"I'm a sex symbol? You think so? I don't know. I never felt like I got any of those qualities," he says modestly.

"If I could say I was influenced by my dad, it was by his music and his work ethics, but not his sex symbol status. He works like crazy, and he's always had a lot of discipline."

His parents divorced when he was three, and while father and son may share the same genes and beautiful brown eyes, Enrique admits they have a strained relationship, saying simply: "I don't really work with him."

Enrique's eighth album, Insomniac, is the result of three years' non-stop travelling between LA, Miami (where the 32-year-old lives) and Sweden. The years were spent writing, recording and deleting, only to begin all over again until he was 100% certain that his vision was perfectly realised.

"It's one of those that I've been working with for a long time, so I feel good about it, in the sense that I'm very satisfied with it," he says.

"I think it's the most complete of my English-speaking albums musically. Was it worth it? Yeah, I believe it was. It was a very difficult time for me. When you have so much time, you go absolutely crazy, but yes.

"When I started this process, I wasn't really sure of the specific sound that I was looking for," Enrique says.

"What I did know was that I wanted to have a respectable repertoire of songs to begin with. On my previous records, I would always start with a dozen ideas. This time, I wrote between 40 and 50 new tunes.

"I guess, at first I did want to consciously make a record that had a cool sound to it," he admits. "But then I said to myself, 'F*** that'. I don't want to take myself too seriously. The truth is, I just want to write songs that I like."

All that decision-making took its toll on Enrique.

"I've never suffered so much making an album," he says, laughing. "It was a journey of soul searching and self discovery for me."

He also reveals: "I don't sleep well at all. When I make a record, I work at night. So basically, I've spent three years working at night and sleeping during the day. I do think and worry a lot, and I've always been a hyperactive kid. It's been going on for 32 years, but it got worse when I started working."

Born in Madrid, young Enrique moved to Miami in 1983 to live with his father. There, he led the life of a typical teen while growing up.

He started writing and recording songs without telling his parents about it and shopped his first demo posing as a Central American unknown named Enrique Martinez. Only after landing a record contract with regional Mexican label Fonovisa did Enrique decide to use his real name.

Recorded in Spanish, his self-titled debut sold more than a million copies in the first three months after it was released.

He has since gone on to become one of the biggest-selling Spanish-language music artists in the world, although he has yet to overtake his father's great sales figures.

He has had 16 No. 1 Billboard Latin hits since his debut in 1995, and expanded his audience beyond the Latin market with songs like 1999's Bailamos (We Dance), 2000's Could I Have This Kiss Forever featuring Whitney Houston, and 2001's Hero.

"It's a great job. If there's one thing I cannot do, it's to complain. I truly have the great job, and I am very lucky and very fortunate," he says.

"I don't have other career achievements. The only thing I know I am truly passionate about is music."

So, does he see himself emulating Julio and making 77 records?

"I don't know, it could be one more or 100 more. I truly don't know. Maybe one of these days I'll say, 'I've got no more in me.' I do know that with each of them, I gave it my best.

"I think I will always be involved in music, but maybe move into producing. I would like to write songs for other people, but that's for later."

Singing isn't the only glamorous role he's taken on. Enrique starred alongside Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek and Johnny Depp in the Robert Rodriguez film Once Upon A Time In Mexico, in which he played the foul-mouthed gun-wielding Lorenzo.

In 2007, he had a cameo role in the TV comedy Two And A Half Men. He also played the part of an evil Roman emperor in a TV commercial for Pepsi, which sponsored his last world tour, alongside Britney Spears, Beyoncé and Pink.

Despite his celebrity background, Enrique keeps himself to himself and shuns the limelight that comes so easily with fame these days. He has been dating Russian tennis player Anna Kournikova for more than five years since they met on his video for Escape, although the current state of the relationship is unknown.

Last month he was quoted saying that the relationship was over, but soon denied the reports. Unlike other celebrity couples, Anna and Enrique don't constantly make the front pages of magazines, and they don't court publicity or the paparazzi.

Similarly refreshingly, he has a taste for simple things, despite being the son of a millionaire.

"You know what's funny? I was sick with the flu last Friday - I still have it a little bit now - and I was dying in the car and in the game, but I was just dying to see the first football game at Wembley Stadium," he recalls.

"I just wanted to go and see the match between England and Brazil. I didn't get to meet the players, we left right after, but I loved the atmosphere."

He adds: "It's the first match I've seen here, and I think the older I get, the more I like watching football."

Enrique Iglesias' album, Insomniac, is out on Monday. The single, Do You Know? (The Ping Pong Song), is out now