Interview: Ricky Martin talks VIDA, the World Cup and his plans for the Middle East

It has been nearly 16 years since Latin pop sensation Ricky Martin’s song The Cup of Life – or La Copa de la Vida – became the official song for the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

Now, he's featured on the official World Cup album for 2014 with a single that has already made it into the Top 3 on iTunes in the UAE, KSA and Egypt.

VIDA was produced by Salaam Remi, who has worked with the likes of Lauryn Hill, Alicia Keys, Santana, Sting, and Amy Winehouse. In an interview with Yahoo Maktoob, Ricky explains how the project came about.

“When you receive a phone call from FIFA and Sony Music to be part of the World Cup event – you don’t think twice,” he says. “That’s why we created the SuperSong contest, and tried to make [the song] different from the one we did for the World Cup in France.”

Supersong is a One Sony project that was announced and launched jointly with FIFA, in December 2013. The competition received a total of 1,600 songs written by aspiring musicians from 29 different countries.

Ricky continues: “I've enjoyed every moment of this process – from picking the winning song out of thousands and recording it, to traveling to Brazil to film the video. It feels amazing to have had the opportunity to be participating in this global initiative.

"I can't wait to perform it and for the World Cup to start!”

Puerto Rican Ricky – who’s a resident of Spain – reveals that his heart will be torn during this year’s football event.

“I’d love to see Spain win, but for Brazil to win in Brazil would be amazing as well,” he says.

Following the World Cup, the singer will be gearing up to go on tour – which will include shows in the Middle East.

“I just tweeted that I am going on a worldwide tour, and that I want fans to help me choose the show locations. The idea is for the fans to vote for their city – and the amount of hits I have been getting from Dubai and Abu Dhabi has been amazing,” he said. “So without a doubt, hopefully before the year is over, Dubai is going to be in the tour – and I will stay there for a while!”

He goes on to add that fans from “Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar and Jordan” have also been voting fiercely.

“I’m really looking forward to spending more time in the Middle East – and the food is amazing! Let’s bring some Latin sounds to the Middle East and have some fun!”