Ricky Martin: Living a crazy life
by Ricky Martin

Before September 1997, Ricky Martin was just another Latin singer. His first single "Maria," from his album "Vuelve," had only sporadic airplay on local stations in Singapore. And when he visited Asia for a promotional tour at the end of 1997, the media were generally lukewarm toward his music and him as an artist.

Fast forward to mid-1998. Staging a dramatic turnabout, that same single "Maria" had managed to scale the local charts. But that wasn't the whole story. His other single "Copa La De Vida" had also exploded across Asia like wildfire, mainly due to the fact that it was the official theme song of World Cup '98.

Suddenly, Ricky was the most sought-after artist of 1998. "Vuelve" started to sell at a furious rate all across the Asian region as fans lapped up whatever they could uncover about Ricky -- from press coverage to interviews to recordings.

Looking back...

Ricky Martin was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He joined the choir at a very young age. At six, he began to appear in television commercials, but his breakthrough in the music industry came when he became a part of the Latin teen sensation, Menudo.

The band toured and recorded extensively for five years before Ricky realized it was time to make his departure. In 1989, he went to Mexico and became an actor and a singer. His first solo album earned him eight gold records in Latin and North America. He subsequently released his second album, "Me Amaras."

Shortly after, Ricky moved to Los Angeles, where he starred in the famous soap opera, "General Hospital." He also found time to appear in the Broadway musical, "Les Miserables." Here in the U.S., he released his third solo album, "A Medio Vivir."

Up till then, Ricky's reputation and record sales were mainly confined to Spain, Latin and North America. All that changed with his first single from his next album, "Vuelve." Despite a delayed reaction in Asia, the Spanish song "Maria" eventually stole its way into the hearts of Asians. Following that, Sony Music pursued an aggressive promotional campaign for Ricky across Asia -- from arranging promotional tours to holding video conferences for the Asian media.

Demand for Ricky increased throughout the rest of 1998. It was in November that Ricky's popularity reached a pinnacle with the staging of his Vuelve Asian Concert Tour.

The year now is 1999. His performance at the Grammy Awards (during which he won Best Latin Pop Performance) has earned him admiration from the likes of Madonna and Pavarotti. This year, he was also busy preparing the release of his first self-titled English album, which features the super-raunchy single, "Livin' The Vida Loca." In fact, the video was so raunchy that MTV Asia had to make a few changes to make it more "politically correct."

With his English album out in the stores, Ricky is poised to visit Asia once again to promote his latest release. If you long to sample what it's like living a crazy life, watch out for the singer sometime in August when he storms into Singapore for a promotional tour.

	Full name: Enrique Martin Morales
	Born: December 24, 1971
	Birth place: Puerto Rico
	Discography: "Ricky Martin" (1999), "Vuelve" (1998), "A Medio Vivir" (1995), "Me Amaras" (1993), "Ricky Martin" (1991)
	Official Web site: http://www.rickymartin.com