Review: Ricky Martin Live proves the singer is a showman for the ages – Brisbane Entertainment Centre (06.11.25)
It’s been a decade since Ricky Martin – undisputedly, the “King of Latin Pop” – graced Australian shores with his graceful energy, and last night on the Brisbane stop of his Ricky Martin Live tour he proved more than worth the wait.
At 53-years-old, the Puerto Rican performer appeared more youthful than ever, arising on stage, accompanied by a 9-piece-band and 7 equally enthused dancers, delivering an immediate crowd-rousing rendition of “Pégate” (“Get Closer”), a samba-inspired pop tune that ensured the Queensland crowd were in capable hands.
His vocals staggeringly strong in spite of the choreography he had set for himself, and a wide, beaming smile that only momentarily was wiped away when he slowed down proceedings for a slew of lush ballads (the Christina Aguilera collaboration “Nobody Wants To Be Lonely”, which even included a video segment from Aguilera, clearly a crowd favourite) – though when he admitted to forgetting the lyrics to the soft “She’s All I Ever Had” his wholesome humanity shone through at the innocence of such a faux paus – Martin was ever the elite showman across the 90 minutes he effortlessly dominated on the stage.
With a healthy mix of both his biggest English language (“Shake Your Bon Bon”, “Livin’ La Vida Loca” and “She Bangs” all energizing Brisbane Entertainment Centre) and Spanish hits (“Maria”, “Vente Pa’ Ca” and “La Bomba”), Martin catered to all in attendance, many of whom were representing their international heritage, with the singer pointing out the cavalcade of flags he spotted towards the back-end of the show; Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Chile all getting their recognition. The multi-cultural audience only played further into how global Martin’s reach is as a performer, and whether or not his songs were lost in translation, it didn’t seem to matter. As he spoke to “the beautiful state”, the show was all about leaving his soul on stage and giving us “the best” of his music, and he far exceeded such a promise.
Whilst Martin’s charisma as a performer has never been questioned, to witness it live and in real time is truly something else entirely, and no moment better encapsulated this than when he commanded audience participation during one of the biggest pre-encore set pieces – “Por Arriba, Por Abajo” (“Over the Top, Through the Bottom”), a lively samba and African chant-assisted song that emerged as one of the favourites off his breakthrough 1998 LP Vuelve. As he playfully pitted the left and right sides of the arena “against” each other, Martin served as a dance instructor with a simple four-action choreographed movement that had everyone in (almost) unison throwing away any ego or care. It was a perfect encapsulation of the joy his music has brought to the masses for over three decades now.
Originally an Australian tour that was to feature Rita Ora as his opener, which in itself would have been one hell of a show, sadly, scheduling conflicts saw the singer opt out, though it’s evident that Martin had enough vigour to fill the void; Irish-Australian electro-house group The Potbelleez subbing in at the eleventh hour, doing a commendable job of warming the crowd up with their signature dance tunes, namely “Don’t Hold Back” and “Are You With Me?” still sounding as fresh as ever over a decade later. Support or not, the Latin superstar made Brisbane his musical playground, serving as a reminder in this day and age of songs-for-soundbites and trend chasing that talent and care for the craft will always reign supreme.
FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Reviewer attended 06/11 at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre in Brisbane. The tour continues throughout Australia this month. For remaining tickets, head to Ticketek.
Image credit: Xanderphoto.au
