6. When Ricky Martin took the English-speaking world by storm in 1999, with the single, "Livin' la Vida Loca", he did so as a solo artist. However he had previously spent five years as a member of which successful Puerto Rican boy band?
From Quiz All By Myself
Answer:
Menudo
Enrique Martin Morales was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on the 24th of December, 1971. Known professionally as Ricky Martin, he was barely a teenager when he began his music career, when in 1984 he joined the Latin American boy band, Menudo. Menudo was the brainchild of Edgardo Diaz, a Puerto Rican music producer, who had previously managed another boy band, La Pandilla. However unlike his previous band, Diaz insisted that Menudo would (unusually) have an ever-changing line-up, meaning that once a member became too adult in appearance, they would be replaced by a younger teenager. Ricky Martin spent five years with the band, finally leaving them in 1989 in order to enjoy a well-earned break and contemplate his next career move. He subsequently dabbled in acting (which he had some experience in) before releasing his debut solo album (in Spanish) in 1991, which was entitled "Ricky Martin". In the years that followed, Martin divided his time between acting and singing, earning his first Grammy Award in 1999, in the Best Latin Pop Album category, for his fourth album "Vuelve". In the same year, Martin also released his first English album, "Ricky Martin", which debuted at number one on the United States' "Billboard 200" chart. The first single to be released from the album was "Livin' la Vida Loca", which reached the coveted number one spot on various charts around the world, including the United States' "Billboard Hot 100".