Ricky Martin is the first English album and fifth studio album by Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin. Columbia Records released it on May 11, 1999. Following the release of four Spanish-language albums, and the huge success of his fourth studio album, Vuelve (1998), Martin announced the recording of his first English-language album. He worked with producers KC Porter, Robi Rosa, and Desmond Child to create the album. Musically, Ricky Martin consists of dance-pop tracks, power ballads, mid-tempo pop songs, and rock numbers. After the album's release, Martin embarked on the worldwide Livin' la Vida Loca Tour, which was the highest-grossing tour of 2000 by a Latin artist.
The album was supported by four singles. The lead single "Livin' la Vida Loca" topped the charts in more than 20 countries and is considered to be Martin's biggest hit and one of the best-selling singles of all time. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for five consecutive weeks, becoming Martin's first number one single on the chart. Follow-up singles "She's All I Ever Had", "Shake Your Bon-Bon", and "Private Emotion" became number one and top 10 hits around the world. Ricky Martin received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who complimented its various genres and styles. Paste ranked the album as one of the "10 Best Solo Albums by Former Boy Band Members" in 2020. It was nominated for Best Pop Album at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards.
The album was a commercial success. It debuted atop the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 661,000 copies, becoming the largest sales week by any album in 1999 and breaking the record as the largest first-week sales for any pop or Latin artist in history. Additionally, it made Martin the first male Latin act in history to debut at number one on Billboard 200. Ricky Martin also topped the charts in Australia, Canada, and Spain, among others. The album has received several certifications, including 7× platinum in the United States, and diamond in Canada. Only within three months, it became the best-selling album ever by a Latin artist. It is generally seen as the album that began the "Latin explosion" and paved the way for a large number of other Latin artists such as Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, Christina Aguilera, Marc Anthony, Santana, and Enrique Iglesias.
Background and recording
In 1998, Ricky Martin released his fourth studio album, Vuelve. The album experienced both critical and commercial success, spending 26 weeks atop the US Billboard Top Latin Albums chart. "La Copa de la Vida" was released as the second single from the album, and became the official song of the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France. It topped the charts in more than 30 countries, and Martin performed it at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards, which was greeted with a massive standing ovation and met with acclaim from music critics. On October 22, 1998, CNN confirmed that Martin had started working on his first English language album, following the huge success of Vuelve. On March 6, 1999, almost two weeks after his Grammy performance, it was announced that the album had been set for release in May. While the album was still untitled at the time, American musician Diane Warren revealed that she contributed two songs to the album, which was produced by KC Porter, Robi Rosa, and Desmond Child. During an interview with the Orlando Sentinel, Martin told the newspaper that this album has Asian influences:
On April 24, 1999, Billboard revealed the album's title as eponymous in an article, mentioning that it was initially set for retail on May 25, 1999. However, the huge interest in the disc encouraged Columbia Records to decide to rush the album to release two weeks ahead of schedule, on May 11. Tom Corson, the senior vice president of marketing at Columbia explained: "Quite simply, the market has demanded it. People have been wanting this record for a while, and it's now reached the point where we have to get it out there immediately." Tim Devin, the general manager of Tower Records in New York added about Martin: "He's always been one of our strongest Latin artists, but interest in him has picked up considerably since that performance." In an interview with MTV, Martin told the channel about the album's title: "I cannot wear a mask to go on stage. Those are my influences. This is Ricky Martin. That's why the album is called Ricky Martin. As simple is that. We want to keep it simple. Like Einstein said, 'Let's make it simple, but not simpler than what it is.' And this is me."
Music and lyrics
Ricky Martin is a primarily English language album composed of 14 songs, consisting dance-pop tracks, power ballads, mid-tempo pop songs, and "straight-ahead" rock numbers. Ed Morales from Democrat and Chronicle stated that the album "runs the gamut from ska and rock' n' roll to Latin pop". "Livin' la Vida Loca" () is a rock-etched up-tempo pop song that features Latin percussion rhythms and horn riffs mixed with surf rock-inspired guitar riffs. It has salsa-rock fusion influences, and is about an irresistible, particularly sinister wild woman who lives on the edge, seducing others into her crazy world. The album also contains a Spanish-language version of "Livin' la Vida Loca", which was recorded under the same title.
In "Spanish Eyes", Martin refers to sultriness, tango, and dance over salsa descarga and up-tempo beats. The ballad "She's All I Ever Had" uses an Indian guitar and lyrically, is the tale of a man missing his woman, as he continues to live and breathe for her. It also has a Spanish version titled "Bella" (). Martin dedicated the track to his grandmother who died a year earlier. "Shake Your Bon-Bon" is a salsa party track and features a mix of pop, R&B, Middle Eastern riffs, and Latin horns, as well as a fusion of Latin percussion with retro organ. A Spanglish guitar-based down-tempo duet along with Madonna, "Be Careful (Cuidado con mi corazón)" mixes acoustic and electronic elements.
"I Am Made of You" is a "metal-type" ballad and uses electric guitar and drums that create a theme of "nostalgia and rock", while "Love You for a Day" is a "high-energy" Latin funk track featuring Latin elements, such as lengthy descargas, piano tumbaos, Latin percussion, and horns. The ballad "Private Emotion", which features a guest appearance by Swedish singer Meja is a cover version of a song under the same title by the Hooters for their fifth studio album Out of Body (1993). "You Stay With Me" is a slow ballad with "heart-wrenching" lyrics, and "I Count the Minutes" is a homage to the 1980s. Ricky Martin also features the Spanglish radio edit versions of "La Copa de la Vida" and "María", which were released as singles for Martin's previous albums. This version of "María" is remixed by Puerto Rican DJ Pablo Flores, who upped the tempo and the sex appeal of the song, turning the slow-burn flamenco laced track into an up-tempo samba tune in a house bassline. "La Copa de la Vida" is a samba-rooted Latin pop song, and features elements of batucada, salsa, dance, mambo, and Europop. Throughout the song, Martin carries a "soccer-heavy" message with fully positive lyrics.
Singles Columbia Records released "Livin' la Vida Loca" to radio stations on March 23, 1999, as the lead single from the album. The song topped the charts in more than 20 countries and is considered to be Martin's biggest hit, and one of the best-selling singles of all time. In the United States, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for five consecutive weeks, becoming Martin's first number one single on the chart. Additionally, it broke several records on Billboard charts. It also spent eight consecutive weeks atop the Canada Top Singles chart and topped the country's year-end chart.Citations regarding the weekly chart performance for "Livin' la Vida Loca" in Canada:
In the United Kingdom, it debuted at number one and stayed there for three weeks, making Martin the first Puerto Rican artist in history to hit number one. The track was ranked as the best '90s pop song by Elle, and was listed among the Best Latin Songs of All Time by Billboard. It was nominated for four categories at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Its Spanish version reached the summit of the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart in the United States, and was nominated for Record of the Year at the 2000 Latin Grammy Awards.
"She's All I Ever Had" was released as the second single from the album on June 15, 1999. It peaked at numbers two and three on the US Billboard Hot 100 and Canada Top Singles charts, respectively. The Spanish version, "Bella" topped the charts in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Panama, as well as Billboards Hot Latin Tracks chart. It also peaked at number two in Honduras, Nicaragua, and Puerto Rico. The third single from Ricky Martin, "Shake Your Bon-Bon" was released on October 12, 1999; it reached the top 10 in Canada, Finland, and New Zealand, as well as the top 15 in Spain, Scotland, and the United Kingdom. In the United States, it peaked at number 22 on the Hot 100. The album's final single, "Private Emotion", was launched on February 8, 2000. It reached number one in the Czech Republic, and was a top 10 hit in Finland, Norway, Scotland, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Music videos were filmed for both English and Spanish versions of "Livin' la Vida Loca", "She's All I Ever Had", "Bella", "Shake Your Bon-Bon", and "Private Emotion".
Marketing Release Ricky Martin was released worldwide by Columbia Records on May 11, 1999. The European edition of Ricky Martin includes the Spanish version of "Spanish Eyes", titled "La Diosa Del Carnaval" (), as well as a new track "I'm On My Way", while the Spanglish radio edit versions of "La Copa de la Vida" and "María" are not featured. This track list has been also used for the African, Asian, and Latin American editions. The Chinese edition contains both "La Copa de la Vida" and "María" in addition to the standard Asian track list. The Spanish release uses the same track list as the European, but "Por Arriba, Por Abajo" () from Martin's previous album, Vuelve, has been added as a hidden track as well. According to The Wall Street Journal, Martin succeeded Leonardo DiCaprio as "the reigning king of heartthrobs" to become the most popular male celebrity on the American shopping website eBay in 1999, following the album's release. Many Martin products and items were on sale at the time, such as his posters, autographs, Pepsi cans, wall clocks, plastic dolls, autographed Ricky Martin CDs, and "Livin' la Vida Loca" sheet musics.
Live performances