NEW YORK-- Spanish singing legend Julio Iglesias has announced a new album of songs inspired by Mexico, scotching speculation that the 71-year-old is retiring.
Latin music's top-selling artist said he will release on Friday the single "Fallaste Corazon" ("You Failed, Dear"), the first track on his album "Mexico - Julio Iglesias" that will come out September 18.
The album will be his first studio work since 2006's "Romantic Classics," in which he interpreted well-known English-language songs, and his first in Spanish since 2003's "Divorcio."
Iglesias said that the new album will feature 12 songs with a Mexican flavor and pay tribute to the country's great songwriters.
"Mexico is a country that I love dearly. The Mexican people have given me many indelible moments in my life," he said in a statement Thursday.
"I know this country as if it was my homeland and I always carry it in my soul," he said.
Iglesias said he dedicated the album to Mexico's "outstanding composers who, generation after generation, filled our lives with love, nostalgia, memories and moments."
Known for his romantic ballads and prolific love life, Iglesias is considered by Guinness World Records to be the top-selling Latin artist with more than 300 million albums sold.
Unusually for a Spanish-language artist, much of his fame comes from other parts of the world and he enjoys an avid fan base in China and other parts of Asia.
Iglesias recently underwent a minor surgery on his back but he has rejected speculation in recent years that he was preparing for retirement.
He has performed concerts this year in Bulgaria, Portugal, Romania, Russia and Turkey.
He is also known to a younger generation as the father of fellow singer and sex symbol Enrique Iglesias.
