Enrique Iglesias “Hero” Uplifted Nation After 9-11 Attacks
In 2001, Enrique Iglesias had one of the best music release timings in the history of music when he released the single “Hero” as part of his 2nd album in English, titled “Escape”.
The song was released on September 3rd, 2001. This was about a week before the dreaded 9-11 attacks on the Twin Towers in New York City.
Latin music is known for being happy, hot, and uplifting. This song was Enrique Iglesias’ pop song with a message of love and determination. It highlights the desire of an ordinary person to be a hero for the love of a woman. In addition, this could easily be extrapolated to mean the love of a stranger or the love of country.
Story of the Song “Hero”
Enrique Iglesias’ “Hero” was selected as one of the few songs to be remixed with audio from police, firefighters, and civilians from Ground Zero.
Iglesias had to fulfill a contract a couple of days after the attacks to sing at the Miss Venezuela pageant. Unfortunately, this occurred while New York, the United States, and the whole world, remained in shock after the attacks.
There, on September 14th, Enrique performed “Hero”. However, the event was not transmitted on television due to the terrorist attacks which had recently taken place.
A few days later, Enrique Iglesias was invited to perform “Hero” live at a benefit concert titled “America: A Tribute to Heroes”. He shared the stage with Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, and Sheryl Crow. At this point, the concert was being televised 10 days after September 11. Additionally, it was the 1st time “Hero” was performed on television.
The Soothing Effect
“Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent,” said Victor Hugo.
“Hero” did exactly that. It highlighted the positive within a shockingly disastrous event we all had just witnessed. America wanted music to help heal its wounds. Fittingly, the song could not have come at a better time.
Below is that 1st televised performance as part of “America: A Tribute to Heroes”.
It took place inside a warehouse in New York City. However, the event’s location was kept secret due to the uncertainty of further attacks.