Ricky Martin‘s A Quien Quiera Escuchar debuted at Number 1 on the Top Latin Albums chart. The project went to the top of the chart by selling over 25,000 copies in its first week. “Disparo Al Corazon,” the second single from the album, is currently Number 1 on the Latin Pop Airplay chart. This marks Martin’s ninth number one song, and the first chart-topper since his 2010 hit, “Lo Mejor de Mi Vida Eres Tu.” The Latin singer performed at the Premio Lo Nuestro awards show last night, where he performed “Disparo Al Corazon.” It was recently announced that Martin be an executive producer and judge on Simon Cowell‘s La Banda singing competition show.
The show will be produced by Cowell’s Syco Entertainment, which will bring La Banda to American television. “The phone rings and Simon Cowell calls and he says ‘Ricky I would like to meet you,’ Martin said (via People magazine). He added, “We started throwing ideas and I was fascinated by this concept. I was fascinated by this show.” The singer said he didn’t take him long to agree to do the show, and he was thankful Cowell considered him. The singing competition show will air on Univision, and it will feature contestants from the US, Central America, South America, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the Caribbean. La Banda will feature Spanish-speaking male singers, who will compete in order to be a part of five-member male group. The group will be managed by Ricky Martin, who was once a member of the Latin boy band, Menudo.
Martin said he wished he had this kind of platform when he first started his career with Menudo. The singer jokingly said he won’t be as brutal as Cowell, and he would be a little bit more nurturing to the contestants. The other celebrity judges for the show will be announced at a later date. Auditions for La Banda will be held on March 7th in Los Angeles, before the nationwide auditions begin. Simon Cowell is most-known for putting contestants together, and forming successful groups. The members of Fifth Harmony and One Direction were all contestants on Cowell’s X Factor show, who were put together by the television producer.