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Ricky Martin Glides And Shimmies Through Tour Opener

'Livin' la Vida Loca' singer emerges onstage atop hood of Ford Mustang to begin two-hour spectacle.

MIAMI — Ricky Martin didn't waste a second before giving a sold-out crowd at the Miami Arena exactly what it wanted Wednesday night.

The 27-year-old pop sensation kicked off his first major North American tour by rising from the orchestra pit on the hood of a vintage Ford Mustang convertible as his nine-piece back-up band belted out the opening riffs of "Livin' la Vida Loca" (RealAudio excerpt).

The crowd of just over 12,000 — a mix of teeny-boppers and twenty- and thirty-somethings — screamed and danced through the chart-busting number, which featured a dozen dancers including a blonde woman who popped out of the trunk midsong in a white-fringed bikini, the top of which accidentally came unfastened.

Martin didn't miss a beat as the dancer scurried off the stage, a multileveled rotating set of shiny silver scaffolding and "people-mover" conveyor belts that helped the leather-pants-clad heartthrob and his troupe glide and shimmy to all corners throughout the evening.

"He's so cute," 9-year-old Brittany White of Fort Lauderdale, screamed, as she grabbed the arm of her mom, Denise, 40, and jumped up and down. "Yes, he is," mom agreed.

Judging by the constant hooting and the shouts of "Ricky, Ricky, Ricky," so did the rest of the audience, which spent the entire evening on its feet.

Martin, the ex-member of the teen-pop group Menudo who rose to solo stardom with the release this year of Ricky Martin, his first English-language album — after four Spanish-language albums — played the crowd perfectly. He stopped to chat several times between high-energy dance numbers that found him shaking his bon bon and thrusting his pelvis nonstop.

"Good evening Miami," Martin yelled after his second song, "Love You for a Day." "What is going on in this house? Hang on tight ... We want you to sing, dance, move ... Forget everything that's bothering you, Miami. Is that possible?"

Martin moved effortlessly through 14 numbers in the almost two-hour set.

He easily shifted between English and Spanish songs, many of which were

heavily choreographed, extended versions of the album cuts. The Miami

crowd reflected the Latin flavor of this gateway city, and sang along

loudly on Spanish tunes such as the ballad "Vuelve" ("Come Back").

Though the evening was heavy on glitz and flash, Martin attempted to connect with the crowd on a deeper level, quietly talking about the importance of spirituality while introducing "I Am Made of You" (RealAudio excerpt).

"This is my one-on-one conversation with my higher power," Martin told the audience. "It's something I must do every day to survive this craziness."

A basket descended onto the stage during the song. Martin stepped into it and finished the ballad as he ascended into the rafters behind a black curtain. While the band played an extended outro, Martin changed costumes (there were at least six changes throughout the show). He was lowered in a cage, stepped back onstage clad in brown leather pants and a tight black sweater and exploded into the frenetic dance-number "Shake Your Bon Bon" (RealAudio excerpt).

Next came the salsa-flavored "La Bomba."

The song had Emilio Fernandez, 29, of Miami, singing and dancing. Before the show started, Fernandez said he was a reluctant member of the audience, dragged to the concert by his wife, Raquel, 29.

"I'm scoring a lot of brownie points for this," Fernandez said.

By the time Martin launched into "La Bomba," Raquel's favorite song, Emilio was well on his way to conversion. "This is great," he said. "I can't believe the high energy."

The frenzy continued as Martin made his way into the audience, standing on a chair dancing, and leaning over to kiss the hand of an admirer.

"La Bomba" kicked off a trio of Spanish-language dance songs that included

"Por Arriba, por Abajo (On Top, on Bottom)" and "Maria," during which a

load of confetti and streamers was dumped on the audience.

For his first encore, Martin rose from the orchestra pit stretched across a couch in bare feet and a loose-fitting, pajama-like costume to sing his hit ballad "She's All I Ever Wanted."

He closed out the night with the show-stopper "The Cup of Life." Four dancers attached to bungee cords fell out of the rafters, back flipping over the stage and walking up and down a video screen that was several stories high. Intermittently during the show, scenes of Martin driving, dancing and running through New York played on the screen.

"I've been to a lot of concerts of all different people," said Monica Gomez, 23, of Miami, who said she had followed Martin since his Menudo days. "This is amazing. The movies, the dancers. I've never seen anything like this."

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