50 facts about Ricky Martin: thirteen days after turning eighteen, he moved to New York City to celebrate his financial independence

Martin began his career at age twelve with the all-boy pop group Menudo. Learn 50 facts you dind't know about Martin.

1. Enrique Martín Morales commonly known as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, actor, and author.

2. Martin began his career at age twelve with the all-boy pop group Menudo.

3. After five years with the group, he released several Spanish-language solo albums throughout the 1990s.

4. He also acted on stage and on TV in Mexico, becoming a modest star in the country.

5. In 1994 he starred on the American TV soap opera General Hospital, playing a Puerto Rican singer.

6. In late 1999, after releasing several albums in Spanish, Martin performed "The Cup of Life" at the 41st Grammy Awards show, which became a catalyst in bringing Latin pop to the forefront of the U.S. music scene.

7. Following its success, Martin released "Livin' la Vida Loca" which helped him obtain enormous success worldwide and is generally seen as the song that began the Latin pop explosion of 1999 and made the transition easier for other Spanish-speaking artists to move into the English-speaking market.

8. His first English-language album, has sold 22 million copies and is one of the best selling albums of all time.

9. He has sold over 70 million world wide, and has had 95 platinum records, six #1 Billboard albums, 11 Number 1 hit songs, two American Music Awards, one Grammy Awards, eight World Music Awards, three Billboard Music Awards, eight MTV Music Video Awards, with concerts in more than 60 countries across the globe.

10. Martin was born on December 24, 1971, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the son of Nereida Morales, an accountant, and Enrique Martín Negroni, a psychologist.

11. His parents divorced when he was two years old and Martin spent much of his childhood shifting between his father's home in the suburbs of University Gardens and his paternal grandmother's house nearby.

12. Martin has two maternal half-brothers, Fernando and ángel Fernández, and two paternal half-brothers, Eric and Daniel Martín, and a paternal half-sister Vanessa Martín.

13. Martin is of Spanish ancestry from his Basque great-grandparents, plus some Corsican through his paternal grandmother.

14. Martin grew up in a Roman Catholic home and was an altar boy throughout his childhood.

15. He began singing at age six, using wooden kitchen spoons as pretend microphones; he often interpreted songs by Menudo as well as English-language rock groups such as Led Zeppelin, Journey, and REO Speedwagon.

16. His mother's side of the family was musically inclined and his maternal grandfather was a poet, which inspired young Martin to write songs.

17. After discovering a newspaper advertisement about auditions for commercials with his father, nine-year-old Martin began appearing in Puerto Rican television commercials for products such as soft drinks, toothpaste, and fast-food restaurants.

18. In a year and a half, he starred in eleven commercials.

19. After achieving a small amount of fame in Puerto Rico for his work in television commercials, Martin auditioned for membership in Puerto Rican boy band Menudo.

20. Although the executives enjoyed his dancing and singing at his first two auditions, Martin was rejected because he was too short.

21. By the third audition, his persistence impressed executives and in 1984, thirteen-year-old Martin became a member.

22. Although Martin enjoyed traveling and performing onstage with Menudo, he found the band's busy schedule and strict managing to be exhausting and later reflected that the experience "cost" him his childhood.

23. He considered leaving the group while on tour in Brazil, but ultimately decided to stay out of fear of media backlash and being sued for breach of contract.

24. He developed an interest in philanthropy when the group became UNICEF ambassadors, often working with impoverished children in third world countries.

25. After recording eleven albums with the group, Martin left Menudo in July 1989 at age seventeen, hoping to rest and evaluate his career path.

26. Martin returned to Puerto Rico to graduate from high school, and thirteen days after turning eighteen, he moved to New York City to celebrate his financial independence; since he was a minor during his time as a member of Menudo, Martin was not allowed to access his own bank accounts.

27. He was accepted into New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, but months before classes began, Martin dropped out and moved to Mexico City to perform in the play Mama Ama el Rock (Mom Loves Rock).

28. While he was performing in onstage in Mama Ama el Rock, a producer in the audience took notice of Martin's acting and offered him a role in the Mexican telenovela Alcanzar una estrella after the show.

29. He also joined the cast for the second season of the show, titled Alcanzar una estrella II.

30. In 1990, Martin was signed to Sony Discos, the Sony Music Entertainment's Latin imprint.

31. Eager to make his first solo album, Martin signed the contract without reading it and inadvertently signed a deal in which he would only be awarded one cent of royalties for each album sold. Despite viewing the contract as unfair, Martin referred to the record as "the start of something phenomenal" for him.

32. After working "around the clock" to finish filming Alcanzar una estrella II and recording music, Martin released his debut solo album, the Spanish-language Ricky Martin, in November 1991.

33. To promote the album, Martin toured throughout Latin America, which the singer referred to as "an indescribable feeling, almost like coming home."

34. After the success of Ricky Martin and its subsequent tour, Martin's record company met him with acclaimed producer Juan Carlos Calderón on his second solo album, Me Amarás. Although Martin felt "very grateful" for the opportunity to work with Calderón, he noted, "I always felt that that record was more his than mine."

35. In 1994, Martin's agent encouraged him to move to Los Angeles to act in an American sitcom called Getting By.

36. The show was canceled after two seasons, but soon after, Martin was given the role of singer/bartender Miguel Morez on the soap opera General Hospital.

37. Martin felt that he lacked chemistry with the rest of the General Hospital cast, and observed that people treated him differently because of his Puerto Rican accent.

38. On August 17, 2006, Ricky Martin taped his MTV Unplugged concert in Miami. It premiered on MTV Latin America, MTV Tr3s and MTV Puerto Rico in October 2006 and was released on CD and DVD in November 2006. The album was a critical and commercial success.

39. At the Latin Grammy Awards of 2008, MTV Unplugged received Latin Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Album and for Best Long Form Music Video.

40. The first single, "Tu Recuerdo" which featured La Mari of Chambao, reached number one for three weeks on the Hot Latin Songs. The next single, "Pégate" peaked at number six on the Hot Dance Club Songs.

41. On February 19, 2007, Martin began his worldwide Black and White Tour which started with a performance at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in Puerto Rico and concluded with a presentation at the Madison Square Garden in New York City on October 14, 2007.

42. He also recorded a duet with Eros Ramazzotti, "Non siamo soli" which topped the Italian chart for eleven consecutive weeks.

43. After finishing his worldwide tour, Martin took a break from the music industry and focused on his private life.

44. In November 2007, Sony BMG Norte released Ricky Martin Live: Black and White Tour on CD, DVD and Blu-ray Disc.

45. One year later, a Spanish-language greatest hits album was released, entitled 17. It was a summary of seventeen years of Martin's musical career, which included mostly Spanish-language songs.

46. Ricky Martin's autobiography, Me, was published on November 2, 2010.

47. Martin guest-starred as a Spanish teacher on the Fox TV show Glee episode "The Spanish Teacher" on February 7, 2012.

48. Martin premiered his "Ricky's Lip Conditioner" lip balm in April 2012 as part of the M.A.C Cosmetics "Ricky and Nicki for Viva Glam" campaign.

49. In November 2012, Martin was announced as a coach on The Voice Australia and debuted in the first episode of season two, on April 7, 2013.

50. Martin has been honored with many accolades for his humanitarian efforts including: Leadership in the Arts Award, Billboard's Spirit of Hope Award, ALMA Award, Vanguard Award, International Humanitarian Award by the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children, Hispanic Heritage Award for his humanitarian work through the Sabera Foundation in rescuing three orphan girls from the streets of Kolkata (September 2002).

Source: Wikipedia.org