In 1989 Sanz released his debut album, Los Chulos Son Pa' Cuidarlos under the name of Alejandro Magno (Spanish for " Alexander the Great"). Arenas helped Sanz find work, eventually leading to a record deal with the Spanish label Hispavox. He became acquainted with Miguel Ángel Arenas, a music industry executive who had signed several popular Spanish groups such as Mecano. Recording career 1989–96: First four albums Īs a teenager, Sanz performed in various venues in his hometown. But it's also a marvelous education, because you either learn to play or else." He felt that he could not compete with his peers, and decided to focus on creating pop music with flamenco influences, viewing flamenco to be a "lifestyle" better suited to others. If you lose the rhythm, they toss you out with, 'You're no good, boy!' They're very strict and very cruel. Commenting on his early experiences, Sanz explained, "Flamenco can be very hard on beginners. Originally, Sanz intended to become a flamenco performer, but he found the music teachers to be overly strict. He was exposed to traditional flamenco music as a child while vacationing each summer in his parents' native Andalusia in southern Spain. He pursued the instrument with an intensity that eventually frustrated his mother, who broke his guitar one morning after his playing kept the family from sleeping. That kept me out of a lot of trouble." Sanz's father, a door-to-door book salesman, played guitar professionally, which inspired seven-year-old Sanz to learn to play the instrument. Sanz recalled that "Back then, kids grew up on the street.I was a bit like the group troubadour the one who played the guitar and sang. He grew up in the neighborhood of Moratalaz in eastern Madrid. Sanz was born in Madrid, Spain, on December 18, 1968, the youngest son of María Pizarro and Jesús Sánchez. 2.4 2008–2012: Paraíso Express and La Música no se Toca.2.3 2003–07: No Es lo Mismo and El Tren de los Momentos.2.2 1997–2002: Más, El Alma al Aire, and MTV Unplugged.Sanz signed to Universal Music Group in 2011 and released his tenth studio album, La Música No Se Toca, in 2012, followed by Sirope in 2015. He experimented with more diverse styles of music with the albums No Es lo Mismo (2003) and El Tren de los Momentos (2006), while his 2009 release, Paraíso Express served as a return to form for the musician. His collaboration with Shakira on the 2005 single " La Tortura" reached number one on several charts worldwide. In 2002, he became the first Spanish artist to record an MTV Unplugged album. El Alma al Aire followed in 2000, selling more than a million copies in its first week. His next two records, Si Tú Me Miras (1993) and 3 (1995) also fared well commercially, but it was his 1997 breakthrough album Más that garnered international success. Sanz released his debut album at age nineteen, although he did not gain commercial success in Spain until his second release, Viviendo Deprisa (1991). The singer is notable for his flamenco-influenced ballads, and has also experimented with several other genres including pop, rock, funk, R&B and jazz.īorn in Madrid to parents from Andalusia, Sanz began playing guitar at age seven, taking influence from his family's flamenco roots. He has received the Latin Grammy for Album of the Year three times. Sanz has won 22 Latin Grammy Awards and four Grammy Awards. Alejandro Sánchez Pizarro, better known as Alejandro Sanz ( Spanish pronunciation: born December 18, 1968), is a Spanish musician, singer and composer.