If anyone should know what that feels like, it's Ricky Martin, the Puerto Rican heartthrob whose global conquest began at the 1999 Grammys with a passionate thrust of his pelvis. With astounding speed, Martin, now 28, sold 17 million copies worldwide of his self-titled first English-language album, detonated the lucrative Latin music explosion and pushed the phrase "Livin' La Vida Loca" into the lexicon. Yet the guy had barely found a spot for his best Latin pop performance Grammy in 1999, when that September Chris Rock suggested at the MTV Video Music Awards that if Martin didn't have another hit soon he'd be "Livin' La Vida Broka." Now that his new, much-anticipated follow-up, Sound Loaded, and its steamy hit, "She Bangs," are making cash registers ring, it's a good time to wonder: Is the sexiest hip-swiveler since Elvis Presley here to stay or just another flash in the pants? "I don't envy him because a lot of people are depending on him having another hit record," says Billboard talent editor Larry Flick. "But I think Sound Loaded is probably the best record he's ever done. He sounds a lot more confident."
Certainly he doesn't sound worried. "Everyone felt that pressure but me," Martin says. "I don't want to make my music into a science project, and I don't want to compete against myself. This album was done by a completely different person. Spiritually speaking, I've grown." Indeed, coping with the white-hot intensity of Rickymania, coupled with the experience of seeing the world while touring for 17 months straight, "has changed Ricky for the better," says Emilio Estefan Jr., who produced several of Martin's new songs and, with his wife, Gloria, is well-versed in the Latin music scene. "He's so much more relaxed and appreciative about life now. And he knows what he wants." Martin has his own take on how fame has transformed him: "I've become more stubborn. I know myself better. Before, I had the need to be liked by everybody. But now, if the phone is ringing, I'm not going to pick it up. And I'm going to feel good about it."
Most recently linked to Mexican TV presenter Rebecca de Alba, 31, Martin says they are now just friends and insists he isn't seeing anyone else. Hypothetically speaking, though, "I would love to get married," he says. "I would love to walk into my house and trip over a toy and have a bunch of kids running towards me saying, 'Daddy, Daddy!' " Rosie O'Donnell, an unabashed admirer, says Martin "is amazing with children. We had a little Make-A-Wish girl in a wheelchair here when he was on the show. She was quite challenged, and he spent a lot of time with her. And he has all these nieces who are very close to him." Actually, close isn't the right word; Martin is plumb loco for his four nieces. "Three of them are 10 and one of them is 7," he says. "I just sit in a chair and let them do anything they want to me. They pull my hair, they slap my face, they make fun of me. They are so beautiful. I miss them so much."
For 10 years Martin also missed the love and company of his father, Enrique, 52, a San Juan psychologist. In 1985 Martin -- whose parents split when he was 2 -- legally changed his name from Enrique Jose Martin Morales IV to Ricky Martin; that same year he moved out of his father's house and went to live with his mother, Nereida Morales, now 54. The decisions caused a rift between father and son, who stopped speaking for a decade. Finally, in 1995, after the silence became unbearable, Ricky reached out and reconciled with his father. "It was hell," Martin says of the estrangement. "I was in pain. If you think your parents are wrong, practice compassion and make amends. Now I talk to him a lot and it's really cool. He's retiring in December, and I want him to come on tour with us." Martin has always been close to his mother, an accountant who along with Fernando Fernandez, 35, one of his two half-siblings, handles Martin's finances; another brother, Angel Fernandez, 33, is his stage manager.
Ricky Martin, or "Kiki" as his relatives and close friends call him, was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Christmas Eve, 1971. Despite their divorce, both of his parents encouraged him to chase his dreams of performing. A veteran of 30 TV commercials, he was 12 when he landed a spot in the perpetually changing Latin boy band Menudo, a wild five-year ride that temporarily soured him on the music business and its controlling managers. Still, his two-year stint playing a sexy bartender on the soap General Hospital and his role as Marius in the Broadway musical Les Miserables in 1996 did not prevent him from returning to the music industry and launching a solo career. His fourth Spanish-language album, 1998's Vuelve, featured the rousing anthem "La Copa de la Vida" ("The Cup of Life"), which Martin performed at that year's World Cup soccer finals and at the Grammys the following year.
That May, Martin released his first English-language album, Ricky Martin, and promptly embarked on a 17- month world tour that wrapped in October. Remarkably, he has remained not only a nice guy but the nicest guy by most accounts. "I've never really heard him diss anybody," says Rosie O'Donnell. "Like, 'Oh, so-and-so is such an idiot.' I'm guilty of that. But even when he's tired, the guy is not grouchy, not angry, not mean. He sees the best in everyone." Watching him interact with his worshipful fans reveals "a different sort of fanaticism than I normally see," says Carson Daly, the host of MTV's popular music video show Total Request Live, which has featured Martin as a guest several times. "Ricky is really hands-on with his fans. He walks up to them, puts his two hands right on the sides of their faces, brings his face close to theirs and kisses them on the forehead, almost like the Pope giving them his blessing. And they nearly faint. You just look at the girls' faces and they are really losing it. It's like Jesus Christ or Buddha walked up to them."
Martin himself knows the power of that: Raised a Roman Catholic, he has been avidly practicing Buddist rituals since a visit to Thailand three years ago. At least once a day, for anywhere from 20 minutes to several hours, he slips into the lotus position and practices Kriya yoga. "I just ask people, 'Can I have 20 minutes for myself so I can just breathe?'" he says. "I turn off the radio and television and just sit there and breathe five seconds in, five seconds out. Just to find my center."
Somestimes, though, things just find him. Take Gala, a stray Yorkie who recently followed Martin home while he was out for a stroll. Gala joined Icaro, a golden retriever, and Titan, a chihuahua, as Martin's only roommates at his five-bedroom Mediterranean-style house in Miami Beach (he also owns an apartment in Los Angeles and a house in Puerto Rico). "I start making phone calls," says Martin, recalling the day Gala joined the family, "and they guy [at the pound] says, 'My friend, the dog is yours,; But she was in heat, so now I have four dogs because she and the chichauhua got together. And the chihuahua was very happy." Who says Martin doesn't speak frankly about sex?
Aside from the new puppy, Martin has not acquired many new possessions since becoming a megastar. He furnished his Miami home with state-of-the-are recording equipment and kicked off a DVD collection (he has popped in one of his favorite flicks, 'Life Is Beautiful', more than 20 times). An enthusiastic surfer, Martin also splurged on a few new baords. But that's about it. "I love shopping," he says, "For clothes, for shoes, for watches. But I don't really buy stuff for me. I buy stuff for other people."
He does, however, indulge his wanderlust, relishing trips to his favorite destinations, India and Nepal. "I love Nepal because you can walk for miles and never get anywhere," he says. "I go trekking in the mountains, and I will walk for seven days in a row. When I come back, people are like, 'What is it? Are you in love?'" Martin has spent the past three Christmases in the East, traveling with backup singers, dancers, makeup artists and any other friends who show an interest. This holiday, though, "I'm going alone," he says. "I've not found anyone who wants to go with me."
In truth, it's hard to keep up with Ricky Martin. "He has more energy than anyone I know," says songwriter Desmond child, his friend and the coproducer of "Livin' La Vida Loca" and "She Bangs." "Maybe he's flown 18 hours from Asia, but he comes in and sings vocals for 10 hours. He lives exclusively in the moment, and whatever he does, he gives 100 percent." That need to feel his life, even as it spins wildly around him, is what led the singer to jump from an airplane -- and to persuade his pals to jump to. "The next morning, the entire band and crew did it," says Martin, flashing his famous, seductive grin. "And everybody was so happy afterwards. For me, I love the adrenaline. I guess I'm addicted to it. There's this need to go places, emotionally speaking."
Of course, following up an phenomenal accomplishments, Martin realizes, can be a tricky business. Now that he has tried skydiving "I am pretty much screwed," he says. "What am I going to do next? Climb Everest?" Hey, he should feel right at home on top of the world.
It's an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink formula that, surprisingly, works most of the time, especially on the Eastern-meets-Latin "One Night Man." But Martin is less adept at hiding his shortcomings on maudlin pop ballads such as "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" and "The Touch." And imagine the possibilities if he had a few more good tunes to start with, like the Santana-smooth "Amor." Then he wouldn't have to load it on quite so thick.
Bottom Line: Heavy on style, light on substance
-- CHUCK ARNOLD
It's Ricky Martin's birthday on Christmas Eve - and his celebratory wish this year could well be to find himself a soul mate.
'I want to go home and talk to my plants' explains Ricky Martin. It's not quite the opening line you'd expect from Mr Macho Latino.
Dressed immaculately in a charcoal grey Armani shirt and a pair of exquisitely tailored trousers, heart-throb Ricky is taking a break from his hectic schedule in New York. Relaxing his lovely Latin limbs into a velvet sofa, he continues to talk about having a good old chinwag with his palmtrees and suddenly Ricky's problem becomes clear - the poor lad has been away from his home for too long and he's missing those green,green plants of home.
'I just want to get back to Miami and meditate on the patio,' says the 28 year old. It's not exactly rock and roll is it? But he won't be visiting his pop millionaire's waterside home for a while, because Ricky is slap bang in the middle of a world tour. He's done and dusted Europe(his sell out concerts in Britain were an all action saucy extravaganza) and a new album is about to be released too. But the Puerto Rican star, who catapulted to fame after singing with boy band Menudo at the age of 12, has a solution for homesickness - his 'comfort bag'.
He packs all his favorite possessions into a bag and takes it everywhere he goes.
'No matter what I'm doing, I will always carry a student-style backpack with me. I keep my comforts in it - my music, incense, diary, sunglasses and wallet are all in there. I also have some beads - like rosary beads - for Buddhists'
This home-craving spiritual side to Ricky is in surprising contrast to his sexy image. Those swivelling hips have driven audiences crazy - his adrenaline driven performance of La Copa De la Vida won him millions of fans - and he did it a second time with Livin La vida Loca. And his latest single She Bangs is sure to get everyone up on the floor this party season.
'I'm really excited about my latest work - but it means my life is non-stop at the moment . I don't have time to hang out at all. It's performance, record then promote but I'll always love music', he says.
To date Ricky has sold over 14 million records worldwide and if that wasn't enough 2 years ago Madonna asked him to work with her. Gossips maintain that she couldn't resist his gorgeous brown eyes and hormone-rousing charm but he won't be drawn on the subject of extracurricular activity with the 'queen of pop' - although he admits to liking 'strong-willed, focused' women - I want one with fire in her belly.'
'Madonna worked me really hard and had me in tears of laughter' he recalls. 'It was a real learning experience making a record with her'
And it seems it's not just Madonna who's been hotly pursuing him - everyone else wants a piece of Ricky these days. But with daily interviews, video shoots, recording sessions and a 2 hour live performance Ricky has to battle for time to himself. He needs to keep his body healthy and mind clutter free. And he's had plenty of time to learn how - since he was 12 years old Ricky has been force fed a diet of perform, study and play.
'I work very hard to stay healthy', he says. He gets by on very little sleep and claims he just can't knock back the old Christmas cheer anymore.
'I did all my drinking when I lived in Mexico - it was drink, drink, drink. I drank a lifetime's supply of tequila - but these days I need a stretcher if I have more than one'.
Ricky's parents split when he was small - and for a time he distanced himself from his prison psychologist father. Living with his mother Ricky dreamt of a music career and between the ages of 12 and 17 he traveled the world with the boyband Menudo.
Like many famous people who long for serenity in their frantic lives, religion took a firm hold of him. Brought up a Catholic Ricky soon felt attracted to new beliefs. First he studied Judaism and then Buddhism.
'When I first traveled to Thailand I studied the culture and was attracted to the spiritual side of their life', he explains. 'My mother is a Catholic and I was taught by nuns at school, but I wanted something different. My mother finds my beliefs hard to deal with, but she loves me whatever. We just agree to disagree about religion.'
But the new look, chilled out Ricky scared his mother who thought he might be dabbling in illegal substances when he bounced home all bright-eyed with serenity!
She kept asking me what I was doing....but it was just meditating! I meditate every day. I can meditate anywhere - I have to be able to. I'd go crazy if I didn't. I have incense in every room in my house. Every room is calm - I go for lots of whites, browns and blues in my colour schemes. The living room is all white and a big piece of art which is mainly blue - it's very simple. I have music but I don't have a TV in there and I have lots of candles.
At home his three dogs are his companions - a golden retriever, a chihuahua and a Yorkshire terrier. For now, he says, there is no-one else in his life after splitting from TV presenter Rebecca de Alba last year due to pressure of work (before that he was going out with model and actress Adriana Bega, a star of the Jim Carey comedy Me, Myself and Irene).
He says he misses not having a lover ' I'm free and available, but I hope this isn't forever'.
Besides there are his plants to keep him company! 'When I'm at home, I love sitting on my patio. I love just sitting on my patio, it's so green and quiet. I talk to the palms every day when I'm there. It's my sanctuary - I really want to go home!'
He likes to be near his luxury kitchen too. 'Food is great. I eat soup a lot, I love it. I live on it and it's ideal when I travel. My mother is always telling me to eat more, and my managers are always telling me to take care of my looks, but I really don't like having 'beauty' treatments.'
Oh come on - he can't tell us someone who looks that good doesn't have a little help, even occasionally? 'Every now and then my manager makes an appointment for me for a facial, usually before I have to film a video,' he admits. 'I wouldn't go if my manager didn't take me. I'm a bit lazy and I haven't got a skin cleansing regime. I use whatever soap is in the hotel bathroom, and I let my hair grow so it needs less cutting. I get sent sample bottles of shampoo by manufacturers, so I use whatever turns up- the only maintenance I do have done regularly is my highlights. I'm just not really bothered about cosmetics - but I do wear makeup for shows, pictures and videos. When I'm not working, I'll just stick a hat on and wear glasses. I can shop unnoticed if I try - its fun!'
He adds, 'I have a wonderful make-up artist and hair stylist who travels with me. Wanda makes sure I look OK. And I just top up with some yoga and trips to the gym.'
He makes it all sound so simple - but whatever the great man's secret is to looking so good, we reckon if he bottled it he'd be a billionaire this Christmas!
And if he is going to be home alone over the festive season, we are sure someone out there could squeeze in another place setting for a bit of turkey with salsa.
