Ricky Martin hit #1 with “Livin’ La Vida Loca”

Livin’ La Vida Loca Ricky Martin

Writer(s): Desmond Child, Robi Rosa (see lyrics here) Released: March 23, 1999 First Charted: April 9, 1999 Peak: 15 US, 17 RR, 18 AC, 16 A40, 13 UK, 18 CN, 4 AU, 7 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.7 US, 0.78 UK, 8.0 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 0.4 radio, 620.41 video, 406.53 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Ricky Martin was born Enrique Martin Morales in 1971 in Puerto Rico. He joined the boy band Menudo in 1984. He went solo five years later and became a regular on a Mexican soap opera. He had two successful Spanish-language albums and then made the leap to American TV on the soap opera General Hospital. He also landed a role on Broadway in Les Miserables. In New York, he met songwriter and producer Robi Rosa, who produced his next album. Rosa often worked with songwriter Desmond Child, who’d written Kiss’ “I Was Made for Lovin’ You,” Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer,” Michael Bolton’s “How Can We Be Lovers,” and Cher’s “Just Like Jesse James.” Rosa and Child wrote “La Copa De La Vida (The Cup of Life)” for Martin’s next album and it became the theme song for the World Cup in Paris. At this point, he wasn’t a household name, but he was a big enough name in Latin music to land a slot performing the song at the 1999 Grammys. His “knock-out performance” FB was one of “just a handful of television performances that could be considered defining moments in an artist’s career.” FB His first English-language album followed that year. It included another Rosa and Child-penned song – “Livin’ La Vida Loca.” The song combined Latin, Afro-Cuban, and Brazilian rhythms with an “arena rock chant” and a piano style associated with salsa music. Child said that Martin reminded him of a Latin Elvis. FB He felt the song title “embodied Ricky’s zest for life and the kind of risk-taking that living a very fast life all over the world…entails.” FB The song was about “an irrestible, particularly sinister wild woman who lives on the edge, seducing others into her crazy world.” WK It was accompanied by “an energetic and sexy video” KL and was well received by critics such as Billboard’s Chuck Taylor, who called it “electrifying” and “filled with life.” WK Chicago Tribune’s Greg Kot called it “the year’s most ubiquitous hit single” WK and Elle magazine named ith the “best ‘90s pop song.” WK Entertainment Tonight’s Liz Calvario called it “part of pop culture history.” WK It hit #1 in 20 countries WK and Martin ended up at the helm of a Latin-pop movement in the U.S. which saw “subsequent chart-toppers by Jennifer Lopez, Enrique Iglesias, Christina Aguilera, and Santana.” FB Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Ricky Martin FB Fred Bronson (2007). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (4th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 881. KL Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh. (2005). 1000 UK Number One Hits. Omnibus Press: London, UK. Pages 484-5. WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 4/16/2022; last updated 4/24/2024.