| Ricky Martin | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 11, 1999 | |||
| Studio | Various (see recording locations) | |||
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| Length | 59:16 | |||
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| Label | Columbia | |||
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| Ricky Martin chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Ricky Martin | ||||
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Ricky Martin is the fifth studio album and first English album by Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin. It was released on May 11, 1999, by Columbia Records. 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.