Ricky Martin strikes again

Ricky Martin is back, this time with an all-Spanish album.

HIS DEBUT album was a sellout. With “Maria”, he introduced a new genre of music called Spanglish-pop. “Cup Of Life”, the official anthem for the 1999 Football World Cup, stayed on top of the charts for a record number of weeks. The single “Livin’ La Vida Loca” repeated his initial success even after he collaborated with the likes of Christina Aguilera. Then he came out with a self-titled, all-English album, after which he goes completely Spanish and hits the music stands with Almas Del Silencio (Sony Music, Cassette, Rs. 135).

Well, if you didn’t guess already, that is Ricky Martin for you.

Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on December 24, 1971, Ricky Martin developed a flair for theatre in grade school, where he acted in school plays and sang in the school choir. Then he went on to model for a couple of television commercials and also took singing lessons.

Ricky discovered a Latin boy music group called Munudo, was accepted into the group in 1984 and stayed with it five years. The young boy also tried his hand at a couple of TV serials. Finally, in 1995, Ricky released his first ever album in Spanish — A Medio Vivir, which became pretty popular in Spain reaching sales of over 5,00,000. But it was in 1998, with the release of Vuelve, that Ricky Martin became a household name. With “Maria” and “Cup Of Life”, he became a teen idol. It does not matter if you do not know a single word of Spanish, you can feel the music sinking into you, and Ricky’s sensuous vocals do wonders to the slower tracks in the album and of course, one can find his energetic, jumpy flavour in fast ones like “Jaleo”, the first single. So, simply forget the language and go for the music.

A. VISHNU

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With love from Spain – and Ricky Martin

The king of Latino-Pop is back – this time with an all-Spanish album.

HIS DEBUT album was a sell-out. With Maria, he introduced a new genre of music called Spanglish-pop. Cup Of Life, the official anthem for the 1999 Football World Cup stayed on top of the charts for a record number of weeks. The single Livin’ La Vida Loca repeated his initial success – after collaborating with the likes of Christina Aguilera and later releasing his self-titled all-English album, he goes completely Spanish this time round – and hits the music stands with Almas Del Silencio (Sony Music. Cassette: Rs 135). Well, if you didn’t guess already, that’s Ricky Martin for you.

Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on December 24, 1971, Ricky Martin developed a flair for theatre in grade school, where he acted in school plays and sang in the school choir. Little later, he modelled for a couple of television commercials and took singing lessons side-by-side. Young Ricky discovered a Latin boy music group called Munudo and rushed to the auditions for the group – after being rejected initially as he was too young, he was finally accepted into the group in 1984 – and stuck with them for five years.

Later, during his teens, he idolised artistes and bands like David Bowie, Boston, and Cheap Trick.

Meanwhile, he tried his hand at a couple of TV serials – a Mexican soap opera called Alcanzar Una Estrella and a very popular American serial called General Hospital. Finally, in 1995, Ricky released his first ever album in Spanish – titled A Medio Vivir, the album became pretty popular in Spain, reaching sales of over 500,000.

But it was in 1998, with the release of Vuelve, that Ricky Martin became a household name featuring Maria and Cup Of Life, he was slated to become a massive teen idol. His self-titled-English album only reinforced his world-wide hold and today, with the release of his all-Spanish album, he proves two things – one, he surpasses all competition for the king of Latino-pop title – and two, when you listen to the album, the fact that music is above all language, is palpable. It does not matter if you do not know a single word of Spanish – you can feel the music sinking into you and Ricky’s sensuous vocals do wonders to the slower tracks in the album – and of course, one can find his energetic, jumpy flavour in fast ones like Jaleo, the first single.

Forget the language – and go for the music.

A. VISHNU

vishnua@hotmail.com

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The ultimate style queen

SYDNEY: It has been 40 long years, yet Audrey Hepburn, star of film classics such as Breakfast At Tiffany’s and My Fair Lady is still regarded as the ultimate style queen. Hepburn won 29 per cent of the votes in an annual survey to find the most stylish woman and was two per cent ahead of Friends star Jennifer Aniston. Victoria Beckham was third, with Catherine Zeta-Jones fourth. Isabella Rossellini was a joint fifth, along with Kate Moss. Hepburn died of cancer in 1993, aged 63. The latest style survey by fashion bible Vogue was conducted among 2,500 readers. A spokesman for Vogue, which has conducted the poll for five years, said, “It’s fascinating Hepburn is still so highly regarded when it comes to style. People look at her as elegant and stylish; she has an enduring beauty. They often remember her in those classic black-and-white pictures.” — ANI

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Pirate lessons from rock stars

NEW YORK: Johnny Depp (in picture) is taking his role in Pirates of the Caribbean very seriously. He even turned to legendry rockers The Rolling Stones to help him research his character. In the Gore Verbinski-directed production, he plays pirate Captain Jack Sparrow. The Sleepy Hollow star found Stones guitarist Keith Richards particularly inspirational. “What was a pirate, I asked myself. A renegade? What motivated him?” he recounted. “It wasn’t money, it was freedom. Pirates were like the rock stars of the 18th century. Keith is the greatest star who ever breathed and a kind of pirate,” the actor added. “In Jack, I saw a guy who was able to run between raindrops. No matter how bad things got, there was always this bizarre optimism about him. I always thought there was something beautiful and poignant about his objective. All he wants is his ship back.” However, film company Disney was not happy with Johnny’s less than conservative performance, but he stuck to his guns. — ANI

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Crowe who, ask police

SYDNEY: Hollywood actor Russell Crowe, now a resident of Sydney, was forced by local police to identify himself during his morning paddle in a kayak in Sydney Harbour. According to an Australian agency report, the security was tight because five U.S. ships carrying 6,400 marines were docked in the harbour en route from the Persian Gulf. Russell’s Australian agent Wendy Day said, “Russell, who is now a local, was out kayaking with his personal trainer and there were a lot of policemen out on the water because there was a big boat coming in.” She said that the police didn’t recognise the Oscar winner but once he told them who he was, they moved away. — ANI

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