The Cup of Life


"The Cup of Life" is a song recorded by Ricky Martin. It was released on March 9, 1998, as the second single from Vuelve. The song was written by Draco Rosa and Desmond Child, with lyrics by Luis Gómez-Escolar. "The Cup of Life" became the official song of the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France and topped the charts in many countries around the world. It is ranked as the best World Cup anthem of all time.
The 41st Annual Grammy Awards are widely remembered for Martin's performance of "La Copa de la Vida", which was later included on his DVD, The Ricky Martin Video Collection. The popular version of the song is a remix by Pablo Flores.

Background

After huge success of "María", while he was recording his fourth studio album, Vuelve, FIFA called Ricky Martin and asked him to make 1998 World Cup anthem.
"I have to admit that the challenge made me a bit nervous, but the massive growth potential for my career was such that I decided to accept," Martin wrote about it in Me, his official autobiograohy.
So K. C. Porter, Robi Rosa and Desmond Child joined him and they started working on "The Cup of Life". "It was a unique opportunity to introduce the charms of Latin music to the rest of the world.", he writes.

Music videos

The music video to "The Cup of Life" was shot by Wayne Isham in 1998 in a concert in Puerto Rico and later aired in April 1998. In the video, Martin performs the song energetically before a sold out concert audience.
The music video to the Spanish version of the song, known as "La Copa de la Vida", basically consists of the performance in "The Cup of Life" video, but starts with Martin kicking a soccer ball to the screen while being filmed, presumably for the song's video. This video is also interspersed by added scenes of the audience singing and dancing to the song, plus shots of different soccer players playing during the FIFA World Cup, which in turn are being projected onto a wall while Martin sometimes poses before it.

Chart performance

"The Cup of Life" became one of Ricky Martin's most successful songs. It topped the charts for six weeks in Australia, France and Sweden, for four weeks in Germany, for two weeks in Spain, and for one week in Switzerland and Walloon Belgium. "The Cup of Life" reached also top ten in Norway, Austria and the Netherlands. In the United States, the song entered the Billboard Hot 100 in 1998, peaking at number sixty. However, after the success of "Livin' la Vida Loca", it re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 in 1999, and reached number forty-five. In the United Kingdom, "The Cup of Life" peaked at number twenty-nine.
The single was certified platinum and gold around the world. It has sold 563,000 copies in France, and although released long before the digital era, it has sold 141,000 digital copies in the US.
Worldwide, the song hit the charts in more than 60 countries.

Formats and track listings

Australian CD maxi-single #1
  1. "The Cup of Life" – 4:28
  2. "The Cup of Life" – 4:37
  3. "La Copa de la Vida/The Cup of Life" – 4:37
  4. "La Copa de la Vida" – 4:28
  5. "María" – 3:45
Australian CD maxi-single #2
  1. "María" – 4:31
  2. "La Copa de la Vida/The Cup of Life" – 4:37
  3. "María" – 4:23
  4. "María" – 5:07
  5. "La Copa de la Vida" – 4:37
European CD single #1
  1. "The Cup of Life" – 4:28
  2. "The Cup of Life" – 4:37
European CD single #2
  1. "La Copa de la Vida" – 4:28
  2. "La Copa de la Vida" – 4:37
European CD maxi-single #1
  1. "The Cup of Life" – 4:28
  2. "The Cup of Life" – 8:39
  3. "La Copa de la Vida – 4:37
  4. "La Copa de la Vida – 4:28
European CD maxi-single #2
  1. "La Copa de la Vida" – 4:28
  2. "La Copa de la Vida" – 8:39
  3. "La Copa de la Vida" – 4:37
  4. "The Cup of Life" – 4:28
European 12" single
  1. "La Copa de la Vida" – 8:39
  2. "La Copa de la Vida" – 4:28
  3. "The Cup of Life" – 8:39
  4. "La Copa de la Vida" – 8:39
Japanese CD maxi-single
  1. "The Cup of Life" – 4:37
  2. "The Cup of Life" – 8:39
  3. "The Cup of Life" – 8:39
  4. "The Cup of Life" – 7:44
UK CD maxi-single #1
  1. "The Cup of Life" – 4:37
  2. "The Cup of Life" – 4:37
  3. "The Cup of Life" – 4:31
  4. "The Cup of Life" – 8:39
  5. "The Cup of Life" – 8:39
UK CD maxi-single #2
  1. "The Cup of Life" – 4:37
  2. "The Cup of Life" – 7:44
  3. "María" – 3:45
  4. "María" – 4:31
US CD single
  1. "The Cup of Life" – 4:37
  2. "María" – 3:45
US CD maxi-single
  1. "The Cup of Life" – 4:37
  2. "The Cup of Life" – 4:37
  3. "The Cup of Life" – 4:37
  4. "The Cup of Life" – 7:44
  5. "Maria" – 4:31
  6. "María" – 3:45
US 12" single
  1. "The Cup of Life" – 8:39
  2. "The Cup of Life" – 8:38
  3. "María" – 3:45
  4. "The Cup of Life" – 7:44

    Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Chart Position
US Hot Dance Maxi-Singles Sales 29
US Mainstream Top 40 74

Certifications and sales