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Alejandro Sánchez Pizarro, better known as Alejandro Sanz (;In isolation, Sanz is pronounced in Latin American Spanish. born 18 December 1968), is a Spanish musician, singer and composer. He has won 24 Latin Grammy Awards and 4 Grammy Awards. He has received the Latin Grammy for Album of the Year three times. The singer is notable for his flamenco-influenced ballads, and has also experimented with several other genres including pop music, rock music, funk, R&B and jazz.
Born in Madrid to parents from Andalusia, Sanz began playing guitar at age 7 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 (1991). 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. 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. 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 was exposed to traditional flamenco music as a child while vacationing each summer in his parents' native Andalusia in southern Spain. Originally, Sanz intended to become a flamenco performer, but he found the music teachers to be overly strict. Commenting on his early experiences, Sanz explained, "Flamenco can be very hard on beginners. If you lose the rhythm, they toss you out with, 'You're no good, boy!' They're very strict and very cruel. 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.
Sanz's rise to fame began in 1991, when he released his first album from Warner, Viviendo Deprisa. The record and the songs "Pisando Fuerte" and "Se le Apagó la Luz" helped him gain a dedicated fan base in Spain. In 1993, he released Si Tú Me Miras shortly followed by a live album, titled Básico. That same year, he recorded a song entitled "Mi Primera Canción" with flamenco pioneer Paco de Lucía, whom Sanz idolized as a child. He released his third studio album since changing his stage name, 3, in 1995. In addition to Spanish, 3 was also released in Italian and Portuguese. "La Fuerza del Corazón", the first single released from 3, was his first song to chart internationally. All three albums proved to be successful, reaching multi-platinum status in Spain.
His fifth album, El Alma al Aire, released 26 September 2000, featured Sanz exploring a wider array of musical genres, including jazz, R&B, Soul music and tango music. In Spain, the album sold more than one million copies in the first week, breaking the record of one million copies sold in four months, also set by Sanz with his previous album, Más. At the 2001 Latin Grammy Awards, Sanz walked away with four awards: Best Pop Male Vocal Album and Album of the Year for El Alma al Aire, and Record of the Year and Song of the Year for the title track from the album. Later that year, El Alma al Aire was released in a special edition including Sanz's duets with Irish band The Corrs. In October 2001, Sanz collaborated with Michael Jackson and various other artists on the Spanish version of the charity single "What More Can I Give", which benefited the victims of the September 11 attacks.
In 2002, Sanz recorded MTV Unplugged at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, Florida. He was the first Spanish artist to record and release an MTV Unplugged album. For Sanz, the recording of the album "changed the way I do my music. It was a rediscovery of how to perform, and also how to record, music with live musicians. That was the spirit of the music in its pure form, though it that the more people who are playing, the more simple it is." With the MTV Unplugged, he garnered three Latin Grammy Awards (Album of the Year, Recording of the Year and Song of the Year for "Y Sólo Se Me Ocurre Amarte"). At the 2002 Grammy Awards, Sanz performed "Quisiera Ser" as a duet with Destiny's Child, with both Spanish lyrics and English lyric adaptation "I'd Like To Be Your Laughter".
In 2005, Sanz collaborated with Shakira on her song "La Tortura". Co-written by Sanz, the song became an international hit, breaking the record for the most weeks at the number one spot on the Hot Latin Songs chart. The song exposed Sanz to a more diverse audience, and helped build anticipation for his next release. The first single from the album El Tren de los Momentos, "A la Primera Persona", became his first song to enter the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 100 on the chart. The record was also noted for its guest appearances, which featured Shakira, Juanes, Alex González of Maná, and Residente of Calle 13.
In the spring of 2007, Sanz suffered a mental breakdown and took two months off in the middle of a world tour at the request of his doctor. The breakdown was caused by several events in his personal life, including the death of his father in 2005, his separation with Mexican model and actress Jaydy Michel, and his announcement that he had a three-year-old son outside of his marriage with Michel. He commented on the situation, saying "You have to put things in perspective. It was stress, something that had never affected me, but this time, yes, it did. So I had to pay. A doctor told me to stop for a couple of months to recuperate completely." Sanz spent time in therapy, a time which "helped him a lot" and gave him "more power" to perform.
In a press conference in late 2007, he criticized president Hugo Chávez, calling him "undemocratic" in the wake of a petition made by Venezuelan citizens to prevent Chávez from running for re-election. Sanz further stated "If they gave me 3 million signatures to stop singing, I would stop singing immediately." Supporters of Chávez subsequently gathered 230,000 signatures in response to Sanz' comments.
On 15 February 2011, Sanz announced that he would be signing with Universal Music Group after twenty years with Warner. In the same year, Sanz received the Latin Heritage Award by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) in recognition of his contributions to Latin music. On 2 September 2012, the singer unveiled the official artwork of his upcoming ninth studio album, La Música No Se Toca on his official site. Sanz released La Música No Se Toca, featuring the single "No Me Compares" and based on the opening theme song in the telenovela Amores Verdaderos, on 25 September 2012. On 21 August 2012, Sanz released his new single "Irrepetível (Me Sumerjo)", a duet with Brazilian singer-songwriter Ana Carolina. The song is a Portuguese-Spanish song and it's only available in Brazil's iTunes. On 17 September, he released the album's second single, "Se Vende". In 2013, Sanz was recognized as the Pop Male Artist of the Year and was the recipient of the Excellence Award at the 26th Lo Nuestro Awards for his achievements in the music industry.
Sanz released his eleventh studio album, Sirope, featuring the single "A Que No Me Dejas", a collaboration with Alejandro Fernandez and used as the opening theme song in the telenovela A Que No Me Dejas, on 4 May 2015. The album took a year and one month to record, and features an "eclectic sound" in Sanz's words, containing elements of flamenco, R&B, and folk music. He worked with producer Sebastian Krys, who helped him "enrich what was there but not the essence" of the songs.
In November 2017, Alejandro Sanz was honored as the Latin Recording Academy's Person of the Year.
In April 2019, he released his album #ElDisco. The album was recorded in Miami and features collaborations Camila Cabello, Nicky Jam, Residente, and Catalan singer-songwriter Judit Neddermann.
In May 2020, Sanz announced the new dates for his La Gira tour, which was originally slated to begin in June 2020 but was rescheduled to June 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The tour will begin on 12 June 2021, in Valencia.
In 14 October, Sanz received the Billboard Latin Music Lifetime Achievement Award.
On 17 May 2025, Sanz announced a new EP titled ¿Y Ahora Qué?. The EP was released on 23 May and features six songs, including collaborations with Manuel Turizo, Grupo Frontera and Shakira. On the day of release, the Shakira and Alejandro Sanz duet "Bésame", their third collaboration, was released as a single.
Sanz is known for his distinctive raspy vocals, which he attributes to his flamenco roots, crediting singer Camarón de la Isla as a major influence. His song "Sí, He Cantado Mal" (Yes, I Have Sung Badly) from No Es lo Mismo references this, with Sanz saying "I'm laughing a little at myself so that I can laugh at other things. Sometimes, I'm harder on myself than any music critic can be. I'm laughing at that." Throughout his youth, Sanz was heavily influenced by English-language heavy metal groups such as Iron Maiden and Dio, referring to himself as a "heavy metal radical". He also feels that living in the city of Cádiz had a major impact on his musical style, where "Any 7-year-old kid you find knows how to play guitar, play the cajón, knows how to sing. When the family comes together we start to sing. In a way it's not just music, it's culture."
Sanz married his former assistant, Raquel Perera, on 23 May 2012, in a private ceremony held in Sabadell, Barcelona. They have two children: a son, Dylan, born in 2011 in New York, and a daughter, Alma, born in 2014 in Madrid. The couple separated in July 2019.
The late Flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucía was the godfather of Sanz's son, and Sanz and his wife are godparents to David Bisbal's daughter, Ella.
In addition to music, Sanz enjoys painting, which he often does while trying to create ideas for new songs. He explains that painting "teaches you that taking risks rarely leads to failure. In fact, from the moment you assume a risk, you have succeeded."
In 2016, Sanz gave an interview to a women's magazine, where he shared his support for efforts taken against violence against women saying that the man who "beats a woman, beats the whole humanity". He also wore make-up in an expression of support for women.
In January 2019, Sanz expressed support for Juan Guaidó during the Venezuelan presidential crisis during a livestreamed Instagram interview. During the interview, Sanz recognized Guaidó as interim President of Venezuela.
In October 2021, Sanz had a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame inaugurated corresponding to the Recording category. The ceremony took place at 1750 Vine Street, in front of the Capitol Records building. He was accompanied by his partner, Cuban artist Rachel Valdés, who he mentioned in his speech: "To Rachel, a woman whose hands hold the dreams of my heart. I love you very much".
| + !Year !Category !Nominated Work !Result | |||
| 2001 | Best Latin Pop Album | El Alma Al Aire | |
| 2004 | No Es Lo Mismo | ||
| 2008 | El Tren De Los Momentos | ||
| 2011 | Paraiso Express | ||
| 2016 | Sirope | ||
| 2020 | #Eldisco | ||
| 2026 | ¿Y ahora qué? |
| + !Year !Category !Nominated Work !Result | |||
| 2001 | Album of the Year | El Alma Al Aire | |
| Best Male Pop Vocal Album | |||
| Record of the Year | "El Alma Al Aire" | ||
| Song of the Year | |||
| Best Music Video | "Cuando Nadie Me Ve" | ||
| 2002 | Album of the Year | MTV Unplugged | |
| Record of the Year | "Y Solo Se Me Ocurre Amarte" | ||
| Song of the Year | |||
| 2004 | "No Es Lo Mismo" | ||
| Record of the Year | |||
| Album of the Year | No Es Lo Mismo | ||
| Best Male Pop Vocal Album | |||
| 2005 | Song of the Year | "Tu No Tienes Alma" | |
| Record of the Year | |||
| 2006 | "La Tortura" (with Shakira) | ||
| Best Short Form Music Video | |||
| 2007 | Album of the Year | El Tren De Los Momentos | |
| 2010 | Paraíso Express | ||
| Best Male Pop Vocal Album | |||
| Record of the Year | "Desde Cuando" | ||
| Song of the Year | |||
| 2011 | Best Long Form Music Video | Canciones Para Un Paraíso - En Vivo | |
| 2012 | Record of the Year | "No Me Compares" | |
| Song of the Year | |||
| 2013 | "Mi Marciana" | ||
| Record of the Year | |||
| Album of the Year | La Música No Se Toca | ||
| Best Contemporary Pop Vocal Album | |||
| 2015 | Sirope | ||
| Album of the Year | |||
| Record of the Year | "Un Zombie a la Intemperie" | ||
| Song of the Year | |||
| 2016 | Best Long Form Music Video | Sirope Vivo | |
| 2019 | Lo Que Fui Es Lo Que Soy | ||
| Album of the Year | #Eldisco | ||
| Best Contemporary Pop Vocal Album | |||
| Record of the Year | "No Tengo Nada" | ||
| Song of the Year | |||
| "Mi Persona Favorita" (with Camila Cabello) | |||
| Best Pop Song | |||
| Record of the Year | |||
| 2020 | "Contigo" | ||
| Song of the Year | "For Sale" (with Carlos Vives) | ||
| "#ElMundoFuera (Improvisación)" | |||
| 2022 | Album of the Year | Sanz | |
| 2023 | Song of the Year | "NASA" | |
| Record of the Year | "Correcaminos" | ||
| 2025 | "Palmeras en el Jardín" | ||
| Song of the Year | |||
| Best Contemporary Pop Album | ¿Y ahora qué? | ||
| Album of the Year |
| Musical Guest |
| Musical Guest |
| Documental |
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