Livin' la Vida Loca

"Livin' la Vida Loca"
Single by Ricky Martin
from the album Ricky Martin
Released	April 20, 1999 May 4, 1999 [2]
Format	CD single
Recorded	1998
Genre	Latin pop, Pop rock
Length	4:05
Label	Columbia, C2
Certification	Platinum (U.S.)
Ricky Martin singles chronology
"The Cup of Life" (1998) "Livin' la Vida Loca" (1999) "She's All I Ever Had" (1999)

"Livin' la Vida Loca" (English: Living the Crazy Life) is a song by Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin. It was released in 1999 from Martin's self-titled debut English album. The song was composed by Desmond Child^[1] and Draco Rosa and topped the charts during 1999. It received various Grammy nominations and helped Ricky Martin obtain enormous success inside the United States and worldwide.

The song is generally seen as the song that began the Latin pop explosion of 1999, and making the acceptance of other Latin artists (first Marc Anthony, Jennifer Lopez, and Enrique Iglesias, then later Shakira, Thalía & Paulina Rubio) easier to crossover into the English market.^[2] Before this time, most non-Latino Americans had never heard of Ricky Martin until his show-stopping performance of La Copa de la Vida at the 1999 Grammy Awards show, which became a catalyst in bringing Latin pop to the forefront of the U.S. music scene.^[3]

"Livin la Vida Loca" was Ricky Martin's first number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100, remaining at number one in the U.S. for five weeks and ranking at #10 on the year-end charts for 1999. The single was certified Gold on May 15 and Platinum on June 4, for sales over one million copies in the U.S. alone.

"Livin' la Vida Loca" is especially monumental because it was the first No. 1 song to be recorded, edited, and mixed totally on a DAW (digital audio workstation). It is seen by audio-production enthusiasts everywhere as the song that marked the shift from analog recording to digital recording.

Track listing and versions

Alternative covers

UK CD Maxi-Single (CD2)	Mexican CD single

Music video

Ricky Martin in the video "Livin' la Vida Loca".

The video was directed by Wayne Isham, and received six nominations at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards including Video of the Year, Best Male Video, Best Choreography in a Video and Viewer's Choice. It won two primary awards for Best Pop Video, and Best Dance Video, and was voted two additional awards in the international Viewers Choice categories.

Chart Performance

Charts

Billboard Music Charts (USA)

Chart procession and succession

Sales and certifications

Cover versions

• The 1999 CD La Vida Mickey features modern versions of Mexican songs with the voices of the Disney characters in the background singing along.
• Japanese singer Hiromi Go remade this song as "Goldfinger '99". Masaki Sumitani (Razor Ramon H.G., who refers to it as "the song that I used without permission") uses this as his theme song, to which he thrusts his crotch at the beginning of each episode. A parody of this version in the "Hiromi Go" episode of Hard Gay, as they spend the day together making a PV.
• The Toy Dolls, a punk rock band, performed a version of the song in 2000 on their Anniversary Anthems album.
• In November 2000, ApologetiX (That Christian Parody Band) released "Spoofernatural," including a parody of this song. The parody was titled "Livin' What Jesus Spoke of."
• El Vez covered this song on his 2001 album, Boxing with God.
• WPLJ did a parody of this song in 2001 titled Livin' la Vida Choka.
• A speedy cover remix was made for NONSTOP MEGAMIX Dancemania SPEED 4 by CJ Crew feat. Giorgio, available only in Japan.
• In 2002, Serbian rock band Night Shift covered the song on their debut album Undercovers.
• In 2004, a version of the song was performed by Eddie Murphy and Antonio Banderas for the movie Shrek 2; the song appeared in both the film and on the soundtrack.
• A children's version was recorded for the Chuck E. Cheese soundtrack called "Drinkin' a Coca Cola".
• Bitter Tasting Omelette (Todd & Gavin Downing) parody the song as "Livin' la Vida Yoda", a reference to Star Wars character Yoda and frequently misattributed to "Weird Al" Yankovic.[3]
• Shlock Rock, a group that parodies popular music with a Jewish theme, wrote "Learning to Dance the Hora"
• Knockout Theory, a New Jersey punk rock band, often performs a punk rock version of the song at their live shows.
• Ten Masked Men, a British Death metal band, covered this song on the album Return of the Ten Masked Men.
• At video game expo E³, blogger Chris Kohler reported a cover of "Livin la Vida Loca" was to be included in the 2006 rhythm video game Elite Beat Agents, though it was dropped from the game during development.

In 2007, the song was named one of the 20 Most Annoying Songs by Rolling Stone. The song was ranked at #28 on the list of 100 Greatest Songs of the 90's by VH1.^[12]

References

See also

• Number-one hits of 1999 (U.S. Hot Latin Tracks)
• List of performances on Top of the Pops