10 Years Later: 'Livin' La Vida Loca'

The Song: It’s hard to ignore how pretty young Ricky Martin is in his debut. The blinding smile, slicked-back hair, chiseled face. The exotic version of the Ken doll had already done the boy band thing (shout out to Menudo!) and was ready to bring the sex factor into American pop music. Okay, so the lyrics are still a long way from perfect (waking up in funky cheap hotels with girls who are into black cats and voodoo dolls is a little amateur), but at least “Livin' La Vida Loca” offers up a richer sound with trumpets and some guitar riffs. Even more impressive is this song was the first #1 hit to be recorded, edited and mixed completely in a digital format, moving away from the ol’ days of analog.

The Moment: A little show called SpongeBob SquarePants was aired for the first time on Nickelodeon. The little friendly sponge invaded our television screens, just as Martin spearheaded the Latin pop invasion. He was one of the main predecessors to successfully break into the American market. After him, Jennifer Lopez, Enrique Iglesias, Marc Anthony, Shakira and Paulina Rubio would hit the scene as well. Whether correlation or causation, we also see Christina Aguilera showing off her Latina heritage and even the Backstreet Boys were cashing in on this fever with “Spanish Eyes” off Millenium.

Retrospection: JT might have brought sexy back in 2006, but Ricky Martin brought the sexy into the mainstream pop in 1999. While ‘N Sync was whimpering over break ups and Britney was still dressing in turtle necks, this Puerto Rican heartthrob was dancing with scantily clad women in tight outfits and insinuating the appeal of one-night stands. He embodied what we imagined to be a Latin lover, living on the edge. The Latin invasion was ephemeral—perhaps it died with Enrique’s mole—but Martin will be remembered for bravely paving the way (even though he is not brave enough to admit he might possibly/potentially/surely? be gay).