Ricky-mania returns

Pop star gears up for first major North American tour

MIAMI -- Forget about Hurricane Irene.

 Hurricane Ricky -- as in Ricky Martin -- is about to hit this storm-swept city tonight, as the Latin pop sensation launches his first North American tour with a two-night stand at Miami Arena.

 Martin-mania began earlier this year when the handsome, hip-swivelling, 27-year-old singer -- already a major star in Spanish-speaking countries and a veteran performer as a one-time member of boy band Menudo -- appeared on the Grammy Awards and wowed the decidedly jaded crowd with his rendition of the World Cup '98 song, The Cup Of Life.

 Since then, his 1999 English language album has sold 12 million copies worldwide, and at major awards shows he has been the performer and winner of choice.

 Martin won two MTV Video Awards last month, is up for two European MTV Awards on Nov. 11, three Billboard Awards on Nov. 12 and two VH-1 Vogue Fashion Awards on Dec. 6. He also has a CBS-TV special coming up on Nov. 26

 Martin, who is a Miami resident and restaurateur, is Livin' La Vida Loca, all right.

 "That's it! As simple as that!" the singer agreed enthusiastically during a Toronto visit in late June which drew 10,000 people to Yonge Street for an autograph session at Sunrise Records.

 "For the past seven years I've been in a whirlwind and I've always been talking about love -- and yeah, definitely things I'm concerned about -- but I never talked about where I'm at today, and where I'm at today is c-c-c-c-c-crazy."

 In fact, the first leg of Martin's tour, which ends Dec. 6 in Cleveland, sold quickly and is second only to the Backstreet Boys' current fall tour in terms of ticket demand.

 A Toronto date is expected sometime in the spring, and given the size of arenas on the confirmed dates, expect it to be at either the Air Canada Centre or SkyDome.

 "If there's something I'm looking forward to, it's that," Martin said about touring. "I can't wait to be on stage. I can't wait to present, you know, where I'm standing at the moment creatively. Not through music, but the visual aspects and how the band is going to look and the lighting and everything. I have everything written down and I just want to, like, present it. The Latin sounds and the African feel and the percussions and the horns are definitely going to be part of the new tour, because it's me. I'm not going to fake it. We are also going to be playing with the fact that this is the turn of the millennium."

 Sounds good so far.

 Still to come for Martin is another English-language studio album next summer. But given his already staggering success, why the rush?

 "I have to, because it took us two years to record this album," said Martin of his self-titled English language debut. "We are already planning, working on sounds, music. Next summer I'm going to record, but in December and January I'm going to travel with my producer (ex-Menudo pal Robi Draco Rosa) so we can look for those creative moments. We're going to go to India, Nepal and Tibet."

 Ricky roster

 Here's the first leg of Ricky Martin's North American tour:

 Oct. 20-21 -- Miami
 Oct. 22 -- Tampa, Fla.
 Oct. 24 -- Atlanta
 Oct. 26 -- Philadelphia
 Oct. 28-29 -- New York City
 Oct. 31-- Chicago
 Nov. 1 -- Detroit
 Nov. 4 -- Dallas
 Nov. 6 -- San Antonio
 Nov. 7 -- Houston
 Nov. 11-12 -- Las Vegas
 Nov. 13 -- Los Angeles
 Nov. 14 -- San Diego
 Nov. 18 -- Phoenix
 Nov. 20 -- Anaheim
 Nov. 21- 22 -- San Jose
 Nov. 24 -- Sacramento
 Nov. 27 -- Salt Lake City
 Nov. 28 -- Denver
 Nov. 30 -- Kansas City
 Dec. 1 -- St. Louis
 Dec. 3 -- Minneapolis
 Dec. 5 -- Cincinnati
 Dec. 6 -- Cleveland