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Ricky Martin biography

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Pop singer Ricky Martin was a member of Menudo as a teenager and is now known for such solo pop hits as "Livin' La Vida Loca" and "She Bangs."

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In November 2000, Martin released Sound Loaded, the much-anticipated follow-up album to Ricky Martin. Its hit single, "She Bangs," earned Martin yet another Grammy nomination, for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

After Sound Loaded, Martin continued making music, both in Spanish and English. His greatest Spanish-language hits were compiled on La Historia (2001). This was followed two years later by Almas del Silencio,

which contained new material sung in Spanish. The album Life (2005) was his first English-language album since 2000. The album did reasonably well, reaching the top 10 of Billboard's album charts. Martin, however, has yet to be able to recapture the same level of pop success he achieved with previous albums.

Recent Projects

Ricky Martin published his autobiography Me in 2010, which quickly turned into a best-seller. Around this time, he also teamed with Joss Stone for the duet single, "The Best Thing About Me Is You," which proved to be a minor hit. Martin soon released a new album of songs mostly in Spanish, Música + Alma + Sexo, which climbed almost to the top of the pop charts and became his latest No. 1 recording on the Latin charts.

In 2012, Martin made a guest appearance on the high school musical series Glee. He also returned to Broadway that April for a revival of the hit musical Evita by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. He plays the role of Ché, who helps narrate the story of Eva Peron, one of Argentina's most legendary figures and wife to leader Juan Peron.

Personal Life

Martin is the father to two twin boys, Matteo and Valentino, born in 2008 to a surrogate. Once evasive about his private life, Ricky Martin came out in 2010 on his website. He wrote, "I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am." Martin explained that his decision to go public with his sexuality was inspired in part by his sons. He is currently dating Carlos Gonzélez Abella.

An activist for many causes, he founded the Ricky Martin Foundation in 2000 as a child advocacy organization. The group runs the People for Children project, which fights child exploitation. In 2006, Martin spoke in support of a United Nations effort to improve the rights of children worldwide in front of the U.S. House International Relations Committee. Martin, through his foundation, also supports efforts by other charitable organizations. For his philanthropic work, Martin has received numerous awards, including the 2005 International Humanitarian Award from the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

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