The 5-minute Interview: Enrique Iglesias, Singer

'Free downloading hurts us all, from artists to people who wrap CDs'

In just over 10 years, Enrique Iglesias, 30, has produced seven albums, including three in Spanish, which have sold 40 million copies. He released his seventh album, 'Insomniac', in June this year. Iglesias, who was born in Spain and raised in Miami, is currently touring Europe and plays in Dublin, Belfast, Manchester and London in the next month.

If I weren't talking to you right now I'd be ...

Sleeping. I don't sleep much. It takes me a long time to fall asleep. I'm a bit of an insomniac but, when I fall asleep, I don't ever want to wake up. My record label and people lie to me about timings. They tell me things are going to be two hours earlier because I'm always late.

A phrase I use far too often is ...

"Trust me" – especially when I'm saying a stupid lie, as a joke or whatever.

I wish people would take more notice of ...

How free downloading has affected record companies and artists. It's not about me making more money – I've made money from all of that. But it's a snowball effect. It's about how it affects everyone, from the artists to the people who wrap CDs. It makes it difficult for artists who are just starting to come through.

The most surprising thing to happen to me was ...

Getting into college. It was one of those flukes. I guess they read the wrong report card or something.

A common misperception of me is ...

My size, definitely my height. People don't think I'm over 6ft tall. They think I'm smaller.

I am not a politician but ...

I care about politics just like any other citizen. I'm against the war in Iraq, or any type of war.

I'm good at ...

Windsurfing. I don't do it any more but I used to be pretty good at it. It's the only sport you could say I dominate. At my level of windsurfing I do, anyway.

I'm very bad at ...

Lying. I can't keep a straight face. It's stupid white lies of course, nothing serious. I don't like being lied to, so I only lie about the stupid things. White lies, basically.

The ideal night out is ...

A dinner and a movie. Just any good movie, one that I'm excited about at the time. It could be anything from comedy, to drama, to action.

In weak moments I ...

Try to sleep and hopefully wake up with a more positive outlook.

You know me as a singer but in another life I'd have been ...

A football player. I played a lot as a little kid. If you come from Spain, you have to play football.

The best age to be is ...

Seventeen, because you can't be tried as an adult. By then, you've already got through the toughest ages: 14, 15, 16. At 17, you're a bit closer to being an adult. It's that age where one year makes a huge difference.

In a nutshell, my philosophy is this ...

To not take the good things in life for granted.

Benjamin Lawrence