Music: Latino Resurgence

Latin-Pop Crossover.

One big reason for the renewed popularity of the Latin sound in music during the 1990s was Ricky Martin, who impressed even jaded Hollywood attendees at the 1999 Grammy Awards with his hip-hop rendition of "The Cup of Life." Formerly one of the teen vocalists in 1980s group Menudo, Martin made the most of his handsome Latin looks and his considerable vocal prowess during the late 1990s. His album Ricky Martin hit number one on the album charts in May 1999. In an August 1999 Roiling Stone interview, he explained the basis for his musical sound: "I said, Wait a minute. Keep it simple. You were born in Puerto Rico, and you're a Latin—even though the first stuff you listened to was Journey, Foreigner, Cheap Trick, Boston—so let's play with it a little, not be stereotypical." Another Latin artist with broad demographic appeal is Jennifer Lopez, who got her start as the star of Selena (1997),...

[The entire page is 382 words long]

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

eNotes Pass