Pop Reviews : Julio Iglesias’ Formula Wears Well

So what is it about Julio Iglesias--this skinny guy with a receding hairline and a risky-looking suntan--that makes audiences go nuts?

All the international singing sensation did Wednesday night at Universal Amphitheatre was root himself to the center of the stage and close his eyes as he occasionally reached up to splay his hand across his chest.

The answer, of course, has a lot more to do with image and style than with any inherent musicality. Iglesias has been a big-time international star for decades, and he’s done it with a classic combination of sex appeal, vulnerability and intelligently chosen repertoire.

His program at the Amphitheatre--where his four-night engagement continues tonight, Saturday and Monday--was a perfect illustration of how well the packaging works. Backed by a crisp but essentially anonymous six-piece band and (wisely, for the less entranced male members of the crowd) an eye-catching trio of female singers, Iglesias reached across a wide array of styles.

The Spanish-language hits were carefully interlaced with a Brazilian medley (two bossa novas, one samba), a Jacques Brel tune, an Italian number, a Nat King Cole-inspired reading of “Mona Lisa” and, predictably, “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before.” His between-songs, two-language raps were quiet and warmly communicative.