Enrique Iglesias took a mere five months off from touring after completing a string of co-headlining dates with Pitbull last November, which followed a 2 1/2-year tour in support of his 2014 album Sex and Love.
The Sex and Love Tour ended last Mexican Independence Day Weekend at the Colosseum inside Caesars Palace, which is where once again Iglesias will spend the holiday performing double dates during his current All the Hits Live Tour. Iglesias trimmed away a few songs from his live set for the current trek, and added recent single releases such as “El Perdón,” “Súbeme la Radio,” and “El Baño” to the hit list.
He also added 2016’s “Duele el Corazón,” his first release after he signed a new deal with Sony Music. Iglesias had long been with Universal, but Sex and Love was his final album with them. Sex and Love was preceded by two years’ worth of singles and reached No. 8 on Billboard’s pop albums chart, two notches higher than 2010’s Euphoria peaked at but not quite the showing that No. 2 album Escape made in 2001. Iglesias surely has his mind on reaching No. 1 on his next effort with the formidable backing of Sony behind him, but the musical landscape is a far different one than he entered in 1995 when Iglesias released his debut self-titled album.
Back then Iglesias was reluctant to be perceived as trading on his famous father Julio’s surname. His concerns took a back seat to the focus his burgeoning career required once Enrique Iglesias reached No. 1 on the Latin albums chart. His second album, Vivir, did the same, and hit No. 33 on Billboard’s pop album chart. Iglesias had six more No. 1 Latin albums, most recently with Sex and Love. He solidified his status as a superstar with staying power in 2001, however, when he released Escape. The album became an international blockbuster, with the success of the song “Hero” making Iglesias a household name the world over.
To date, Iglesias has had 27 No. 1s on the Hot Latin Songs chart, most recently in 2015 with his Nicky Jam collaboration “El Perdón.” Sex and Love single “Bailando,” featuring Gente De Zona and Descemer Bueno, currently holds the record for most weeks at the Hot Latin Songs summit and paved the way for future reggaeton-pop hybrid hits. Iglesias’ latest single, “I Don’t Dance,” an English-language joint venture with Norway’s DJ Matoma and featuring Sean Paul, may hint at a club-centric direction Iglesias’ first album for Sony could take.
Las Vegas is the last stop before Iglesias takes All the Hits Live back to Europe, where he kicked off the tour in March. Then, after being home for the holidays with partner Anna Kournikova and their infant twins, it’s back to work in the studios and the beginning of the next chapter. Iglesias’ domestic life has surely altered his outlook on life and love, but the ambition that has fueled his career so far is unlikely to have diminished. Ambition is one trait he shares with his father that he’s never been reluctant to rely on.
Caesars Palace, 8 p.m. Sept. 15-16, starting at $46 plus tax and fee. 866.320.9763
