Reggaeton superstar launches U.S. theater tour

MIAMI (Billboard) - With the kickoff of his King of Kings tour October 13 in Atlanta, Don Omar will become the first reggaeton artist since Daddy Yankee to headline an extensive, expensive U.S. trek.

Don Omar, whose real name is William Omar Landron, will play 17 U.S. cities, as well as three dates at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan. Bachata star Aventura and rising reggaeton duo Rakim & Ken-Y will open in select cities.

One of the most successful names in reggaeton, Omar has played occasional headlining shows in the United States, as well as multiple group shows. But this is his first tour of this scope and length.

King of Kings, which is named after Omar's latest album, 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. Sponsor Verizon is providing monetary support.

Omar's manager, Artie 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

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."

Reuters/Billboard

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