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View all search resultsRicky Martin: Settled in his skin
(Courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment Indonesia)Credited by TIME magazine for igniting the late 1990sâ Latin boom in the US music scene, Ricky Martin at first had to grapple with record executivesâ exhortations to quash his Puerto Rican musical roots or risk eviscerating his career
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(Courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment Indonesia) (Courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment Indonesia)
(Courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment Indonesia)
Credited by TIME magazine for igniting the late 1990s' Latin boom in the US music scene, Ricky Martin at first had to grapple with record executives' exhortations to quash his Puerto Rican musical roots or risk eviscerating his career.
But he held his ground, releasing the galloping-tempo Spanish song, 'MarÃa,' whose vigor and abandon proved too infectious for language barriers.
'[When] a big executive of the record company tells you, 'Ricky, this is the end of your career,' you just say: 'What did I do wrong?' And you start questioning your taste in music and you start doubting your capabilities, your instincts. You start doubting everything,' Martin says. 'And then the audience spoke.'
His landmark rendition of 'La Copa De La Vida' (1998 FIFA World Cup song, 'The Cup Of Life') at the 41st Grammy Awards in 1999 drew an unexpected standing ovation and his performance at the World Cup Final was broadcast to over 1 billion TV viewers.
When he reemerged in 2000 belting out 'She Bangs' ' an ode to a vixen-ish love interest who 'looks like a flower but stings like a bee', US mainstream music had found a sex symbol in his chiseled physique, boyish grin and Puerto Rican accent.
Martin sported the label without qualm, before publicly 'coming out of the closet' in March 2010.
'Yes, I consider myself Latin but it's just weird because society needs to put labels. It was funny because when the Latin boom happened I was not doing Latin sounds ' I was doing sounds that were more Anglo,' the 42-year-old single parent of twin five-year-old boys told The Jakarta Post in a phone interview.
Poster boy status aside, Martin was taken seriously as a musician, selling over 70 million albums, scooping six Grammys, eight MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) and producing 95 platinum records, while six of his albums charted number one on Billboard 200.
Now presiding as judge ' whose role is 'seducer' ' on singing competition The Voice Australia Season 2, Martin waxes nostalgic for his early musical struggles from mentoring the undiscovered vocalists that compete on the show.
'It's important to stay in touch with those emotions of uncertainty, of fear ' of, you know, the intense adrenaline and euphoria that you felt at the beginning of this musical journey,' says Martin, who occupies the iconic red judges' seat alongside former Good Charlotte front-man Joel Madden, Australian singer Kylie Minogue and rapper and producer Will.i.am.
'See, this career is extremely emotional and as you go by you start getting immune.'
Only after colossal commercial success across Latin America, Southeast Asia and Europe did Martin's record company green-light his entry to the Anglophone firmament with a self-titled English-language debut.
Initially, Martin was 'obsessed' with reconciling the demands of the US market, the Latin market and his own musical inclinations, but doing backflips to crowd-please proved exhausting.
'Now pretty much I'm just focusing on my music, obviously, on maintaining my origins and my Latin sounds [which] my audience always appreciates,' says the singer, who describes his repertoire as 'fusion pop'.
'I just focus on really what are my needs as an artist and what is it that I need to express at a certain moment of my life.'
Crossing over to the US market felt like rebooting his career, the micro-management almost harking back to Martin's 'militant' tenure during his teens with concept boy band Menudo. But after Ricky Martin (1999) ' which included the smash hit 'Livin' La Vida Loca' ' became one of the best-selling albums of all time and a definitive paving-of-the-way for Latin pop acts such as Jennifer Lopez and Enrique Iglesias, Martin wielded more creative control.
'It's been a long time since I released something that I didn't like. In the beginning of my career I did my music but I also recorded some songs the record company at the [time] thought were good for me even though I didn't like exactly what I was bringing to the table,' he admits.
Although never seeing himself as an ethnic torchbearer, Martin courted the hype surrounding his heritage, proclaiming, 'I wanna be your lover, your only Latin lover,' in 'Shake Your Bon Bon', unable to resist the line: 'Up in the Himalayas, come on I wanna lay ya'.
'I was taking advantage of whatever people wanted to call me and, yes, I was overwhelmed for a minute but I was enjoying the ride,' he says.
Involved for the second time with the official album for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, titled One Love, One Rhythm, Martin recorded 'Vida', a Spanish-English song co-written by Martin, singer-songwriter Elijah King and hip-hop producer Salaam Remi.
With an untitled bilingual album due for release in October, Martin is busy tinkering with his ever-diversifying brand of fusion-pop influenced by his work-related jet-sets as well as stints in Paris, New York and Buenos Aires ' and even an Indian ashram.
'I think that a very organic sound, obviously with the Latin rhythms, is very present,' says Martin, who promises a 'percussive' album.
'Once again it's about fusion; it's about, you know, making the world a smaller place, bringing all these Asian and Arab cultures together ' Latin, African and Anglo ' and why not?'
Martin's new single, 'Come With Me,' which he recorded in August last year while taping The Voice, is less a precursor to his new sound than a foray 'outside of his comfort zone'.
'I can tell that you're a sinner from behind your angel eyes/A beautiful deceiver/But I can handle anything you try,' he sings.
'To be honest, I'm extremely pleased,' says Martin. 'I'm just allowing myself to embark on some genres that I've never worked with and it didn't feel bad at all. At least I took a risk and it felt good, it felt right.'
With over three decades of industry experience and following a soul-searching journey to 'love the man in the mirror', which he recounts in his autobiography, Me (2010), Martin has learnt to let his heart and emotions be his compass.
'I wrote it out of a need to document what I have been through in order for my kids to eventually read the book. And it's pretty much a part of my [endeavor] for people to understand the importance of being in touch with your emotions in all aspects of life but especially in this industry.'
