The name of Melendi’s new album and tour, 20 años sin noticias, seems like a joke. If the Asturian artist has been characterized by something in his two decades of career, it is because he has always been in the media spotlight, whether, initially, due to the popular impact of his first albums or, later, due to his appearances televised or for matters that have little or nothing to do with the strictly musical field.
Either way, Melendi is partying. It is already 20 years since Sin noticias de Holanda, his debut album that catapulted him to the top of the bestseller lists in Spain. Developing a style between pop and rumba as the Estopas had done before, tracks like Mi rumbita pa’ tus pies, Desde mi ventana or Con la lluna llena got it right and crept to the top of the charts . The album sold no less than 400,000 copies. And many years have passed: Melendi then combed dreadlocks; now he is a family man.
After going through Zaragoza, Valencia, Bilbao, Pamplona and Madrid, the tour to commemorate the old days closes this Friday and Saturday at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona. It will be a double concert – selling out tickets is mandatory – with clearly nostalgic aspects: the Asturian leaves the pop side and recovers his rumberos origins, rescuing repertoire from those first albums and including songs that he had not played live for more than 15 years . The idea is to offer his audience “an emotional journey through the songs” in “thanks” to the loyalty received during all these years.
Melendi himself has recently stated that he has been overwhelmed by the success of the tour and has realized that “songs that I thought were expired are more alive than ever”, as he said on his Instagram account. Most likely the next step will be to expand the tour to Latin America, and who knows whether to the USA or Europe.
In accordance with this sweet moment, the album follows the line of homage to the past. Thus, the Asturian reinterprets his lifelong themes as a duo with names such as Manuel Carrasco, David Bisbal, Rosario or José Mercé.
