International
pop music superstar
Ricky Martin
is back with
a brand-new
album, Life,
the artist's
most eclectic
cross-cultural
collection to-date,
and his first
English language
album since
2000's Sound
Loaded.
Collaborating
with a "dream
team" of
writers, producers,
and artists,
Ricky Martin
co-wrote many
of the songs
on Life and
played a direct
role in the
record's production,
working with
some of the
hottest names
in the business
including Scott
Storch, Sean
Garrett, will.i.am,
Luny Tunes,
George Noriega
and Danny López,
and the hitmaking
songwriting/production
team The Matrix,
among others.
Guest artists
on Life include
Fat Joe &
Amerie (on "I
Don't Care"),
Voltio (on "I
Am"), and
Daddy Yankee
and Taboo from
B.E.P. (on "Drop
It On Me").
Portions of
Life were recorded
in Miami, Los
Angeles, and
Cairo.
Tracks
on Life include:
"Til I
Get To You,"
"I Won't
Desert You,"
"I Don't
Care,"
"Stop Time
Tonight,"
"Life,"
"I Am,"
"It's Alright,"
"Drop It
On Me,"
"This Is
Good,"
"Save The
Dance,"
"Que Mas
Da (I Don't
Care)"
(Luny Tunes
Reggaeton Mix),
and "Déjate
LLevar"
("It's
Alright"
Spanish).
"I
met with great
producers and
composers, young
people that
wanted to give
it all in their
art," Ricky
says about Life.
"We were
risking, we
were daring
to go places
that we never
went in music
and because
of it, I think
there's a lot
of spontaneity.
We weren't doing
music following
any rules. I
wanted to start
from zero, as
if it were the
first album
that I was recording,
so I could present
a new sound."
Ricky
Martin traveled
to India to
record the string
arrangements
for his groundbreaking
new album which
charts a new
multicultural
musical direction
for the artist.
Martin also
trained in Capuera,
a rigorous Brazilian
martial arts
form, in preparation
for a worldwide
promotional
tour to coincide
with the release
of his new album.
"Life,
the album, came
about because
I believe that
life is not
one-dimensional,"
said Ricky Martin.
"After
spending time
in silence,
away from the
stage, I had
the time to
travel and exchange
ideas with people
from all over
the world--Brazil,
Thailand, India,
Egypt--and from
all walks of
life. Being
influenced by
all these cultures
in a creative
process, I've
learned how
connected we
all are. I have
been able to
focus on simple
things that
make life powerful.
In each song
on my album,
we describe,
through lyrics
or music, stories
that not only
represent my
personal experiences,
but also scenarios
that I have
witnessed. As
I produced this
album, I simply
allowed life
to happen. This
album is the
result of those
experiences.
"I
believe this
album is global.
My dream is
to unite lifestyles
with my music.
That's why I
went from rock
to Middle Eastern
sounds, from
Asian to hip-hop,
from pop to
Reggaeton, making
it easy for
people from
all over the
world to relate."
"I
Don't Care,"
the first single
from Life, features
guest artists
Fat Joe and
Amerie on a
track that Billboard
praised for
its "crafty
melody that
takes less than
one listen to
haunt the eardrums.a
track deserving
of a welcome
home celebration.it
is great to
have this class
act back in
the game."
The
DualDisc edition
of Ricky Martin's
Life will include
an exclusive
behind-the-scenes
look at the
making of the
album, from
photo shoot
to video shoot,
with candid
and revelatory
commentary from
Ricky. The DualDisc
will also include
the video for
"I Don't
Care,"
the album's
first single,
as well as a
video for the
Spanish version
of the single,
"Que Mas
Da."
Life
is the first
Ricky Martin
album since
his worldwide
smash, Almas
del Silencio
(Souls of Silence)
debuted at #1
on the Billboard
Top Latin Albums
chart with the
largest first
week's sales
(65,063) of
any all-Spanish
language album
in the SoundScan
era in May 2003.
Almas
del Silencio,
the artist's
first Spanish
language album
since 1998's
Grammy-winning
Vuelve and first
album in any
language since
2000's multi-platinum
selling Sound
Loaded, went
straight to
#1 in Argentina
and #2 in Mexico.
Almas
del Silencio
was the latest
in a series
of record-breaking
recordings for
Ricky Martin,
the Grammy-winning
international
pop superstar
who's sold more
than 20 million
albums worldwide.
With his "Livin'
La Vida Loca"
single in 1999,
Ricky Martin
became the first
solo Latin male
artist of the
SoundScan era
to hit #1 on
the Hot 100.
He won the Best
Latin Pop Performance
Grammy for Vuelve,
a full-length
Latin recording,
at the 41st
Annual Grammy
ceremony in
1999. Among
Ricky's numerous
awards, he was
named World's
Best-selling
Pop Male Artist
and World's
Best-selling
Latin Artist
at the 12th
Annual World
Music Awards.
At the 10th
Annual Billboard
Music Awards,
Ricky Martin
was named Male
Artist Of The
Year and Male
Hot 100 Singles
Artist Of The
Year.
Following
the chart-topping
international
achievements
of his self-titled
English language
debut, which
was certified
7x platinum
by the RIAA,
Ricky Martin
rode the success
of Sound Loaded,
which has sold
more than 5.4
million copies
worldwide since
its release
on November
14, 2000, has
been certified
gold and/or
platinum in
26 countries,
and is RIAA
double-platinum
in the U.S.
Ricky
Martin 
