Born in Madrid to parents from Andalusia, Sanz began playing guitar at age seven, taking influence from his family's flamenco roots.

He experimented with more diverse styles of music with the albums No Es lo Mismo (2003)[2] and El Tren de los Momentos (2006),[3][4] while his 2009 release, Paraíso Express served as a return to form for the musician.

Sanz signed to Universal Music Group in 2011 and released his tenth studio album, La Música No Se Toca, in 2012, followed by Sirope in 2015.

[3] In 1989 Sanz released his debut album, Los Chulos Son Pa' Cuidarlos under the name of Alejandro Magno (Spanish for "Alexander the Great").

[3] In an attempt to promote Los Chulos Son Pa' Cuidarlos, he performed at strip clubs, playing short sets between acts.

The record and the songs "Pisando Fuerte" and "Se le Apagó la Luz" helped him gain a dedicated fan base in Spain.

That same year, he recorded a song entitled "Mi Primera Canción" with flamenco pioneer Paco de Lucía, whom Sanz idolized as a child.

[14] For the album, he wished to create a "true fusion" of many different sounds, and began studying the saxophone and piano in addition to guitar.

[14] In 1997, Sanz released his fifth studio album, Más, a record containing ballads strongly influenced by flamenco, pop, and tropical rhythms.

", "Amiga Mía", "Aquello Que Me Diste", and "Siempre Es de Noche", Más sold more than two million copies in Spain and was certified 22× Platinum in the country, making it the best-selling album in Spanish history.

[18][19] According to David Cazares of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the album "made Sanz an international star on the strength of the pop-salsa hit 'Corazón Partío', a song on the lips of fans from Spain to Cuba and the United States.

His fifth album, El Alma al Aire, released 26 September 2000, featured Sanz exploring a wider array of musical genres, including jazz, R&B, soul and tango.

[23] Later that year, El Alma al Aire was released in a special edition including Sanz's duets with Irish band The Corrs.

In October 2001, Sanz collaborated with Michael Jackson and various other artists on the Spanish version of the charity single "What More Can I Give", which benefited the victims of the September 11 attacks.

The song "Sandy a Orilla do Mundo" discusses oil spills on the Spanish coast, while "Labana" tells the story of people fleeing from Cuba on makeshift rafts.

[29] Also in 2004, he became the first Spanish musician to give a lecture at Harvard University, speaking about Hispanic culture at the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies.

[3] The first single from the album El Tren de los Momentos, "A la Primera Persona", became his first song to enter the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 100 on the chart.

[3][31] The record was also noted for its guest appearances, which featured Shakira, Juanes, Alex González of Maná, and Residente of Calle 13.

[33] To promote his new record, Paraíso Express, Sanz started a campaign in which fans could create a video about their definition of paradise and upload it to his YouTube channel.

"[35] The bilingual single "Looking for Paradise" featuring Alicia Keys reached number one on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart.

Sanz released La Música No Se Toca, featuring the single "No Me Compares" and based on the opening theme song in the telenovela Amores Verdaderos, on 25 September 2012.

[43] "It is a great honor for me to receive this doctorate degree from one of the most prestigious music schools in the world," Sanz said of the Berklee recognition.

[45] The album took a year and one month to record, and features an "eclectic sound" in Sanz's words, containing elements of flamenco, R&B, and folk music.

The album was recorded in Miami and features collaborations Camila Cabello, Nicky Jam, Residente, and Catalan singer-songwriter Judit Neddermann.

[8] While recording the album, Sanz noted that he often entered the studio with a rough idea for a song and the guest artists would "contaminate it with their rhythms...in a good way.

"[28] El Tren de los Momentos continued this pattern of musical experimentation, featuring diverse genres such as funk, jazz, and country.

[5] Despite this, Jason Birchmeier of Allmusic described his musical evolution by saying "Even as Sanz broadened his style over the years, he never ventured far from his strength: romantic songs, generally ballads, tinged with flamenco and sung wholeheartedly with his distinct voice.

"[3] Sanz is known for his distinctive raspy vocals, which he attributes to his flamenco roots, crediting singer Camarón de la Isla as a major influence.

"[50] Sanz married Mexican fashion model and actress Jaydy Michel in Bali on 30 December 1999, but this marriage was never legally recognized in either of their home countries.

[58] In January 2019, Sanz expressed support for Juan Guaidó during the Venezuelan presidential crisis during a livestreamed Instagram interview.