By Melinda Newman
Brad and Angelina, Romeo and Juliet, Sonny and Cher, Samson and Delilah. Some pairings need no last names.
So it is with Jennifer and Marc.
They are the first Latin superstar couple to cross over into the mainstream. She is one of the most famous people on the planet: an actress, singer, dancer, designer, fashion icon, and entrepreneur. He is one of Latin music's most beloved, respected and successful artists. Now, for the first time, their fans can experience Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez in concert together. Among the stops on the 14-city "Jennifer & Marc En Concierto" is MGM Grand Garden Arena.
The groundbreaking tour will be something to behold, predicted Billboard magazine's Leila Cobo: "The fact that it's a touring Latin couple and a couple whose individual members have crossed over to both Latin and non-Latin audiences makes it quite unique." And fans will get to see up close the chemistry Anthony and Lopez, married since 2004, radiate in person.
"Jennifer is a huge film star. Go anywhere in the world and she is recognized, I would dare say, more than any other Latin film star. She is a sex symbol, a personality," said Cobo, who has interviewed both Lopez and Anthony numerous times. "The fact that she married someone who happens to be a very respected, popular musician, somehow adds to the mystique. Many fans see this as 'the' relationship for both of them."
On the tour, Lopez and Anthony perform their own sets with songs in English and Spanish and then close the show together. The pair teamed with tour sponsor ING by donating $1 from every ticket to ING's Run for Something Better, a fitness program aimed at combating childhood obesity. ING and The National Association of Elected and Appointed Latino Officials will distribute the funds to schools with a high percentage of Latino students.
"Jennifer has never toured. I've toured all my life," Anthony told Billboard earlier this year. "This is where I could step in and say, 'Oh, my God, this could be fun,' and introduce her to that world. It's something she's always wanted to do, but she's never had the time."
He stresses that the two complement each other in all of their professional and personal endeavors. "She picks me up where I'm weak and I elevate her where she's weak," Anthony told Billboard. "That's where the true partnership comes in."