Live Review: Ricky Martin, Delta Goodrem

The pop star/reality TV nexus drew a broad and eclectic demographic to Perth Arena on Friday night the star and starlet rolled into town for the final show in their successful Australian tour. 

Delta Goodrem, has always remained in the mix for the title Darling Of Australian Pop, and, while she has tinkered in other realms for a good portion of her career, there is no denying her talents as a musician first and foremost, her classic seated-piano-belt-out-the-tunes style oozes class as she delivered her, kinda-sappy-but-actually-awesome Innocent Eyes. Delta’s addictive breathy style invoked an intimate downtown smoke-filled bar style show. Lost Without You and Not You, Not I saw the pipes soar before she gracefully thanked the crowd.

As soon as the first Latino-styled syncopated drum beats kicked off the crowd roared.  Ricky Martin, the guy that reminds us to leap from out seats and cheer for life itself, descended from the ceiling, the only acceptable way for a pop star to enter an arena show, clad in white and kicked off 2015’s Mr Put-It-Down. 

Martin thrust and shimmied in tight choreograph with his black-clad dancers before Carnevale Ricky showed up second track in with This Is Good, serving to educate the crowd in the ‘un, dos, tres’ chant that would serve them well in sing-alongs throughout. Shake Your Bon-Bon classic Livin’ La Vida Loca followed, the band roaring featuring slick keytars and Les Pauls for pop/rock Ricky and percussion and brass sections to close with a sassy-styled Drop It On Me.

Slick Modern Ricky took over the show for a while beginning with a sleek industrial rendition of She Bangs and a heavy,rock-y version of Come With Me with the unmistakeable tone of Les Paul handling the riffs and Van Halen style solos. 

Nice Guy Ricky included a few philanthropic messages on the big screen reminding us that pop stars aren’t Kanye before moving into ballads with I Am Made Of You and welcoming on his The Voice protégé Jackson Thomas for Be Careful and She’s All I Ever Had and bestie Goodrem for Private Emotion and Nobody Wants To Be Lonely.

'90s Carnevale Ricky was back for the final stretch with fist pumps, thrusts and UnDosTres’s to move the crowd to a fever pitch close with the ‘98 soccer anthem Cup Of Life, gyrating as if all his Ricky’s had come at once.