Once he outgrew Menudo in 1989, he returned to Puerto Rico and then spent a short period in New York before moving to Mexico. There, he won roles in musical theater, and gained a regular slot in the Mexican soap opera, Alcanzar Un Estrella II. During his time in Mexico, he changed from a boyband member to a longhaired and self-confident young man. He showcased his many talents in a variety of show business areas: televison, movies and music.

The USA first got to know Ricky in his role at "General Hospital"

His recording career took off when his self-titled debut album, “Ricky Martin” (1991) followed by “Me Amaras” in 1993. Both achieved gold status in several countries. Martin moved to Los Angeles in 1994, and broke into the North American television market playing singing bartender Miguel Morez in the long-running soap opera General Hospital.

"A lot of people told me I was crazy to make this kind of music", he recalled about 'Maria'.

His third Spanish-language album, 1995's “A Medio Vivir “ which was produced by fellow Menudo veteran Robi Rosa, broadened his fanbase by introducing rock stylings into the Latin mix, This album also generated the international hit single, "Maria." After touring in Latin America, thousands of fans enthusiastically embraced the new kind of music he brought them. Briefly stepping back into theater in 1996, Ricky landed the role of Marius in the Broadway production of “Les Miserables” and played there for 11 weeks, receiving excellent reviews.

With the release of his album in Europe, and a new video for his hit single, “Maria (Un Dos Tres)”, )”, Martin had one of Europe's biggest hits in 1997. He entered the market there with a fresh, short-haired look. Because of his success in the world music scene, he was asked by Walt Disney to dub the adult voice of Hercules for the spanish version of the popular animated film. The theme song, "No Importa La Distancia", became part of his upcoming album.

“Vuelve” was released in February,1998, and debuted at number 1 on the Billboard Latin chart. The title track topped the Latin singles chart for weeks. "La Copa De La Vida," the official song of the 1998 World Cup in France, was also highly successful when released as a single, reaching number 1 in several countries. Martin won the 1999 Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Performance, and his sensational performance of "The Cup Of Life" at February's ceremony caused a dramatic surge in sales of “Vuelve.”

All of a sudden Martin's media-friendly face was everywhere, and he was hyped as the leading figure in a new wave of Latin pop stars including Jennifer Lopez, Enrique Iglesias, Marc Anthony and Luis Miguel.

"It's a little bit of everything. Like - 'Boom! Check this out!'", he described his hit.

Riding the Latin music wave, Martin released the lively "Livin' La Vida Loca", which reached number 1 in the US Hot 100 in May 1999, and stayed at the top for five weeks. In the process, it became Columbia Records' biggest-selling number 1 single of all time. His self-titled English language debut, produced by Rosa and Desmond Child, entered the US album chart at number 1 at the end of the month.

In July, "Livin' La Vida Loca" entered the UK singles chart at number 1. Martin's crucial follow-up single, "She's All I Ever Had", climbed to US number 2 in September.

Another sparkling transatlantic hit single, "She Bangs", served as an effective launch pad for the excellent CD “Sound Loaded “ in 2000. Performing on television and selling out arenas all over the world, Ricky deserved his elite status as international singing sensation. while in the meantime he stayed involved in his charity work.

His duet "Nobody Wants To Be Lonely" with Christina Aguilera came as a surprise for his fans, but scored very well around the world. It got followed by the release of the catchy, uptempo single "Loaded". Martin once again won several awards for his efforts, and also performed live at 2001 Miss Universe pagent in his home country, Puerto Rico.