    alejandro sanz (; born alejandro sÃ¡nchez pizarro; december 18, 1968) is a spanish singer-songwriter and musician. for his work, 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. throughout his career, he has released a total of eight studio albums and six dvds. the singer is noted for his flamenco-influenced ballads, but he has also experimented with rock, salsa, and hip hop. 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 tÃº me miras (1993) and 3 (1995) also fared well commercially, but it was his 1997 breakthrough album mÃ¡s 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 his most recent release, paraÃ­so express (2009) served as a return to form for the musician. he signed to universal music group in 2011 and released his ninth studio album, la mÃºsica no se toca, on september 25, 2012. ==early life== sanz was born in madrid, spain, on december 18, 1968, the youngest son of marÃ­a pizarro and jesÃºs sÃ¡nchez. he gre
1968_births Grammy_Award-winning_artists Italian-language_singers Latin_Grammy_Award_winners Latin_pop_singers Living_people Musicians_from_Madrid Musicians_from_Miami,_Florida Portuguese-language_singers Singers_from_Madrid Spanish_male_singers Spanish_pop_singers Spanish_singer-songwriters The_Voice_(TV_series)_judges Universal_Music_Latin_Entertainment_artists Warner_Music_Latina_artists World_Music_Awards_winners Writers_from_Madrid