Ricky Martin (1999 album)

Critical reception

In a contemporary review for The Village Voice, music critic Robert 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senior editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album four out of five stars and said that despite moments of filler and outdated production, its songs are balanced well between uptempo dance-pop songs, power ballads, and midtempo pop songs on "a big, bold album with something to please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.

Chart performance

Ricky Martin has sold 22 million copies worldwide, becoming Martin's best selling album.

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. 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 Billboard Hot 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" (Spanish-language version of "She's All I Ever Had") 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, the third biggest behind Backstreet Boys' 'Millennium' with 2.2 million and Japanese Hikaru Utada's 'First Love' with 2.1 million copies sold in its first week

Awards

Ricky Martin was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 42nd Grammy Awards. It won the Japan Gold Disc Awards for International Pop Album of the Year, American Music Award for Favorite Latin Artist, and was nominated for the Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist. It was also nominated for the Juno Award for International Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2000. Also nominated an Blockbuster Entertainment Awards 2000 for the Favorite CD.

Track listing