Martin-mania!

Latin sensation heads our way

The wait for Ricky is finally over.

 Ten months after Puerto Rican pop sensation Ricky Martin drew 10,000 fans to an autograph-signing on Yonge street, his energetic 'Livin' La Vida Loca tour' arrives at SkyDome for two shows -- tomorrow and Sunday night.

 Martin, who is making his way across Canada since launching his tour in Miami in October, played in Winnipeg last night and was to arrive in T.O. today.

 And you can bet Martin's crowd-pleasing backside the hearts of his fans are all aflutter at the thought of a solid hour-and-a-half with the 28-year-old performer. You should have seen their reaction last June when Martin emerged from his autograph session for about 30 seconds and waved. You'd have thought he was the pope. Or maybe a Chippendales dancer.

 I suspect Martin aficionados won't be disappointed when he takes the stage. Having witnessed the tour launch myself, I can tell you there's plenty of eye candy, aside from Martin's scream-inducing, leather pants-clad bottom.

 Where to begin?

 He first appears on the top of a vintage Mustang convertible that rises out of the centre of his stage to the brassed-up strains of his breakthrough hit, Livin' La Vida Loca.

 He's backed up by eight talented dancers and an excellent 12-piece band.

 His silver steel-and-chrome stage boasts plenty of flashing neon pink and blue lights, a couple of firefighter's poles, two conveyor belts and a striking three-panel video backdrop.

 And last, but certainly not least, Martin is one of the best dancers I've ever seen in the context of a pop concert. Love him or hate him, the guy can move.

 "Being on stage is not something I wanna let go of," Martin tells the current issue of TV Guide about his future. "It's just amazing -- this feeling of control."

 After T.O., he plays Ottawa on Tuesday and Montreal on Friday. From there he heads to Honolulu for a show on March 26, the same night that TV viewers will see him interviewed by Barbra Walters on her pre-Oscars special (airing 7 p.m. CTV-ABC) along with Mike Myers, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones. (Ricky has no Oscar connection, he's just Ricky.)

 Following that he returns home to Miami "for a month of time to himself," before embarking on a European tour that goes from April 23-May 13.

 Then it's into the studio to start recording the followup to his 1999 self-titled English language debut, which has sold 1.2 million copies in Canada and 15 million worldwide.

 Martin starts the second leg of his U.S. tour June 9 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and wraps it up on July 27 in Portland, Ore.

 Naturally such a rapid rise in popularity has produced some well deserved backlash and jibes.

 I think we've all heard enough of Livin' La Vida Loca to last a lifetime, haven't we?

 David Letterman has referred to him as "mantastic," while Saturday Night Live's Chris Kattan does a wicked Martin impersonation that depicts the singer constantly smiling, shaking his hips and alternately slapping his hands together or using them as imaginary pistols.

 "I'm grateful to whatever people are saying," Martin says to TV Guide, which features him on the cover. "Being grateful to critics, both good and bad, and being willing to say, 'Hi, nice to meet you,' to anyone."

 RICKY TIX: Ricky Martin's show at SkyDome tomorrow night sold out in 25 minutes, but there are plenty of tickets available for Sunday night's appearance. A new block of tickets for both shows were just released on Wednesday. Prices are $69.50 and $29.50. (TicketMaster, SkyDome box office or charge at 416-870-8000.)