Ricky Martin is the fifth studio album by the Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin released on Columbia Records on May 11, 1999. The album is one of the best selling albums of all time and has sold more than 15 million copies, worldwide. This album is Martin's third which marketed in the United States and is his first album in English. Ricky Martin includes the singer’s first number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 "Livin' la Vida Loca" and his second top ten hit "She's All I Ever Had".
Critical reception
In a contemporary review for The Village Voice, music criticRobert Christgau gave Ricky Martin a "C" and dismissed its "slicked-up rhythm workouts and romantic pap" as conventional tactics from "one more crappy pop star". Rolling Stone magazine's James Hunter gave it three out of five stars and felt it lacks the excitement of Martin's 1998 album Vuelve because of its remixes and Diane Warren-penned songs. However, he said that Martin's take on Latin pop is made interesting enough by highlights such as "Livin' la Vida Loca", "Shake Your Bon-Bon", and the "perfectly constructed ballad" sung with Madonna. In a retrospective review for AllMusic, senior editorStephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album four out of five stars and said that despite moments of filler and outdated production, its songs are balanced well between uptempo dance-pop songs, power ballads, and midtempo pop songs on "a big, bold album with something to please everyone, from his longtime Latin fans to housewives with a weakness for dramatic ballads.
Commercial performance
Ricky Martin has sold 15 million copies worldwide, becoming Martin's best selling album and one of the best-selling albums of all time. It peaked at number one in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Finland and Norway, and reached top ten elsewhere, including number two in the United Kingdom. The album sold 661,000 copies in its first week in the United States and debuted there at number one on the US Billboard 200. The next week it sold 458,000 copies. After selling seven million copies, the album was certified 7× Platinum in the United States. Also, after selling one million copies in Canada and in Japan, it was certified with Diamond and Million awards, respectively. In Europe, Ricky Martin received 2× Platinum IFPI award for selling there two million copies. The album includes Martin's biggest worldwide hit, "Livin' la Vida Loca", which reached number one on the BillboardHot 100, and also topped the charts in Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland and New Zealand. Second single, "She's All I Ever Had" peaked at number two in the United States. On the Hot Latin Songs, "Livin' la Vida Loca" topped the chart for nine weeks, and "Bella" also reached the top for three weeks. Worldwide it was the fourth best selling album with 13.1 million copies sold in 1999, its debut that week worldwide was of nearly 1.7 million copies sold. It was also the third best-selling album of the year in the United States behind Backstreet Boys' Millennium and Britney Spears' ...Baby One More Time.
