Showstopper
Enrique Iglesias promises something big as tour hits TD Garden
Enrique Iglesias had some jitters about getting on stage. Not when he first did it 25 years ago, but when he did it just months ago for a European concert.
“It was nerve wracking because I hadn’t been on stage for a year and a half,” Iglesias told the Herald. “That’s the longest stretch that I haven’t been on stage (since I began).”
“I was really nervous,” he said with a laugh. “I was nervous a week before and half an hour before and five minutes before. I was going crazy and then once I got on stage I realized I felt back at home.”
Iglesias will have plenty of time to relive that feeling on his massive co-headlining tour with Ricky Martin that runs through the United States this fall — the pair stop at the TD Garden on Tuesday. Back in March of 2020, the two superstars announced the tour only to have it canceled a few weeks later. Now, Iglesias promises something huge.
“It’s a massive spectacle, and I think the fans are going to enjoy it and deserve it,” he said. “We want to make it a once-in-a-lifetime thing. When Ricky and I first spoke about this tour we said, ‘You never know when this could happen again so we want to make it as big as possible.’”
Big shouldn’t really be a tall order for the two. Between them they have two dozen Top 40 hits and nearly as many platinum albums. Iglesias’ own incredible run marked a unique milestone just last year when Billboard named him “Top Latin Artist of All Time” at its annual Latin Music Awards celebration.
“It was an incredible moment for me,” he said. “It’s not about critics, it’s about stats and numbers and it was really cool to see that all put together. When I got the news I was extremely happy and proud, proud of my team and everybody that I’ve worked with.”
A few of those numbers: 27 No. 1 hits and 39 Top Tens on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs. In a world dominated by Spanish-language hits from Bad Bunny and J Balvin, it’s easy to forget that Iglesias blazed that trail.
Iglesias isn’t resting on those achievements yet. After dropping a long series of singles, he released new album “Final Vol. 1” a few weeks ago. He’s typically on the road nonstop, but the COVID shutdowns allowed him time to be with his family (he has three children under 6) and spend extra time working on what he has hinted could be his last project — a second volume will come, but a firm date hasn’t been set.
“Being able to concentrate on songwriting for a year and half, I was able to finish it,” he said. “I needed time to be very picky. … I have been doing this for a long time and I wanted to take the time to make this a really special album.”