''Escape'' is the fifth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

and second English-language album recorded by Spanish singer and songwriter

Enrique Iglesias Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (; (born 8 May 1975) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He started his recording career in the mid-1990s on the Mexican indie label Fonovisa and became the bestselling Spanish-language act of the decade. By the ...

. It was released by

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...

on 30 October 2001. The album was designed in order to have a broader appeal to audiences worldwide, and Iglesias's visual image was carefully crafted for this era, opting for a sexier and sultrier one. ''Escape'' proved to be even more successful than its predecessor, ''

Enrique Enrique () is the Spanish language, Spanish variant of the given name Heinrich (given name), Heinrich of Germanic origin. Equivalents in other languages are Henry (given name), Henry (English), Enric (Catalan), Enrico (Italian), Henrik (Swedish, D ...

'' (1999), having sold 8 million copies worldwide. The album earned him a Brit Award for Best Pop Act nomination in 2003.

Composition

Iglesias either wrote or co-wrote every track on the album, and has said that for many of the tracks on the album he started out simply with titles that he later based the songs on. The first song to use this method was " Don't Turn Off the Lights", which was originally going to be the title of the album and the first single. "

Hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ...

", the most popular track from the album, was co-written by

Paul Barry Paul James Barry (born 24 February 1952) is an English-born, Australian-based journalist, newsreader and television presenter, who has won many awards for his investigative reporting. He previously worked for the BBC on numerous programs, bef ...

and Mark Taylor. Iglesias also stated that he wrote many songs for the album, but picked those he considered to be the best.

Critical reception

The album received generally mixed reviews.

Commercial performance

''Escape'' debuted at number two on the ''Billboard'' 200, his then-highest debut on the chart, selling 267,000 copies in its first week, behind

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

's ''

Invincible Invincible may refer to: Film and television * ''Invincible'' (2001 drama film), a drama by Werner Herzog about Jewish cabaret during the rise of Nazism * ''Invincible'' (2001 TV film), a fantasy / martial arts TV movie starring Billy Zane ...

''. With "

" already at number one on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, the album also topped the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

, making Iglesias the only Latin artist to have a number-one album and number-one single on the UK charts simultaneously, as well as the first act of any nationality to do so in five years. ''Escape'' was the second-best-selling album of 2002 in the United Kingdom, beaten only by

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...

' ''

Escapology Escapology is the practice of escaping from restraints or other traps. Escapologists (also classified as escape artists) escape from handcuffs, straitjackets, cages, coffins, steel boxes, barrels, bags, burning buildings, fish-tanks, and ...

''. It was also the best-selling album of 2002 in Australia. The album also performed well throughout the world, being certified triple-platinum in the United States, quadruple-platinum in the United Kingdom, 5× platinum in Canada and Australia, and platinum in Germany.

Track listing

Notes * signifies a co-producer * signifies a vocal producer * signifies an additional producer

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Escape (Enrique Iglesias Album) 2001 albums Enrique Iglesias albums Interscope Records albums Albums produced by Mark Taylor (music producer)