and 1980s.

In addition to Spanish, he has recorded albums in German, French, Italian, English, Portuguese, Tagalog and Japanese.One of his most memorable English songs was the 1984 “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before,” a duet recorded with country legend Willie Nelson. The song earned a fifth-place spot in the Billboard Hot 100 that year.The following year, Iglesias was honored with a star from the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and three years later, he won a Grammy Award for best Latin singer with the album “Un Hombre Solo” (A Man Alone).Iglesias has also performed with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross and Sting.

Today, his son, Enrique Iglesias, is a noted pop singer and songwriter, who has sold more than 60 million albums worldwide.

The elder Iglesias, meantime, is looking forward to his upcoming engagement in the Hudson Valley, although this certainly isn’t the first time he’s played in New York. At Radio City Music Hall alone, Iglesias has appeared at least 45 times.“I hope they (audience members) say to each other, ‘It was a good time.’ The best thing is they are going home … and they feel that passion. That is what I hope gets communicated,” Iglesias said.


WHAT: “Starry Night” at the Bardavon with Julio IglesiasWHEN: Sunday at 7 p.m.
WHERE: Bardavon Opera House, 35 Market St., Poughkeepsie
HOW MUCH: From $75 to $175. The higher-end tickets include a post-concert reception for the singer at the Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel.
CALL: Bardavon Opera House at (845) 473-2072 or the Ulster Performing Arts Center at (845) 339-6088.ONLINE:www.bardavon.org

(Source: http://www.dailyfreeman.com/articles/2010/06/04/entertainment/doc4c0841540d76a037925330.txt)