Alejandro Sanz has reigned as the best selling and most successful Spanish singer-songwriter for over two decades. Now he is sharing his knowledge with new artists by joining Ricky Martin and Laura Pausini as a judge and mentor in Simon Cowell‘s new star-making vehicle, La Banda. Airing live Sunday nights on Univision, La Banda promises to deliver excitement, entertainment, and a top selling musical group. Sanz’s addition to the show follows a record setting year that saw him launch his tenth album Sirope, and embark on an international tour. In his most revealing interview to date Alejandro Sanz reveals all to HOMBRE.

For his music, Sanz has won a total of fifteen Latin Grammy Awards and three Grammy Awards. He has won the Latin Grammy for Album of the Year three times, more than any other artist. In 2013, Sanz received an honorary doctor of music degree from Berklee College of Music. Throughout his career, he has released a total of eight studio albums and six DVDs. He is most noted for his flamenco-influenced ballads, but has also experimented with rock, salsa, hip hop and even Mariachi in his latest work. Born in Madrid, Sanz began playing guitar at age seven, taking influence from his family’s flamenco roots.

Sanz released his debut album at age nineteen, although he did not gain commercial success in Spain until his second release, Viviendo Deprisa. 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. El Alma al Aire followed in 2000, selling more than a million copies in its first week. In 2002, he became the first Spanish artist to record an MTV Unplugged album. His collaboration with Shakira on the 2005 single “La Tortura” reached number one on several charts worldwide. His albums No Es lo Mismo (2003) and El Tren de los Momentos (2006) showed Sanz experimenting with more diverse styles of music, while Paraíso Express (2009) and La Música No Se Toca served as a return to form for the musician. Released on May 5, 2015 Sirope is his latest work and his tenth studio album.

Happiness is not a consequence, it’s a destination.

HOMBRE: Let’s begin with the tile of what was your fist single off this record, “Un Zombie a la Interperie” (A zombie outdoors), Why the name?
Alejandro Sanz: It seems the title captured people’s attention. People in social media were saying that I went crazy. But when you listen to the song you realize there’s nothing crazy. There was a sense of humor to the title. I see words from a point of view that they’re plastic. I think sometimes it’s better to say a woman is ‘rare’ than ‘pretty.’  I feel you’re saying something a bit more exclusive. Un zombie a la interperie is very graphic. Everyone that runs from happiness searching for something better feels that they’re becoming a zombie.

H: And there some other strange titles like “Capitan Tapon,” “No madura el Coco;”  all the titles are very original
AS: I like that you find them original. I want to step away from songs that say “you,” “I,” “we.” I work very much the lyric portion of the songs and I like to play with it and also with the expectations of people. After you get over the shock expecing that one of my songs is called ‘always,’ you find one of those titles.

H: I feel the song titles say so much more about you, and about what the songs offer musically.
AS: Thank you. I use it for that reason. Just like your name is Francisco and mine is Alejandro in reality the important thing is the essence of what you find inside. But with the title you can begin preparing people for what they’ll find inside and explain it a little bit.

H: You recorded a song with your son, how was that experience?
AS: My son came to the studio and since I had written this song about him I enjoyed having his voice there. I’m sure when he’s 30 years old he’ll love the song, but when he’s 14 or 15 he’ll hate it. I have him as an accomplice so he can’t complain.

H: He’s starting very early in the music business.
AS: He loves music. Obviously he sees it a lot at home and logically it catches his attention. I don’t want to force him into anything. He’s a very smart child. He’s 3 years old and already speaks five languages. I wont force anything on him.  All I want is for my children it’s for them to be happy.

H: Tell me about the fusions you used in this record?
AS: Logically everything that I do has a little bit of flamenco, because I grew up listening to it. That’s a style that will always be there. In some songs I’ve included bluegrass, folk, funk, there’s pop, there’s rock, r&b. There are a lot of styles that I’ve alwas liked. I’ve released all that and the result is this record. It’s a very peculiar sound and very personal. I believe I’ve created a new style that is this record. That’s what I was looking for.

H: How was it to work with a mariachi?
AS: I’ve wanted to work with a mariachi for a long time. The song is the most classic in the record. I didnt know how to include it since the concept is very modern. I searched to find the most classic sound, and that’s a mariachi. The sounds that come to us now from Mexico are very different. The sounds of banda, the norteño; it’s very different from mariachi. I called Armando Avila in Mexico and we asked him to create a mariachi arrangement for the bridge of the song. And what he did is create a mariachi all-star group, and when that mariachi comes in the song I get goosebumps. It’s a sensation that’s very classic and becomes very modern.

H: Where did you record?
AS: I practically recorded the entire record in Miami. I spent 8 months mostly working alone, designing the bass, percussion, guitars, keyboards. Then the last four months we recorded with musicians.

Alejandro Sanz with Alejandro Fernandez

H: Do you have collaborations or duets in this record?
AS: Yes, there’s a duet with Juan Luis Guerra. It’s been a long time since we wanted to sing together. I found a song with a very special aura and wth a light, and I felt it would be perfect to sing together. The truth is that it’s always a pleasure to sing with my ‘little brother’ as I call him. ( laughs).
Then there’s Arturo Sandoval playing the trumpet as only he can. And then I’ve collaborated with people who are not as well known but for me are very special. Instead of hiring a chorus I’ve worked with these young musicians. “A Que No Me Dejas” es un dueto con Alejandro Fernandez.

H: You had great success with duets with Shakira and Alicia Keys, what do you look for in a collaboration?
AS: In a collaboration you look for a combination of seeing the same song. I always welcome artists who want to say something with their music. Lots of times we get together in Miami in the house of a friend with Lenny Kravitz and some other friends and we just play for the sake of playing. What we look for when we record is to have fun.

H: Do you plan to record in English again?
AS: I dont know. If something comes up, why not. But I express myself better in spanish and I like my language.

H: What do you think about the role of social media now and the involvement of fans directly in your music?
AS: It’s incredible how involved they are. I remember when we launched the title of the first single and people began to dress in character, as zombies. My fans began doing it on their own. For me it’s an incredible tool, and not only for work. I use it to communiate, to interact with people. Somethimes when you’re blocked in the studio you write something and people respond and give you encouragement. It’s like having millions of friends.

H: Do you plan to tour to support this record?
AS: Yes, definetly. We begin here in Spain in July and practially all of 2016 we’ll be in America, from the United States to Tierra del Fuego. We’re going to travel throughout all of the continent.

H: Sounds like a big tour.
AS: The last tour was big and this will be bigger. Right now I’m planning the concert to surprise people, so that when they leave they feel really special in attending.

H: Your concerts are always special, I still remenber a show I saw in Radio City may years ago.
AS: I love playing Radio City, one of the most beautiful places to perfom. It has a special kind of magic.

H: Tell me about the inspirations for this record.
AS: My inspiration are always emotions. And there is the part of compromise, but the emotions are always there because as an artist we have something that doesn’t break, and that is emotions. I always search for a way to move people.

H: And going back to your childhood, did you ever think you would be a musician?
AS: I never imagined where music would take me. I never thought that I could sing in Radio City, for instance. Or fill a stadium of 55,000 people in Mexico. I would have been happy if I could just live off this even if it was just playing in a café. Or even if I was woking in a recording studio and my job was to bring coffee. I wanted to be in music, no matter what. I never imagined I would get to where I am today.

H:  Did you consider other possibilities, maybe doctor lawyer, policeman?
AS: Mother’s always want security for their children. We lived a difficult time in Spain. After the post war there were difficulties, my parents went through tough times when I was a child.  My mother wanted me to work in a bank, something like that.
For her it was best that I had a regular salary. But I would say mom, I want to be an artist and she would say but son that is one in a million, and I would say yes, and I am that one!

H: And what did she say when you proved that you were in fact one in a million?
AS: My mom left us a couple of years ago, but until the last minute she didn’t want to go to my concerts because she felt nervous. I would tell my friends not to tell her I’m artist, maybe she thinks I rob banks or something like that. She doesn’t know what I do.

H: It must have been difficult for her not knowing that you’re an artist, especially in Spain.
AS: She was never the typical mom of an artist, who wants to brag. She didnt want anyone to know it. She used to take public transportation to get around the city. She didnt even want a taxi because she thought it was too expensive. It’s a mentallity very difficult to change for someone who has lived very difficult times.

H: What was the best advice she gave you?
AS: My mom was not one to give advice, but what I got from her actions is that she never gave up. In anything. My father was away working a lot and she was alone with my brother and I, and there were times when there wasn’t any money and she always fought, she never gave up and that’s a great lesson.

H: What advice would you give to people who admire you?
AS: To be happy. To try to be happy. Happines is not a consequence, it’s a destination, a goal.

H: And finally, what should people expect from your music?
AS: I hope that it touches their heart and tells them something. That maybe they find themselves alone at night and there is a song that speaks directly to them. When people listen to songs they make them their own, and hopefully that happens with my songs.

Alejandro Sanz with HOMBRE Magazine’s Francisco Romeo