BEIJING: Ageing Spanish crooner Julio Iglesias Monday said he may never be "in" but at least he can still draw a crowd, as he was given an award in Beijing as the world's best-selling male Latin artist.
The 69-year-old, who has sold more than 300 million records worldwide, was in China ahead of a three-show tour of the country, where he remains hugely popular due to his inoffensive, idealistic brand of singing.
"Maybe I am not 'in' in your country, maybe I am not 'in' anywhere in the world. I am not an artist which is 'in'. But I have been singing all of my life," he told AFP after receiving the Guinness World Records award as best-selling male Latin artist.
"Maybe in England I am not playing to 30,000 people that I used to play to 30 years ago, but now I can still play in England. One thing is to be 'in', but it is another to be popular."
Iglesias also received an award as First and Most Popular International Artist in China from his record company Sony, although it was unable to say how many records he has sold in the country.
The singer also said he would be happy to play in the isolated, nuclear-armed state of North Korea.
"If they invite me, then why not? I don't believe in frontiers and I don't believe in races or nationalities."
Iglesias is embarking on an age-defying, gruelling world tour, with an Asian leg taking in the Philippines, South Korea, China, Singapore and Taiwan.
He has previously sung in Mandarin at a concert in Shanghai, but ruled out using the native tongue in his China shows on the tour.
"I don't want people in China to kill me," he laughed.
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