Marc Anthony

Time Out NY
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Ah, the crazy world of fame. Just three months ago, Marc Anthony performed a saucy salsa number on American Idol with his wife, Jennifer Lopez, which ended in a smooch. “Now we know what they do at home!” Idol judge Randy Jackson quipped. Less than two months later, the couple announced their divorce. Anthony was controlling and jealous, according to one source, and objected to photos of J. Lo as being “too sexy and unbecoming for a 40-year-old mother of two.” Then came allegations that he was having an affair with his Hawthorne costar Jada Pinkett Smith, since denied.

All of which celebri-chatter obscures Anthony’s genuine achievements as an entertainer. You might not like his vibrato-intense, knees-to-the-floor croon, but his voice is smooth as a silk shirt. He’s racked up sales of more than 12 million albums worldwide, along with about three mantels’ worth of Grammy Awards. And his acting credentials aren’t too shabby: He’s played alongside Denzel Washington and Salma Hayek, and worked for Scorsese (Bringing Out the Dead).

To the thousands who will flock to the Izod Center this week, Anthony is a bona fide star. Fans will sway along to the singer’s soap-opera-tastic ballads, midtempo pop hits and ravey dance numbers. Perhaps Pitbull will make an appearance for his and Anthony’s new single, “Rain Over Me.” Perhaps Anthony will make some dignified comment about his marriage, or a cutting remark about the Jada rumors. And perhaps by then, the crazy world of fame will have found better things to talk about.