Sanz’s ‘Sirope’ Debuts at No. 1 in the U.S., Tops Nine-Year-Old Sales High in Spain
Spanish star Alejandro Sanz debuts at No. 1 on Top Latin Albums and breaks sales records in Spain; his album, Sirope, notches the top-selling debut week in the past nine years in that country.
As widely expected, Alejandro Sanz’s Sirope (Syrup) debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart dated May 23. It’s Sanz’s fourth No. 1, further bolstered by his performance at the Billboard Latin Music Awards April 30 and the recent announcement of his participation as a judge in La Banda.
As impressive as Sanz’s stateside news is, what’s happening in his native Spain trumps it.
There, Sirope notched the best-selling release week of any album since 2006, according to Spain’s Association of Music Producers (Promusicae). According to Sanz’s label, Universal Music Latin America, Sirope sold over 62,000 copies its first week, the biggest sales week since David Bisbal’s Premonición, La Oreja de Van Gogh’s Guapa and Sanz’s own Tren de los Momentos in 2006.
Sanz, of course, has been a major seller in Spain since 1997, when his groundbreaking Más (More) established him as that country’s top-selling music act. At a time when music sales are down, however, Sanz gained new relevance as a judge in La Voz (The Voice) in Spain, following a stint as a judge on the Mexican iteration of that show. Sanz has proven to be so glib and engaging to audiences that he and fellow La Voz Spain judge Laura Pausini were both announced as judges for La Banda, the new Univision reality music show.
Simultaneously, Sanz will launch the Spanish leg of his tour July 30, with 21 announced shows to date.