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Biography
Ricky Martin, the tireless international
superstar who detonated the Latin Pop Explosion, is back with Sound
Loaded, the eagerly-awaited follow-up to his phenomenal English language
debut album, which has sold 15 million copies worldwide and has been
certified seven times RIAA-platinum in the United States since its
release in 1999. With Sound Loaded, Ricky charts further his path of
artistic growth, continuing to find new ways of blending el ritmo with
elements of Pop, Rock, and Funk. Ricky's worldwide fanbase, which has
grown exponentially with each of his releases, will not be disappointed
with Sound Loaded. While remaining true to his Latin music roots, Ricky
extends the possibilities of his music with 15 brand-new tracks ranging
from heart-stopping ballads to booty-stomping party anthems.
Taking time off from his exhaustive tour schedule to record Sound Loaded
earlier this year, Ricky assembled his dream writing/production team,
many of whom helped him create the magic of Ricky Martin: Robi Rosa,
Walter Afanasieff, Desmond Child, George Noriega, Emilio Estefan, Jr.,
Randall Barlow, Steve Morales, Mark Taylor, KC Porter.
Sound Loaded kicks off with Ricky's latest hit single, "She
Bangs," a frenetic hook-packed tribute to a wild woman who bumps la
vida loca up a couple of notches. (The album also includes a Spanish
language version of the song.) The album's remaining songs--"Saint
Tropeze," "Come To Me," "Loaded," "Nobody
Wants To Be Lonely," "Amor," "Jezabel,"
"The Touch," "One Night Man," "Are You In It
For Love," "Ven A Mí (Come To Me)," "If You Ever
Saw Her," "Dame Más (Loaded)" and "Cambia La Piel"--provide
a musical portrait of Ricky Martin now as well as the soundtrack to a
nonstop Latin Pop Dance Music Party (with candlelit couches in the
corners for interludes of amor.)
Born in Puerto Rico, Ricky Martin first came to the attention of
American audiences for acting stints including the role of Marius in
"Les Misérables" on Broadway.
For more than a decade, Ricky Martin watched his popularity escalate
around the world, even as he remained under the radar of stateside
audiences. And then…
More than a billion television viewers in 187 countries across the globe
felt the full force of Rickymania when he performed "The Cup Of
Life" at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards ceremonies in February 1999.
Ricky's single, "La Copa de la Vida," was the official song of
the World Cup France '98 and has been a #1 single in more than 30
countries. That same night, Ricky's full-length Latin recording Vuelve
won the Grammy for Best Latin Pop Performance.
In April 1999, when the true first week's sales (280,000) were tallied
on Ricky's "Livin' La Vida Loca," the blockbuster single shot
to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became the single with the highest #1
sales figures in Columbia Records history and the highest single week's
sales figures in 1999. Ricky Martin became the first solo Latin male
artist of the SoundScan era to hit #1 on the Hot 100 and the first male
artist to have the #1 single on the Hot 100 in more than a year. "Livin'
La Vida Loca" had the highest single week's sales figures of any
single released in 1999. "Livin' La Vida Loca" became the #1
single in five international markets including the United States, the
United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and Ireland.
Released on May 11, 1999, Ricky Martin, Ricky's English language debut
album, debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart with the highest
first week's sales (more than 660,000) in Columbia Records history. A
international success story, Ricky Martin became the #1 album in ten
international markets including the United States, Canada, Australia,
Japan, Spain, Norway, Finland, New Zealand, and the pan-European Music
Media chart. Ricky Martin has been certified platinum (or better) in
some 33 countries.
Ricky Martin has kept extremely busy since the release of English
language debut. As his "Livin' La Vida Loca" became the party
anthem of the new millennium (winning two MTV Video Music Awards--Best
Dance Video & Best Pop Video--in the process), Martin embarked on
one of the best-selling tours in modern concert history, selling out
more than 250 concerts in some 25 countries.
When dates for Ricky Martin's anxiously-awaited American tour were
announced, each of the venues sold-out within an hour (in some cases,
within minutes!) of going on sale. Due to an unprecedented demand for
tickets, 11 new dates were added to Ricky's SRO tour itinerary. By
tour's end, Ricky Martin had performed to more than 500,000 people
across the country and sold some $22.6 million dollars worth of tickets.
A Ricky Martin performance at London's Hyde Park drew more than 100,000
fans.
Ricky Martin's mantelpiece is jam-packed with awards. In 1999, in
addition to his Vuelve Grammy, he walked off with two Billboard Latin
Music Awards: Album Of The Year (Vuelve) and Hot Latin Track Of The Year
("Vuelve"). The 1999 MTV Video Music Awards gave Ricky's
"Livin' La Vida Loca" two awards: Best Dance Video and Best
Pop Video; he also won the MTV North Latin Viewer's Choice Award, the
MTV South Latin Viewer's Choice Award and the MTV Russia Viewer's Choice
Award. Ricky was named the World's Best Selling Latin Male at the World
Music Awards and won Favorite Male Artist at the Teen Choice Awards. He
was named Male Artist Of The Year and Male Hot 100 Singles Artist Of The
Year at the 10th Annual Billboard Music Awards.
He was named Male Entertainer of the Year at this year's American Latino
Media Arts Awards while "Livin' La Vida Loca" was named Latin
Pop Track of the Year at the 7th Annual Billboard Latin Music Awards.
Ricky Martin was named World's Best-selling Pop Male Artist and World's
Best-selling Latin Artist at the 12th Annual World Music Awards. The
video for Ricky's "Shake Your Bon Bon" has been nominated for
Best Male Video and Best Dance Video in this year's MTV Video Music
Awards.
Ricky Martin was the star of "Ricky Martin: One Night Only!,"
his first network television special. Filmed at New York's Liberty Park
Directed by Emmy Award winner Ken Ehrlich, "Ricky Martin: One Night
Only!" premiered on Friday, November 26, on CBS and captured a
7.6/14 share rating. A home video of the show has been certified
platinum by the RIAA, as has "The Ricky Martin Video
Collection."
Picked by People magazine has one of the World's 50 Most Beautiful
People, Ricky Martin has been the subject of major pieces in Time,
Vanity Fair, Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone, People, Interview, TV
Guide, and many others. Ricky has been named "Entertainer Of The
Year" by Entertainment Weekly and is one of People's 25 Most
Intriguing People Of '99. Ricky Martin was one of the subjects on the
annual "Barbara Walters Oscar Special."
Throughout his career, Ricky Martin has remained true to his Puerto
Rican roots and the Hispanic/Latino fanbase that first made him a star.
A peerless musical ambassador (who's also fluent in five languages!),
Ricky has introduced Latin Pop music to markets around the world
including the United States, England, Japan, China, Germany, and many
others.
He continues to perform and record in
Spanish and often visits his native Puerto Rico. At his appearance at
the first annual Latin Grammy Awards, Ricky acknowledged the enormous
cultural and musical contributions of the legendary Tito Puente, the
master of mambo who passed away this year.
Ricky Martin is an active participant in many social causes including
the Pediatric AIDS Foundation, the Luciano Pavarotti & Friends
fundraising concerts, the Carousel of Hope, the Rainforest Foundation,
and others.
Ricky was chosen, along with Félix
Trinidad in 1999, to lead Puerto Rico's worldwide tourism campaign, both
exemplifying Puerto Rico's youthfulness, enthusiasm and never give up
character.
Martin has also teamed up with former
Menudo bandmate Robi Rosa, who wrote many of Ricky's hits. Martin
recently adopted three little girls from India.
In 2003, Martin announced that he and his
agent, Angelo Medina, have parted ways.
In February of 2004, Martin received a
lifetime achievement award at the Premios Lo Nuestro in Miami. Also
during the spring of that year, Martin's song "She Bangs"
received a pathetic rendition from American Idol reject William Hung.
The Ricky Martin Foundation created a
project called People For Children, which aims to eliminate the industry
of sexual exploitation and trafficking of children worldwide.
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