Thursday, May 6, 2004 | 9:01 a.m.
Who: Julio Iglesias.
When: 10 p.m. tonight through Saturday.
Where: Las Vegas Hilton Theatre.
Tickets: $45 to $55.
Information: (702) 732-5111
Julio Iglesias is a charmer."You have a wonderful voice," he said during a recent telephone interview from somewhere on the road. "Do you sing?
"How many times you make love last year?"
"Oh, I don't know," I stammered. "Not as many times as you, I'm sure."
His charm is disarming, not expected of an international superstar who has sold more than 250 million albums worldwide.
The 60-year-old native of Madrid, Spain, has seven children, including Julio Jr., 31, and Enrique, 29 (both successful international singers), and Isabel, 32, from his first marriage. And from a second relationship, Miguel, 6, Rodrigo, 5, and twin daughters Christina and Victoria, 3.
When Iglesias isn't making love, he's making music, or traveling somewhere to make music.
Iglesias' next stop is the Las Vegas Hilton tonight through Saturday.
"I love to sing," he said, his Spanish accent enhancing his charm.
The romantic singer's primary residence is in Miami, but he only spends two or three months a year there. The rest of the time he performs in concerts around the world and makes records. His most recent is "Divorcio," which was released in December.
"I travel most of my life," Iglesias said. "I have been traveling and singing for 36 years. There is no way I grow tired of it. The first thing, I don't sing for the money anymore. I need to sing. Maybe that is why the fans come to see me. They know that I would not survive without them.
"They say, 'Julio, don't die,' and they come to see me. I love them."
As he performs in this region (Nevada, California and Arizona) he is preparing for his next world tour -- Belgium, Holland, Scandinavia, Germany and France.
Then he will return to the United States for more engagements.
While some lesser performers must put up with the hassle of flying from gig to gig and running a gauntlet of security checks, Iglesias flies by private jet.
"Travel is not a problem," he said. "It is not complicated for me to go somewhere to sing."
Iglesias' story is well known: the oldest son of a physician; a former law student who aspired to play professional soccer; the near-fatal auto accident in 1964 that ended his athletic career; his discovery, while recuperating, that he could write songs and sing them.
In 1968 he won first place in The Benidorm, the most prestigious song festival in Spain, with his composition "La Vida Sigue Igual" ("Life Goes On").
For the next 15 years Julio composed his own music and established himself as an international superstar. By 1971 he had sold his first million records.
His appearances were major events -- in Chile in 1977 more than 100,000 fans attended his concert at the National Stadium of Santiago.
Iglesias was an international star in the '60s and '70s before he entered the market in the United States in the '80s.
In 1983 Iglesias received the first Diamond Record Award ever given to a performer by the Guinness World Book of Records for selling more records in more languages than any other musical artist in history (English, Spanish, German, Japanese, Italian, Portuguese, French and Tagalog).
In 1984 his "1100 Bel Air Place" became a major crossover hit in the United States. The album was a collection of duets with a number of established stars, including Diana Ross and Willie Nelson.
Nelson and Iglesias' duet, "To All the Girls I've Loved Before," was a breakout hit from the album.
In 1988 Iglesias received the Grammy Award for best Latin singer of the year.
With so much success as an entertainer, his millions of fans are fortunate he did not enter the medical profession or the legal field.
But he says he never con- sidered following his father's footsteps into medicine.
"When I was very young I saw my father working like crazy," he said. "To be a professional you have to have a lot of devotion. I was not that disciplined, not very much involved in his career. I decided to be a diplomat, which required a law degree."
In a sense, he has become a diplomat.
"When I visit all the countries I try to get involved in everything, to learn everything about them," Iglesias said. "My life has been very privileged. I have been able to reach all these countries, to travel all over the world, and in a way it is a connection with what I wanted to be."
Iglesias has seen many changes in the world of music since he burst onto the scene in 1968.
Diplomatically, he declines to criticize the music of the new generation. Iglesias is extremely proud of the success of sons Julio Jr. and Enrique.
"They both are having amazing careers," he said. "They are young and energetic, very honest, very disciplined. I love the energy."
Iglesias has been performing in Las Vegas for 25 years, 21 of them at Caesars Palace. He has also headlined at Bally's, MGM and other venues.
His final engagement at Caesars was in 2000, just before it closed its famed Circus Maximus showroom.
Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme were the last to perform in the showroom. Iglesias headlined a week earlier.
"I love Vegas," Iglesias said. "Vegas is unique. There is a magic there. It is not now the times of the beautiful singers like Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, but Vegas still has that unique sense of music, the magic."
While some complain about the uncurtailed growth of Las Vegas, and about the changes in entertainment, Iglesias does not.
"This time in history is great," Iglesias said, not allowing his veil of diplomacy to drop. "I love performing in Vegas. It is such an incredible experience."
