Ricky Martin

Today we'll be dealing with a person who needs no introduction: he's very well known all over the world. He was a charming child star, who grew up to be a beautiful young man and is now an very handsome daddy. Dedicated to my good friend Carlos (if you're reading this, lots of love from me, Ito), here's Puerto Rico's own Ricky Martin.

Named Enrique Jose Martin Morales by his parents, Enrique Martin Negroni and Nereida Morales, Ricky was born on December 24, 1971, in Hato Rey, a small peninsula located in the area of Puerto Rico's capital city, San Juan. Martin in an interview with Vanity Fair described his origins as Spanish, with Basque ancestry from his great-grandparents, plus some Corsican through his paternal grandmother.

His interest in performing arts had been apparent to everyone since he was still a student of Colegio Sagrado Corazon grade school, for the little boy was actively involved in its plays and choir. Taking singing lessons and some auditions for TV commercials, he successfully joined a Latin boy band, Menudo, at the age of 12 with the encouragement of his separated parents who had their divorce when he was merely 2 years old.

The first Menudo album that he appeared on was Evolución (1984). He sang lead vocal on Rayo De Luna, one of the group's most popular songs of the era.

If you prefer to hear the song in English, Ricky obliged by recording it as Oh, My Love in their next album called Menudo (1985). Here's a live version in Miami, 1986:

From their next album, Ayer Y Hoy (Yesterday and Today/1985), here's Me Siento Bien Con Mis Amigos (I Feel Good With My Friends):

From Refrescante (Refreshing/1986), here's Con Un Beso Y Una Flor (With A Kiss And A Flower):

Although Martin enjoyed traveling and performing onstage with Menudo, he found the band's busy schedule and strict managing to be exhausting and later reflected that the experience "cost" him his childhood. He considered leaving the group while on tour in Brazil, but ultimately decided to stay out of fear of media backlash and being sued for breach of contract. Martin also began struggling with his sexuality, noting the stark contrast between his status as a sex symbol and his own emotions.

Ricky Martin's last album with Menudo came in 1988 and was called Sombras & Figuras (Shadows and Figures). Here he sings Auxilio (Help):

Following his departure, Ricky went to New York with the purpose to develop a solo career, but he soon found out that it was such a hard task, since there was no career prospects for him. Unemployed for a year, he went to Mexico, which turned out to be a right decision for he later earned a role in the musical play "Mama ama el Rock" and even secured a record deal with Sony. As his debut album came out in 1991, people also began to notice him in the regular cast of the Mexican soap opera, "Alcanzar una Estrella II." The self-titled album sold 500,000 copies worldwide to become one of the highest debuts for a Latin artist under Sony, leading Ricky to a considerable national popularity. First single was Fuego Contra Fuego (Fire Against Fire) and peaked at #3 on the US Latin chart.

Second single El Amor de Mi Vida (The Love of My Life) peaked at #8 on the US Latin chart.

From his second album Me Amarás (You'll Love Me/1993), the title track peaked at #6 on the US Latin chart.

After this album, Ricky headed back to North America, this time deciding to go to Los Angeles. He turned his attention to acting for a while, and managed to appear on an episode of the NBC comedy series, "Getting By" (1993-1994). Ricky then satisfyingly took one step further when ABC gave him the role of Miguel Morez in its long-running series, "General Hospital". During this period, he returned to music, entering the recording studio to work on his third album which later was entitled A Medio Vivir (In The Midst Of Living/1995). A collection of Pop, Rock and Latin tunes, it immediately became a hit around the world with 600,000 copies sold within six months and ultimately selling over three million copies, worldwide. That number includes 1.3 million copies sold in Europe.

Lead single Te Extraño, Te Olvido, Te Amo (I Miss You, I Forget You, I Love You) peaked at #9 on the US Latin chart (#2 Latin Pop), but also at #4 in France, where it went gold.

His next single, María was his international breakthrough: a #1 hit in Australia and France, #2 Latin Pop, #3 in Germany, Sweden and Switzerland, #6 in the UK, #9 in Finland and #11 in Spain. It was also his first US Hot 100 hit, albeit at #88.

In 1997 he had a #10 US Latin Pop hit with the song from Hercules, No Importa La Distancia (Go The Distance):

His next album, Vuelve (Come Back/1998), was even bigger, selling over 8 million copies, worldwide. The album's biggest hit, La Copa de la Vida (The Cup Of Life), became the official song of the 1998 FIFA World Cup and topped the charts in many countries around the world (Germany, France, Australia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland).

Ricky Martin was already a superstar. His next album, however, which came out in 1999 with his name as the title, made him a megastar. The album is one of the best selling albums of all time and has sold 22 million copies, worldwide. It's his first album in English.

His biggest and most enduring hit came out of this album: Livin' la Vida Loca gave him his first #1 in the US as well as in the UK and was a big Top 10 hit everywhere else.

His next album, Sound Loaded (2000) also did very well, with worldwide sales of over eight million copies. Biggest hit of the album was She Bangs (#12 in the US, Top 5 in most of Europe). Since most of you know the English language version, here's the Spanish language one:

Another big international hit from this album was Nobody Wants to Be Lonely, a duet with Christina Aguilera.

Almas del Silencio (Souls from the Silence) is the seventh album and the first Spanish language album by Ricky Martin since 1998's Vuelve. It was released on May 20, 2003. It includes Asignatura Pendiente (Pending Subject), inspired by the first time Martin left Puerto Rico to tour with Menudo.

His next album, Life (2005), was one of his most personal releases to date. The big hit from this album was I Don't Care (ft. Fat Joe & Amerie).

His MTV Unplugged (2006) album featured Tu Recuerdo (I Remember You). Singing with him are La Mari De Chambao.

Lo Mejor de Mi Vida Eres Tú (The Best Thing About Me Is You/2010), as were many other of his hits, was released in two versions. The English language version featured Joss Stone while the Spanish language version featured Natalia Jimenez. Here's the latter:

Aside from his professional singing career, Ricky is also well known for his humanitarian efforts, especially where children are concerned. Through the "Ricky Martin Foundation," he participated in the battle against child prostitution, pornography, and trafficking. Another project was to donate a million dollar's worth of musical instruments to Puerto Rican public schools and to fight for children's rights on a global basis under the People for Children program. However, this does not mean that he ignored other pressing issues such as building and restoring houses for the Tsunami victims in Phang Nga province, Thailand and being an active supporter of the Pediatric AIDS Foundation, the Carousel of Hope, and the Rainforest Foundation.

After the success of Livin' la Vida Loca, Martin's personal life became a subject of interest due to his large gay following, and he was questioned about his sexual orientation. In a December 2000 interview with The Mirror, Martin was asked to comment on the rumors surrounding his sexuality. He replied that "I don't think I should have to tell anyone if I am gay or not, or who I've slept with or not." On March 29, 2010, he publicly acknowledged his homosexuality in a post on his official website stating, "I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am." Martin said that "these years in silence and reflection made me stronger and reminded me that acceptance has to come from within, and that this kind of truth gives me the power to conquer emotions I didn't even know existed."

In 2011, during his acceptance speech of the Vito Russo Award. Martin publicly thanked his boyfriend, Carlos González Abella, an economist. His relationship with González Abella ended in January 2014. Martin has also expressed support for same-sex marriage in an interview on Larry King Live, and commented on his experience of being closeted and coming out. "Everything about saying that I am gay feels right...", Martin stated, adding "if I'd known how good it was going to feel, I would have done it ten years ago." Ricky Martin delivered a speech at the UN homophobia conference on November 12, 2012. As of April 2016, he is dating Syrian Swedish painter Jwan Yosef. Ricky's twin sons Matteo and Valentino were born using a surrogate in 2008.

Ricky continues making hit records till today. Although never reaching the commercial heights of the period 1995-2005, he still manages to collect his gold and platinum records, while making good music. His latest album came out in 2015. The single La Mordidita (ft. Yotuel) made #1 on the US Latin Pop chart, also in Venezuela and in the Dominican Republic, #3 in Spain and #13 in Mexico.