POP MUSIC REVIEW

“Tonight I’m leaving my entire soul on this stage,” Ricky Martin declared to the screaming crowd at the beginning of his sold-out concert at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim on Saturday.

And he actually meant it. The singer’s sincerity was unmistakably present during a two-hour, high-decibel evening that showcased his slick, masterfully composed pop material.

But the concert was also a reminder of the lengths to which pop stars must go these days--often at the expense of their artistry--to prove that they are at the top of the game.

It also offered a disquieting view of what qualifies as grand entertainment in Latin pop, where pounding explosions of light and sound seem to matter more than a performer’s warmth or tunefulness.

Which is a pity, considering that Martin has what it takes to offer both. On stage, the Puerto Rican singer can eat all his competitors alive with one swing of his hips. He has everything going for him: chiseled good looks, charm, great dancing and vocal talent, and the ability to seem like just a regular guy while displaying it all.

Martin is also uncommonly sharp in his choice of material. His songs are as good as it gets in the Latin pop genre, in which emotions are usually trivialized and passion homogenized. All this considered, Martin might have served himself and his fans better by performing a handful of nights at a more intimate venue than the Pond.

Martin’s superlative band--which included four backup vocalists and full percussion and brass sections--could do no wrong, generating the kind of larger-than-life, on-cue excitement expected in this type of event.

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Although the Afro-Caribbean element is far from dominant in Martin’s poppy repertoire, it was the syncopated bursts of brass that saved the opening “La Copa de la Vida” from sounding like commercial fluff. And the tumbao generated by the salsa piano in “La Bomba” turned the tune into a red-hot delight.

Returning for the encore, Martin offered an emotionally charged version of the power ballad “Vuelve,” unleashing his voice with the sudden fury of an uncaged tiger.

An a cappella rendition of the sweet “El Amor de Mi Vida” followed--another honest attempt on the singer’s part to bring a dose of hard-working honesty to the proceedings.

The subsequent appearance of a full choir, string section and fireworks was really beside the point. A further glimpse into the soul of the artist would have been much more welcome.