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.
He samples a reggaeton beat and pingpong ball sound effects for good measure.
In a recent telephone conversation with The Associated Press, Iglesias spoke about his career, the importance of Latin-flavored music and his aversion to marriage.