The singer shared his excitement about the honor after working in entertainment since he was barely a teenager.
Ricky Martin is ready to celebrate at the Emmys, win or lose.
The first-time nominee spoke with ET's Nancy O'Dell on the red carpet at the Microsoft Theater at L.A. Live in Los Angeles on Monday, and admitted he was still feeling the excitement from the nomination.
"It's been a very beautiful year," Martin said, wearing Tom Ford. "And we told a very important story. I was surrounded by an amazing group of very generous colleagues, actors, Penelope Cruz, Edgar Ramirez, Darren [Criss]. And then Ryan Murphy, was someone as well, very generous, let's you fly as an actor."
"I feel humbled, and I'm celebrating the fact that I'm nominated. That's it for me, I don't care about anything else," the singer added.
The 46-year-old starred as Antonio D'Amico in Ryan Murphy's anthology series, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, which earned 13 nominations, and won four at the Creative Arts Emmys earlier this month. Martin's co-stars, including Ramirez, Cruz, Finn Wittrock and Judith Light are also nominated for their performance in the series.
"I was in Los Angeles," Martin said of when he learned about the nomination. "And I actually posted it because I turned on the camera and started jumping like crazy. Because it's big! It's a lot. I, once again, it's about the story that we told and being recognized by your colleagues and the whole industry. It means the world."
Martin has been working in entertainment since he was 12 years old, as a singer in the boy band Menudo in the '80s, but he's acted on and off his entire career.
"It's just the gift that keeps on giving," Martin said. "I was 15 years old the first time I did a television series in Argentina. And today I'm here surrounded by an amazing group of people. Great directors, great producers, great actors, telling a great story. And I keep going to that because the story was amazing. And I was just honest. We can't lie, we just gotta be real, honest, and I guess that's what people took from it."
His breakthrough hit as an adult, "Livin' La Vida Loca" turns 20 this year, and Martin still enjoys the song that put him on the map in America.
"It's incredible, but I still go onstage, and people go crazy with the song, and you listen to that song today, the track is relevant, it's powerful, it's strong, it's a classic," Martin said.
The song's status as a mega-hit, though, left him feeling a little "loca" himself at the time.
"I was all over the place. I was tired, to be honest. Overwhelmed. I was overwhelmed, I was living it, but I needed a break and I took it. But I came back and this is what's happening today," he said.
For more on the Emmys, watch the video below!
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