Tuesday, October 10, 2006

"King Of Kings" Tour Listo para Arrancar!

ImageThe King of Kings tour, which is named after Omar`s latest album, is produced by Latin Entertainment Group and sponsored by Verizon, which will also have the rights to downloads of select live performances. One of the most successful names in reggaeton, Omar has played occasional headlining shows in the Untied States, as well as multiple group shows. But this is his first tour of this scope and length.

King of Kings is being touted not just as a concert, but as a Broadway-style, three-act show with characters and dancers whose sets and costuming replicate the post-apocalyptic urban themes found in the album artwork of 'King of Kings.' To re-create the look, Omar enlisted Ron Jaramillo, who also designed and photographed the art for the album.


At a conceptual level, Omar describes the endeavor as a "medieval mystique inside the realm of an artist, of a man`s heart, of the roughness and subtlety of the moment." At a practical level, "we want to give the genre a more professional identity," Omar says. The cost of staging King of Kings is estimated at $2 million. Ticket prices range between $35 and $95.


In promoting the tour, Latin Entertainment Group president Artie Pabon is working with Latin and urban radio stations and is also promoting via billboards and spots on local and cable channels, as well as Univision, Telemundo, MTV and BET.


Verizon, which is providing monetary support for the tour, will promote it on its site.


Pabon, who also manages Omar, is working mostly with local Latin promoters in different cities. He admits that putting together a reggaeton tour of these dimensions is challenging, simply because it has not been done much before.


However, he says, "I think reggaeton was becoming a little boring. This is completely different."


Pabon is negotiating with a major channel to film Omar`s December closing dates in Puerto Rico for a TV special. For 2007, plans are under way to take King of Kings overseas, and dates are already booked for Egypt, Germany, Switzerland and South Korea, among others, in addition to Latin America.


As for a CD/DVD of the tour, Omar says, "I love the idea. And the way each detail is being watched in this tour would provide for the perfect live album."

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