Of course, critical takes on the record will hardly matter when the product arrives in stores. Ricky Martin is certain to hit a bull's-eye with the country's most important demographics: teenagers and Latinos. (Need any more evidence about the importance of these demos? Just ask Time Warner, which has successfully launched both People en Espanol and Teen People.)

Ricky Martin will also set off a lemminglike race to sign so-called Latin-pop artists, a move typical of the perpetually asleep-at-the-wheel music industry, which tends to recognize musical trends and demographic shifts years after they initially take root. But Latin pop may turn out to be the rare case where "next big thing" status is actually deserved. The audience for Latin pop is mushrooming (Latin-music sales totaled $571 million last year), and new talent, like salsa singer Marc Anthony (who enlivened Paul Simon's Capeman with his stunning voice) and actress turned aspiring pop star Jennifer Lopez (who'll have a record out in June on Sony's Work Group label), is in abundance.

As for Ricky Martin, well, his placid pop could use a dose of the kind of discomfort (and downright anger) he has already displayed at the music business's Columbus-like discovery of Latin music. There's a long history of angry, disillusioned-with-success follow-up records (from Fleetwood Mac's Tusk and Sly & the Family Stone's There's a Riot Goin' On to De La Soul's De La Soul Is Dead). But that sort of renegade renunciation would be too much to hope for from Martin. After all, he's never been in the business of creating art -- he's just been in the business.

Related:

• Archive: “Music Review”
• Articles by Ethan Brown
• Table of Contents: May 17, 1999 issue of New York | Subscribe!