Ricky Martin fans rejoice as the popular singer will soon be judging boy-band competition "La Banda."
Ricky Martin will soon be on TV every week. According to SocialiteLife, the Puerto Rican singer will be teaming up with popular talent judge on TV shows, Simon Cowell, for "La Banda" (The Band), a reality show challenged with finding the ultimate Latino boyband.
According to MTV, Cowell's Syco Entertainment is collaborating with Univision for the brand-new reality show that is slated to premiere in September. MTV notes that the show will host talent searches with the intent of creating a five-member boy band comprised of Spanish-speaking pop stars, very much like "The X Factor" and "American Idol." MTV further states that "La Banda" will feature contestants ages 14 and over from the United States, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Puerto Rico.
Back in 2010, Cowell found five teen boys and created the group, "One Direction," the band that went on to achieve global stardom. According to Billboard, the reality show, developed by Univision with Simon Cowell's Syco Entertainment and Saban Brands, will add Ricky Martin as executive producer and judge of the reality music competition. The talent search kicks off with Los Angeles audition on March 7. The final band, which will be trained and prepped during competition, will receive a recording contract with Sony Music Latin.
When asked if the market was ripe for another boy band, Martin told Billboard, "There is a generation in Latin America that is desperately hoping for something like this." He added, "It's a phenomena that happens every decade, and now is the time."
Back in 1984, Martin began his career at age 13 with the all-boy pop group, Menudo. At the time, Martin auditioned several times until he finally got accepted into the already-popular band. Martin claims "La Banda" will work differently as fans have the power when it comes to deciding who moves forward with the audition and who will actually meet with the judges in the show.
"It's a phenomena that happens every decade, and now is the time," he said.
According to MTV, Martin will not only serve as a judge and executive producer of the reality show, but he will also manage the final chosen band. As he is seasoned boy band alum, the "Livin' la Vida Loca" singer is said to be perfect for this role.
Considering that Latin music has not had a globally successful pop boy band in years, it is said that the show sounds quiet exciting. To submit an audition and to find out about casting events in a city, go to LaBandaofficial.com
The show hosted by Alejandra Espinoza, is slated to premiere in Sept. 2015 on Univision.
