Maps of Music

Sound Loaded (2000)

Where the lyrics of Sound Loaded take you, and where it was really made.

Columbia asked Martin back into the studio while his Livin' la Vida Loca Tour was still running, and he later wrote in his autobiography that he should have said no.

Key places

Recorded in Miami (2000)

Recording site The Hit Factory Criteria — The album was recorded in Miami with producers and songwriters including Walter Afanasieff, Emilio Estefan, Draco Rosa, and Desmond Child. The point marks the city only, not a specific studio. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Sixth studio album by Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin
• Released November 14, 2000 by Columbia Records
• Mainly English-language album with Spanish-language versions of several tracks
• 15 songs mixing dance club tracks, pop songs, adult contemporary ballads, and mid-tempo Latin numbers
• Three singles: She Bangs, Nobody Wants to Be Lonely (with Christina Aguilera), and Loaded

Background

• Follow-up to Ricky Martin (1999), his English-language debut, which became his biggest commercial success
• Columbia asked Martin to record while the Livin' la Vida Loca Tour had not concluded yet
• Martin later wrote in his autobiography Me that he should have said no to the request
• He reflected on it as one of the worst decisions of his life
• Producers and songwriters: Walter Afanasieff, Emilio Estefan, Draco Rosa, and Desmond Child
• After release, Martin embarked on a North American promotional tour, which ran from November 13, 2000 in New York City to February 26, 2001 in Toronto

Recording

• Recorded in Miami
• Martin called the team his dream team, a situation devoid of egos, with everyone working toward making the best possible record

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Enrique Martín Morales, born December 24, 1971 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
• Began singing at age six; appeared in television commercials from age nine.
• Joined the boy band Menudo in 1984 at age 12, leaving in July 1989.
• Began his solo career in 1991 with Sony Music, releasing the album Ricky Martin.

Members

• Solo artist; no group members.

Career

• A Medio Vivir (1995) brought the hit "María" and his first international success.
• Vuelve (1998) earned his first Grammy Award and the FIFA World Cup anthem "La Copa de la Vida".
• The English album Ricky Martin (1999) debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200; "Livin' la Vida Loca" topped the Billboard Hot 100.
• Often credited with launching the late-1990s Latin pop boom in the US mainstream.
• Has sold over 70 million records worldwide.
• Acted in General Hospital and as Ché in the Broadway revival of Evita.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Sound Loaded received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who complimented its dance tracks
• Metacritic average of 64 from 6 reviews
• Gary Graff of Wall of Sound gave a positive review, saying all 15 tracks sound as polished and lively as one another
• Graff picked Cambia la Piel as the album's most interesting track
• Arion Berger of Rolling Stone found the album relentlessly likable and danceable, and named Loaded the best track
• A Billboard critic praised the ballads The Touch and Come To Me and said the album was a more consistent recording than Ricky Martin
• Charlotte Robinson of PopMatters called Nobody Wants to Be Lonely and The Touch the lowlights and praised She Bangs and Loaded
• Robinson highlighted Amor and Cambia la Piel, saying the latter shows Martin makes Latin-sounding music on a regular basis
• Jose F. Promis of AllMusic called it a lushly produced set and praised the Latin-flavored dance tracks
• Promis thought the ballads tend to weigh the album down

Records

• Debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 318,000 copies
• Sold over 760,000 copies in its first four weeks
• Top five in Australia, Canada, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland
• Double platinum in the United States (RIAA, December 2000); over 1,679,000 copies sold there as of January 2011
• Double platinum in Australia (ARIA), triple platinum in Canada (CRIA), double platinum in Spain (Promusicae)
• Debuted at number sixteen in the United Kingdom and later certified platinum (BPI)
• Over seven million copies sold worldwide as of November 2006

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Rolling Stone revealed the album title in October 2000, before the November release.
• In a CNN interview, Martin said people asked him if the title was about computers, while the album is really about listening to different sounds.
• The American edition adds a Spanglish radio edit of She Bangs to the standard track list.
• The Latin American edition includes Sólo Quiero Amarte and leaves out Are You In It For Love.
• Nobody Wants to Be Lonely was re-recorded with Aguilera after the original release and added to the track list later.
• Music videos were filmed for both English and Spanish versions of several songs.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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