Menudo, the prefab Puerto Rican boy band that spawned Ricky Martin, will hold auditions this fall for a scheduled reincarnation later this year. Yahoo Telemundo is partnering with Menudo Entertainment LLC to promote the casting process, the ensuing record and the as-yet-to-be-announced television coverage. Auditions for boys aged 13 to 17 begin in October in New York City and will also be held in several other cities across the country.
"The most powerful tool in promoting music is through TV and the Internet." said Jeffery Weiner, managing partner of Menudo Entertainment, LLC. "Having a partner like Yahoo is very important."
Wiener proudly says Menudo helped provide impetus for groups like New Kids on the Block and the Backstreet Boys.
His firm purchased the Menudo trademark a few years back. "Menudo is like a magic word. Everybody wants to be involved with Menudo."
Yahoo! North Latin America GM José Rivera Font believes yet another generation of young girls will fall for Menudo new members. He is unworried that the target demographic has probably never heard a Menudo song. "This new Menudo will have some edge, and a significant different is that the [online] community will have a say [in selecting the singers]. The community will decide who is relevant and who they like."
