Live from the village of Miami, it's Ricky Martin and the MusicMania Team. The multimillion-selling Latin
sensation and el reportero mas "rico suave" teamed up to officially announce the dates of Martin's upcoming fall '99 tour, which kicks off October 21 in Miami and runs through late November.
Positively radiating with enthusiasm over the upcoming jaunt, Martin cheered about his stage show, the probability of additional dates, and what might end up on the set list. (
Sadly, an "Unplugged" rendition of Menudo's "Hold Me" was not mentioned.)
MusicMania: So how excited are you about this tour?
Ricky Martin:
I'm really happy. Let me tell you, to be on stage is what I look forward to, always. It's addictive. [It's] where you have the opportunity to have that immediate reaction, you know? It's fascinating. I've been doing it since I was twelve years old.... I did a couple of concerts last year here in the USA. I did New York and Miami and Los Angeles....
MusicMania: Sold out [Madison Square] Garden, I might add.
RM:
It was beautiful. It was gorgeous. And I want to feel that again, hopefully. We'll start the tour October 21. [It's] the first part of the tour, because we'll be doing it for maybe eight months.
MusicMania: Speaking of October, I gotta ask you the question that's probably on the mind of a lot of Americans.... Why do we have to wait 'til October to see you live?
RM:
Well, take it one step at a time. We gotta do things right. We've been travelling a lot. We've been promoting the album. Right now we're about to release a second single, which is "She's All I Ever Had." We just shot the video. And it's been only a year since I toured in the United States, so... we don't want to be too obsessive, nor compulsive. We want to do things right. We're putting a new show together. You're gonna be seeing a great band. The visual affects are going to be amazing. A class A concert. Definitely.
MusicMania: As you mentioned, a tour in the States is not new to you, but there are going to be fans who are seeing you for the first time.
RM:
Definitely. I'm going to, like, 15 cities. You'll have the Latin touch. You'll be dancing a lot in the show, definitely. We're, like, 15 people on stage. We're talking an amazing band. People that I've worked with for many years. People that know the real meaning of the word fusion. And that's exactly what we want to share with the audience, in this case. Yes, we do want to make a statement... of course.
MusicMania: Got a set list worked out? Is it going to be old material? New material? Combijnation?
RM:
A little bit of everything. I mean, we're talking about, once again, eight years of being on the road, and I want to talk about this. I want to talk about my life, for those who don't know who I am, or for those who are actually starting to get to know my music. I want to let you know my ups and downs in life when I'm on stage. It's going to be awesome.
MusicMania: Life must be pretty perfect for the moment, I must think.
RM:
"Livin' La Vida Loca," literally! If you see my schedule, man, it's pretty hectic, and I'm...taking it one day at a time, and I'm doing my prayers and my meditations, 'cause you need it. For you, you know, to keep your feet on the ground, you need to you know, once again, to be spiritual. And like I always said, I want to do this for a long time, and for that to happen, you've got to keep things as simple as they can get.
