Ricky Martin knows a thing or two about making a hit World Cup song. The Puerto Rican singer, whose Cup of Life became the official song of the 1998 Fifa World Cup in France, went on to lead the Latin pop explosion on the international music scene, and paved the way for many other Spanish-speaking singers to break into the global market.
Martin, now 42, with 70 million albums behind him, is at it again. The singer late last year teamed up with Sony Music for the Supersong project, which saw more than 1,600 aspiring song writers from around the world send in their best music to be included in the official 2014 Fifa World Cup Official Album. The winning song, Vida, written by Florida-based singer and songwriter Elijah King, was picked by a panel of experts led by Martin in April.
“We thought it best captured the spirit of the World Cup this year,” Martin told tabloid!, speaking over the phone from Los Angeles. “Regardless of the rhythm, it was the melody and the chant-y vibe that really drew us in. I could close my eyes and hear a 100,000 people singing the song together.”
Martin also filmed a video for the song, which went live in April, and has already garnered more than 12 million views on YouTube.
“We’re doing many remixes and I already know it’s going to be played in so many ways. The reaction to the video has been so positive,” says Martin.
Vida is one of 15 tracks featured in One Love, One Rhythm — The 2014 FIFA World Cup Official Album, led by the official song We Are One (Ole Ola), performed by Pitbull, Jennifer Lopez and Brazilian singer Claudia Leitte. Other artists featured in the album include Santana, Aloe Blacc, Shakira, Wyclef Jean, Avicii and Bahamian band Baha Men.
Martin, whose Cup of Life started climbing international charts following his performance at the Grammy Awards in 1999, says music and football is an “explosive combination”.
“Music is a healing tool and sport has this ability to make people bond and heal societies. And when you mix them both, it can be magic,” he says.
The trick to writing a hit World Cup song, he says, is to keep it simple.
“You have to understand the sports, of course. But also understand that it’s a worldwide event, and that the World Cup represents liberation. It should be an anthem that says ‘let’s forget all of our problems for now, go numb for a while and get lost in this beautiful sport’,” he says. “Incorporating musical elements from the host country will also be nice. And this year, because it’s in Brazil, and because they have such a rich and diverse culture of music, it would be dumb not to use it.
“But at the end of the day, it should be about unity of countries, it should be an encouragement to live life to the fullest.”
Martin, who made his musical debut aged 13 with Puerto Rican boy band Menudo in 1984, launched his solo career seven years later with a self-titled Spanish album. But it was another self-titled album, released in 1999 — his first English album — that would prove his real crossover album. Livin’ La Vida Loca earned him his first US number and a spate of nominations, including a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album. The album also featured other massive hits including Maria and The Cup of Life.
Martin says he’s currently locking himself in to work on his 10th album, scheduled for next autumn. But his stint as coach on reality show The Voice Australia ensures that he’s constantly jetting around the world. He also performed at the finals of the The Voice Arabia in Beirut in March.
“I’m also writing books. I like writing. It’s very therapeutic and it keeps my creative juices flowing,” he says.
Martin released his autobiography, Me, in 2010, in which he discussed at length his struggles with sexuality during his boy band and Latin heart-throb days and how he eventually found the courage to come out. Last year, he published a children’s book, Santiago the Dreamer in Land Among the Stars, about a boy filled with self-doubt after losing the lead role in a school play, who must learn to believe in himself again.
The story, inspired by his own childhood, was written especially for his five-year-old twins Matteo and Valentino.
Martin, who was honoured in Dubai last year for his work in the fight against human trafficking, says he would love to eventually perform in the UAE. He launched Ricky Martin Around The World earlier this year, an interactive map through which fans can vote for their cities to host the singer when he embarks on his world tour later this year. Voting was recently closed.
“I love Dubai and the energy there,” he says. “The reaction to the campaign was amazing from the entire Middle East. I’m really looking forward to going this year. There are so many beautiful cities and people are so warm, they make me feel at home. So I’m really looking forward to doing something in the UAE.”
As the fans around the globe gear up for the World Cup, he says music’s unifying force, as cliched as it may sound, should never be underestimated.
“Musical walls are collapsing everywhere. People are collaborating beyond genres… you have people from the world of hip hop coming together with the world of pop. This is the future,” he says. “For me, music’s always been about focusing on the similarities. It’s not about subtracting, it’s about adding.”
