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| By Sandy Lo Editor-In-Chief February 2008 |
Take a recycled boy band theme, name, and TV show and what do you get? Menudo! And we’re not
saying that as a bad thing. At first mention, StarShine will admit it - Menudo has been played out over the
years after Ricky Martin and MDO - does the world really want this band yet again? Even if we disregarded
the name…another boy band created on television under the thumb of some pop music mogul? This whole
"Making Menudo" idea screams manufactured bubblegum, but still StarShine has to check into these
things. If it’s one thing we have learned, it’s DON’T JUDGE a book--or band--by its cover!
Staff photographer Tiffany and myself attended Z100 and In-Touch Weekly’s All Access Lounge pre-show
where we were to sit down with the boys of Menudo and figure things out for ourselves.
Menudo hit the stage first and sang their single "More Than Words (AEIOU)". They can dance and the song
was pretty catchy. Two points to the band! "It’s just a fun song to perform and we do it with lots of love."
Emmanuel explained about their first single later in our interview.
After we hung around for a while, we met up in catering with Monti, Emmanuel, Chris, Jose and Carlos. The
five young boys were friendly and personable right from the start, but that didn’t really surprise me.
Their good-looks weren’t at all shocking either, let’s face it, if Menudo was defined in Webster‘s, it would
say, "Latin hunks". What surprised me the most was how much sincerity they had when they spoke about
their fans. "We’re not trying to impress anyone else but our fans." Eldest member Carlos explains. "If you
ever see us on the street, don’t be afraid to come up and talk to us!" He wants them to know.
Currently, the "More Than Words (AEIOU)" EP is available at Target and on itunes.com. The band’s debut
album is due out later in 2008. "We’re representing Latinos across the world." Carlos says. "We’re going
to be doing so many different styles of music. We have big shoes to fill, but if you have fun doing what you
doing then you’re obviously doing something right." Also coming up later this year is a fan appreciation tour.
…And Menudo was appreciating their fans that day before Jingle Ball, both at their meet & greet and during
our interview. In fact, two fans crashed the interview just as we got to talking about Valentine’s Day. The
girls screamed and cried for Menudo, who were trying not to be rude to StarShine or them. They finished
answering my question before hugging the girls, who brought cards for each member of the band. "This is
amazing!" Monti gushed at the fans’ reactions to them. "They’re falling in love with us and we’re falling in
love back!"
After the fans left, we asked Menudo to sing a cappella, putting the guys on the spot for a true test. The
band passed with flying colors! Let’s see…Talent: Check. Heart: Check. Teen Idol Appeal: Major check.
Maybe the Hispanic invasion will conquer the world once again…
saying that as a bad thing. At first mention, StarShine will admit it - Menudo has been played out over the
years after Ricky Martin and MDO - does the world really want this band yet again? Even if we disregarded
the name…another boy band created on television under the thumb of some pop music mogul? This whole
"Making Menudo" idea screams manufactured bubblegum, but still StarShine has to check into these
things. If it’s one thing we have learned, it’s DON’T JUDGE a book--or band--by its cover!
Staff photographer Tiffany and myself attended Z100 and In-Touch Weekly’s All Access Lounge pre-show
where we were to sit down with the boys of Menudo and figure things out for ourselves.
Menudo hit the stage first and sang their single "More Than Words (AEIOU)". They can dance and the song
was pretty catchy. Two points to the band! "It’s just a fun song to perform and we do it with lots of love."
Emmanuel explained about their first single later in our interview.
After we hung around for a while, we met up in catering with Monti, Emmanuel, Chris, Jose and Carlos. The
five young boys were friendly and personable right from the start, but that didn’t really surprise me.
Their good-looks weren’t at all shocking either, let’s face it, if Menudo was defined in Webster‘s, it would
say, "Latin hunks". What surprised me the most was how much sincerity they had when they spoke about
their fans. "We’re not trying to impress anyone else but our fans." Eldest member Carlos explains. "If you
ever see us on the street, don’t be afraid to come up and talk to us!" He wants them to know.
Currently, the "More Than Words (AEIOU)" EP is available at Target and on itunes.com. The band’s debut
album is due out later in 2008. "We’re representing Latinos across the world." Carlos says. "We’re going
to be doing so many different styles of music. We have big shoes to fill, but if you have fun doing what you
doing then you’re obviously doing something right." Also coming up later this year is a fan appreciation tour.
…And Menudo was appreciating their fans that day before Jingle Ball, both at their meet & greet and during
our interview. In fact, two fans crashed the interview just as we got to talking about Valentine’s Day. The
girls screamed and cried for Menudo, who were trying not to be rude to StarShine or them. They finished
answering my question before hugging the girls, who brought cards for each member of the band. "This is
amazing!" Monti gushed at the fans’ reactions to them. "They’re falling in love with us and we’re falling in
love back!"
After the fans left, we asked Menudo to sing a cappella, putting the guys on the spot for a true test. The
band passed with flying colors! Let’s see…Talent: Check. Heart: Check. Teen Idol Appeal: Major check.
Maybe the Hispanic invasion will conquer the world once again…
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