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More
than a billion viewers in 187 countries across the globe felt the power and
energy of Ricky Martin's electrifying performance of "The Cup Of
Life" at the 1999 Grammy Awards ceremony; "La Copa
de la Vida," the official song of the World Cup France '98,
has been a #1 single in more than 30 countries. That same night, Ricky's
latest full-length Latin recording, Vuelve, won the Grammy
for Best Latin Pop Performance. With his magical career-defining
performance, Ricky Martin -- an international superstar who has sold more
than 15 million records worldwide and packs stadiums from Buenos Aires to
Beijing to New Delhi and beyond-- was suddenly a recognizable name and
presence in more than 24 million U.S. households. Ricky Martin,
his first English language album, is the next step in the evolution of this
remarkable talent.
"It's all
about communicating," Ricky says by way of explaining his decision to
record in English. "I will never stop singing in Spanish -- that's
who I am -- but this was always part of the plan." A labor of love
and passion, Ricky Martin has been two years in the making. "I was
not going to release this album until I was completely content with what
I'd be presenting," admits Ricky, the consummate professional and
painstaking artist. "I want to listen to my music in 30 years and
say, 'Great album!' The time for this album is now, not because I'm
ready now and I wasn't before, but because now the music is ready."
The first track off
Ricky Martin is "Livin' La Vida Loca," a sensuous
celebration of life driven by a loaded rock bass line, sexy-smart lyrics,
raw vocals and pulsating rhythms. According to Ricky, "that's the
single because I want to say, 'Hey! Boom! I'm here! Check this out!' The
song has a little bit of Latin, a little bit of ska, a little bit of rock,
there's even a little bit of the '60s, sort of a James Bond sound."
Like the single,
Ricky Martin explores an eclectic musical range. "Yes, I come from
Puerto Rico," he says, "I grew up listening to Boston,
Cheap Trick, Journey, David Bowie. When I was a kid, my brothers and I were
all into rock, rock, rock."
Ultimately,
however, Ricky got a lesson in Latin music he couldn't ignore. "One
day our mother got tired of rock," he recalls with a smile. "She
said, 'I can't stand it anymore!' and grabbed us by the ears and
took us to a Celia Cruz concert. It really affected me."
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