Menudo Back On Music Biz Radar

Menudo, the popular Puerto Rican teen pop band of the '70s and '80s, is being revived.

Menudo Entertainment bought all the merchandising and property rights about a month ago from Latin record executive Oscar Lloyd, and is working with talent agencies and radio stations in its search for band members, company spokeswoman Cathy Callegari said Wednesday.

"Our aim is to target the `tween market," Callegari told The Associated Press. "We feel there's a void there. What happens is, artists start young like Britney Spears and they get old really quick and move into a new age of fans."

Auditions for boys ages 10 to 16 are planned for this summer in the United States and Latin America. Plans are for finalists to be nationally televised and judged by a celebrity panel with worldwide viewer voting.

Five band members and two alternates will be selected.

Callegari said the new group will eventually record an album in both English and Spanish, but the boys don't need to be bilingual.

Menudo was formed in 1977. The boys were booted when they turned 16, and the group had about 30 members, including Ricky Martin.

Some of the former members have been notified of plans for the new group, Callegari said.

"We haven't put our panel of judges together yet but certainly it's one of our objectives to have former members involved. We'd sure love to have Ricky Martin," she said.

Menudo sold more than 20 million albums in English and Spanish.