by Emily Farache
Oct 20, 1999, 2:15 PM PT
Ricky Martin is coming soon to a town near you.
The line forms back there.
Martin kicks off his sold-out 28-date, 24-city U.S. tour tonight at the Miami Arena--his first swing through the States since the release of his self-titled English-language album.
"No one has ever seen the show," says Gary Bongiovanni of the concert trade Pollstar. "His big hits will obviously be a highlight." Chances are Martin will stick with his trademark, bombastic pop and frenetic, hip-swiveling moves--the same kind of chops he displayed during show-stopping turns at the MTV Video Music Awards, the Grammys and a traffic-halting Times Square gig on NBC's Today.
If those performances are any indication, the crowds at Martin's shows will be of Beatle mania proportions--compete with the fainting, shrieking and underwear-offering.
One thing lucky ticket-holders can also expect is lots of Pepsi. The soft-drink purveyor plunked down an estimated $5 million to sponsor the shows (and have the ex-Menudo member pitch the soda pop on TV commercials).
After two nights in Miami, the tour moves through Tampa, Atlanta, Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, Detroit, Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, Anaheim, San Jose, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, Denver, Kansas City, St. Louis, Minneapolis and Cincinnati before winding down December 6 in Cleveland.
With the entire tour selling out in about an hour, tickets aren't coming cheap. On eBay (www.ebay.com), cyber-scalpers are charging upwards of $1,000 for tickets that originally sold for between $35 and $95
La vida loca, indeed.
by Julie Keller
Sep 14, 1999, 6:30 AM PT
Latin pop sensation Ricky Martin is going back to his soap opera roots. Sort of.
ABC's General Hospital is cashing in on the popularity of the hip-swiveling star and will be airing footage from Martin's pre-pop idol, pre-good haircut stint as the singer/bartender Miguel Morez.
"The show always strives to incorporate its rich history into current story lines," a spokesperson from ABC explains.
Martin's character left the show in October 1995 with hopes of chasing a dream music career. His real life music career exploded in February, after an unforgettable performance at the Grammys. The 27-year-old singer has rocketed to the top of the pop charts with his first English-language album, the self-titled Ricky Martin.
In today's episode, Miguel's rapidly aged teenage son Juan (Michael Saucedo) struggles to learn more about his father by watching footage of an October 18, 1995 concert.
"As a fan of Ricky Martin myself, I like this little piece of history playing on our show," says Saucedo.
Fans of GH and Martin are mildly disappointed the star won't really be making an appearance on the show and they have to deal with a measly rerun. "I can't believe they're going to shortchange us by just having flashbacks of his original performance," complains one bitter fan on a soap newsgroup (rec.arts.tv.soaps.abc).
Martin's camp says the busy singer has no plans to actually return to the show, so fans will have to keep pining for a Port Charles visit from Miguel.
The Puerto Rico-born Martin began his singing career as a member of the teen group Menudo. After mandatory retirement at age 16, he went solo as a Spanish-language act, which was followed his stint on GH.
Martin recently made headlines as the big winner at MTV's Video Music Awards, taking home five trophies--Best Dance Video, Best Pop Video and three international Viewer's Choice Awards for his breakout hit, "Livin' La Vida Loca."
by Julie Keller
Aug 20, 1999, 12:30 PM PT
The Latin sensation who's making headlines in America has just proven himself to be a true superstar: He's signed an endorsement contract.
Ricky Martin is joining the ranks of Michael Jackson, Madonna and the Spice Girls by inking a deal to become Pepsi's newest soft-drink pusher.
Exact terms of the deal are unknown, but the pop star should pocket somewhere between $2-$5 million. Additionally, Pepsi will sponsor his upcoming North American tour, launching October 21 in Miami.
The sultry star will swivel his hips through a series of Spanish-language commercials and advertisements. He's already recorded a song for the cola company. The director behind Martin's "Livin' La Vida Loca" MTV staple will direct the first Pepsi spot, which should hit the airways (on networks such as Univision and Telemundo) this fall.
The 27-year-old singer has rocketed to the top of the charts with his first English-language pop album, the self-titled Ricky Martin. He's also created an almost cult-like following among his fans, recently packing the streets of New York for a news-making performance on NBC's Today Show.
The Puerto Rican-born singer began his singing career as a heartthrob in the teen group Menudo. Following his mandatory retirement at age 16, he became a solo sensation in Spanish-speaking countries and even made an appearance in America as a brooding hunk on the ABC soap General Hospital.
by Joal Ryan
Jun 11, 1999, 12:45 PM PT
"La Vida Loca" is treating Ricky Martin very well.
Confirming his status as music's reigning "It" act, the Latin/pop singer packed 5,000-plus fans into the already-packed streets of the Big Apple this morning for a free, mini-concert on NBC's Today.
The appearance marked the largest-ever crowd for one of the morning-news show's summertime concerts. Gigs by folkie Jewel and the rocker formally known as Prince both attracted about 5,000 people each, Today spokeswoman Allison Gollust said. Ricky Martin "easily" surpassed that figure, she said.
"The scene you saw today in New York is a scene that's been played out all over the world for years," E! News Daily music correspondent David Adelson said. "What's happening now is the U.S. market is catching up."
The 27-year-old Martin performed--and swiveled his hips--to three numbers, including the inescapable "Livin' La Vida Loca," the first hit single off his self-titled, English-language debut album.
Throngs of faithful camped out overnight outside Today studios at Rockefeller Center in midtown Manhattan. By morning, police had completely closed one street and restricted another to pedestrian-only traffic. Despite the crush, only one incident was reported, New York City cops said. In Beatlemania fashion, one woman passed out. She was treated at the scene.
Today booked Martin back in February after his breakout performance on the Grammy Awards. Magazine covers, a bestselling album and virtually non-stop media coverage followed. In the weeks leading up to his appearance, Gollust said, it became clear that Martin was not going to be the usual Today musical guest--nor was he going to attract the usual number of fans.
"Safety obviously was a concern...I don't think we knew to expect," Gollust said.
Pity the J. Geils Band ("Centerfold"), which will be asked to follow up Martin mania on next week's show. Today's five-year-old summer-concert feature wraps September 24.
The Puerto Rico-born Martin began his singing career as a member of the bubblegum teen group Menudo. Upon reaching its Logan's Run-esque mandatory retirement age (16), he went solo as a Spanish-language act and did a stint on ABC soap General Hospital.
Last week, Martin's Ricky Martin moved another 313,000 units in record stores. Adelson said he doesn't know how much more the Today gig can spike already-healthy sales.
"I don't think sales are a concern," Adelson said.
What is the concern?
"I don't think there are concerns."
by Lisa Derrick
May 19, 1999, 4:35 PM PT
Arriba! Ricky Martin es muy caliente! Y que! The hip-swiveling, Madonna-lovin' Latin heartthrob is on his way to crossover superstardom as his first English-language album, Ricky Martin, fueled by the inescapable "La Vida Loca," exploded at No. 1 on the pop album charts with a whopping 661,000 in sales. It was the biggest first-week sales of the year.
Martin mania managed to overwhelm Snoop Dogg; the rapper, who's used to debuting at No. 1, had to settle for a second-place showing as his latest, Top Dogg, sold 188,000 copies--about one-fifth of Ricky's total.
Snoop knocked TLC down a notch into the No. 3 slot, but the sexy hip-hop trio's FanMail still delivered, selling 143,000. Last week's brightest star, Tim McGraw's Place in the Sun, was eclipsed, dropping down to No. 4 with 121,000.
After 80 weeks on the pop charts, Shania Twain's Come on Over is the ceaseless sales machine of country, churning out hit after hit and heading to Diamond-level sales status (10 million sold). After selling 120,000 copies for the week ended May 16, her total sales are 8,490,000. She's at No. 5.
Ex-Mouseketeer Britney Spears maintained the No. 6 spot with her debut, ...Baby One More Time. She outsold the hard-rapping Ruff Ryders: Ryde or Die, Vol. 1, a rap compilation featuring chartmasters Jay-Z and DMX, which rode down three spots to No. 7.
The Force isn't quite with The Phantom Menace soundtrack. The score slipped from its No. 3 debut last week all the way down to No. 8, selling 75,000 fewer copies; sales were 98,000. Some fans might have shied away from snapping up the John Williams soundtrack after word leaked out on Star Wars fan sites that several individual song titles gave away plot spoilers.
The Dixie Chicks' Wide Open Spaces and Nas' I Am both dropped two notches this week; they're at No. 9 and 10 respectively.
Suge Knight Represents--Chronic 2000, the rap compilation featuring two previously unreleased Tupac tracks, slid 10 spots from its debut last week at No. 11.
