Julio Iglesias Attributes his Success to Inimitable Singing Style

The singer presented his latest studio album, "Mexico", in the Mexican capital and called it a tribute to the country he "adores" and which "pulls him tremendously" for its culture, its people and its writers.

Full of laughter and his jovial self during the interview, the singer seemed to have recovered well from his surgery, and geared up for the six concerts lined up in Mexico, beginning Saturday in Guadalajara.

The idea for the album, his first in Spanish in 12 years and recorded over a year and a half, came up during a conversation with Mexican friends and because he "adores" Mexican music, Iglesias said.

The album has twelve historic songs including "Ella", "Usted", Mexico Lindo" and "Juan Charrasqueado" by legendary composers, including Jose Alfredo Jimenez.

The singer explained, "I've sung my authors," who are "incomparable" and with whom he has lived and even sung, as in the case of Jimenez, with whom he began his singing career.

Iglesias, who has sold 300 million albums and is the world's best-selling male Latin artist, said he knows Mexico "deeply" because he has lived there three months a year for 20 years.

"I have sung under many presidents, and under many problematic consequences and circumstances. We, artists, try to say pretty things, but Mexico is a beautiful country," he added.

Despite his iconic status, Iglesias is interested in the new aspects of Spanish music and makes a special mention of Pablo Alboran.

"I understand why they love him in Spain and in many parts (of the world) because I love voices that come from within," explains the singer who himself falls in that category.

"Mexico" will be his last studio album, confessed Iglesias, clarifying, however, that it wasn't a farewell message to his fans.

"No, no, no. If only I could sing all my life. I'm going to sing throughout my life. The thing is cutting an album is very difficult at my age, in the sense that you're always thinking about the legacy you will leave behind and whether you're going to get it wrong," he said, before adding, "you know what they always say about us, the best is for the last."

The silken-voiced artist shared the technique he used to sing successfully in 12 languages, which is to imagine what he is singing and know how to convey it, even in Mandarin Chinese, "which is an impossible language," he mused.

Finally, he disclosed the secret behind his brilliant life and career over "so many years."

"Firstly, because I sought it; secondly, because I've understood (the secret behind it); thirdly, because I love it, and fourthly because God has given me something to sing about in life; it is not about singing well or badly, but having a style of my own which I have never lost."