Advertise on this site

PIC OF THE DAY This Week more>> MOVIES Hot movies rated and reviewed by our Staff. Check out the movie(s) that received 5 perfect stars! Browse our movie gallery here. ADVERTISEMENTS ADVERTISEMENT

BIOGRAPHY

Ricky Martin
	BIOGRAPHY | GALLERY | GOSSIP

Ricky Martin, born Enrique Martin Morales on December 24, 1971 in Santurce, is a Puerto Rican pop singer who rose to fame, first as a member of the Latin boy band Menudo, then as a solo artist since 1990.

Martin is considered a major star in the world of Latin Pop, and is considered to have opened the doors for some of his fellow Latin American singers like Enrique Iglesias, Shakira, and Juanes. Livin' La Vida Loca made Ricky the first Latin American singer in history to have a U.K. number one hit.

Born to now-divorced parents Nerieda Morales and Enrique Martin Snr., Ricky Martin has four siblings: Fernando, Vanessa, Eric and Angel. As a child he participated in school extra-curricular activities and sang in the school choir, where he began to realize that his talent captivated the audiences. Through the encouragement of his dad, he began to take voice lessons, and auditioned for television advertising spots.

Martin first achieved worldwide success with his selection to replace Ricky Melendez in the Latin boy band Menudo from 1984 until 1989. His meteoric ascent to fame started in Menudo's homebase, Caguas, site of his first concert. He signed with Sony in 1990.

After he left Menudo, he decided to continue his career. He moved to Mexico City where he started acting, first in theater in productions like Mamá ama el rock, and Los tenis Rojos with Angélica María and Angélica Vale. He starred in telenovelas such as Alcanzar una estrella II and performed in the music group Muñecos de papel of that production with Sasha Sokol, Pedro Fernández, Erick Rubín, Angélica Rivera and Bibi Gaytán. In 1994, he moved to Los Angeles, California. He received a role as bartender (Miguel Morez) in the American soap opera General Hospital.

Ricky then established himself in Miami and began collaborating with music creator Desmond Child, former Menudo band-mate Robi Draco Rosa and Puerto Rican agent Angelo Medina. With these 2 in tow, Ricky created his first hit single in 1996 called "María". The song was in Spanish but had great success in the charts worldwide. After the big success of "María" and the conclusion of his busy schedule of giving concerts around the world in many countries, he came back to the studio and recorded his next album called Vuelve, while appearing in his first ever Broadway production, as the romantic lead, Marius Pontmercy in Les Miserables. Then, he was chosen to sing the anthem of the FIFA World Cup in 1998, the famous hit "The Cup of Life"/"La Copa de La Vida" that became one of the most explosive hits of the 90s, peaking high on charts worldwide.

After satisfying his fans with his Spanish material for years worldwide, he prepared his first English album. The album was self-titled and crafted by some of the music industry's most outstanding producers, such as Desmond Child, Dianne Warren, William Orbit and his long time childhood friend (producer/singer) Robi Draco Rosa. Also, the album had special guests, such as the queen of pop Madonna (on the Spanglish duet "Be Careful (Cuidado con mi Corazon)") and Meja (on the single of his album called "Private Emotion"). The first and most prominent single was the unforgettable "Livin' La Vida Loca," which became a colossal hit, climbing to #1 in many different countries and continents around the world, including the U.S., the U.K, Australia, France, Italy, Greece, Israel and Japan. This album became one of the top albums of 1999, staying at the #1 spot of the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart in the U.S. for weeks, receiving great critical approval and making him a Latin pop phenomenon around the world.

On October 11, 2005 Martin released his first English language album since 2000's Sound Loaded and the tenth album of his career. Most of the songs on the album, called Life, were co-written by Martin. Martin feels that the album is one of his more personal albums, saying "I was really in touch with my emotions. I think this album is very multi-layered, just like life is. It's about feeling anger. It's about feeling joy. It's about feeling uncertainty. It's about cuping a feeling. It's about feeling. And all my emotions are part of this production." The album debuted at #6 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart. The first single from the album was "I Don't Care"/"Que Mas Da," featuring guest appearances by Fat Joe and Amerie. The song did pretty well but grabbed more attention in Europe. After the success of I Don't Care, Ricky Martin announced his Latin American tour called Una Noche Con Ricky Martin, promoting his latest album Life. Starting in Latin America, the tour kicked-off on November 15th in Mexico City. After finishing the first leg of the tour (which included Latin America and the U.S.), he released his next single, "It's Alright" (Spanish Version: Dejate Llevar). A different version appeared in France which included additional vocals by French Hip-Hop singer Matt Pokora. The song went to number 1 in France.