Ricky Martin is best known as the king of Latin Pop. The singer became a massive sensation in the early 2000s after his tracks such as "Livin La Vida Loca" and "Un Dos Tres" became huge hits. If you grew up during this time, you probably remember watching Martin's songs on MTV and Channel V. The Puerto Rican singer started his career at age 12 with the all-boy pop group Menudo. He began his solo career in 1991 and has sold over 70 million albums, making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists of all time. Ricky Martin Announces His Marriage With Boyfriend Jwan Yosef.

Another song that truly gave Martin's career a surge was none other than the late 1990's song "Cup of Life" which became the official song of the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France and topped the charts in many countries around the world. Till this day, it remains to be one of the most loved World Cup tracks. Martin has received numerous awards, including 2 Grammy Awards and 4 Latin Grammy Awards. As the singer celebrates his birthday on December 24 and turns 48, we look at some of his best tracks.

María aka Un Dos Tres:

This is one of the earliest international hits of Ricky Martin. It spent 14 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1996 and is one of the greatest hits of his career. The song became so famous that for non-Spanish speaking listeners, it became a song that taught them the popular numericals 'Un Dos and Tres'. Ask any Ricky Martin fan and they'll tell you they still love this track a lot.

Cup Of Life

The official song of the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, and changed Martin's career forever and we can imagine why. Years later, even today if you happen to play this song anywhere, chances are that people will start singing it along with you. Nobody forgets the lyrics to this peppy track!

Livin La Vida Loca

You can't think of Ricky Martin and not think of this song. "Livin la Vida Loca" is one of the best party tracks even today. This song is special for Martin's career given that it sold over 8 million copies, and was Martin's first number-one song on the Billboard Hot 100. What's amazing is that it remained in that position for five consecutive weeks in the summer of 1999.

She Bangs

One of the reasons why Ricky Martin became a huge sensation was that he managed to infuse regular pop genre with some brilliant Salsa beats. As for "She Bangs", the song's brilliant beats clubbed with its double entendre lyrics became a huge hit.

Nobody Wants to Be Lonely:

This is one the rare gems from Martin that was a sombre romantic number. The song released in an English version as well as a Spanish version. It also had a duet version with Christina Aguilera and we have to say, this is one of his best collaborations as Aguilera and his vocals blend beautifully for this track. Ricky Martin, Jwan Yosef Welcome Fourth Child.

It's amazing how music can take you back in time. Ricky Martin's old hits can exactly do that for you. Latin pop was at its pinnacle with Martin's albums. We certainly hope the singer makes a comeback soon with some new tracks!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 24, 2019 10:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).