Ricky Martin

Putting the Latin spark in pop, there’s none who do it quite like Ricky Martin. Latin music moves you and Martin makes sure that if you’re seated you’ll soon be on your feet dancing away until you can no longer feel your feet. With his natural charm and charisma oozing from every pore, thousands of women swoon at sight of his thrusting hips and body shaking through “Shake Your Bon Bon” and “She Bangs”. Suavely dressed from head to toe in white, black leather fingerless gloves on, he commands the stage whilst showing off his incredible vocal capabilities in “Vuelve” citing as his favourite song that he’s ever written. An opportunistic moment to see Martin standing still on stage, clutching the mic stand with smoke rising around his feet. You don’t need to be able to understand Spanish to really feel the sentiments attached to this song as Martin pours out his heart and soul. No matter how many performances he’s done, it feels like every show is his first with his undying gratitude as he is overwhelmed by the audience’s reception. Bringing the tempo back to maximum with trumpets completed with Latin dancers who samba across the stage for classic “Livin La Vida Loca”. With Martin’s natural flair and talent on display is no surprise why audiences are mesmerised.

The very name ‘Sugababes’ probably means different things to different people, depending on how old you are; they’ve undergone so many lineup changes these past few years that they make The Smashing Pumpkins look stable. The present lineup, in fact, contains precisely zero original members; Heidi Range is the closest thing they have to a stalwart, at over a decade in the group, but Amelle Berrabah and Jade Ewen are both relatively recent additions. To make things even more confusing, the very first iteration of the band - comprising Siobhan Donaghy, Mutya Buena and Keisha Buchanan - have gotten back together, too, under the inventive banner of Mutya Keisha Siobhan. The current Sugababes are currently on hiatus, with their only record between them, Sweet 7, meeting with an unfavourable response both critically and commercially. Should they choose to regroup, though, the one thing they will have on their side is a formidable back catalogue; one of the strongest in recent British pop history, in fact, with the likes of ‘Freak Like Me’ and ‘Too Lost in You’ only sounding better as the years roll by; the mark of a genuinely excellent commercial pop song. In an ever more fickle scene, though, they’d be well-advised not to leave it too long; irrespective of which version of the group they’re most used to, the public forget alarmingly quickly these days.