Editing Menudo (group) (section)

===Beginning and rise to fame===
Menudo was formed in 1977 by music producer [[Edgardo Díaz]]. The original line up consisted of 5 members, the Sallaberry brothers, [[Fernando and Nefty Sallaberry|Fernando and Nefty]], and Díaz's cousins, the Melendez brothers, [[Óscar Meléndez|Oscar]], [[Carlos Meléndez (singer)|Carlos]], and [[Ricky Meléndez|Ricky]].<ref name=":0" /> They were signed to Padosa Records and released their first album ''[[Los Fantasmas]]'' in 1977. It featured "[[Enséñame a cantar|Teach Me To Sing]]" ("Enséñame a cantar"), a song by Spanish singer [[Micky (Spanish singer)|Micky]]. In 1978 they released another album called ''[[Laura (Menudo album)|Laura]]''. Fifteen-year-old Nefty was the very first member to leave and was replaced by 12-year-old [[René Farrait]]. In 1979, they released an album called ''[[Chiquitita (album)|Little Girl]]'' (''Chiquitita''). At the end of 1979, Carlos left the band at age 15 and was replaced by 12-year-old [[Johnny Lozada]], after which they made their first Christmas album, ''Congratulations'' ("Felicidades").
[[File:Menudo members.jpg|thumb|left|Menudo, c. 1981. (top) Miguel, Johnny, Xavier; (bottom) René and Ricky]]
In the early 1980s, Menudo had several hits, including "The Ghosts" ("Los Fantasmas") and a cover version of [[ABBA]]'s "[[Voulez-Vous (song)|Do You Want]]" ("Voulez-Vous"). They filmed three music videos for the song "Little Girl" ("Chiquitita"), including one with [[Puerto Rican people|Puerto Rican]] music star [[Ednita Nazario]] (who sang with them and played the titular "Chiquitita" on the video).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVL2qVuNZGE  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/VVL2qVuNZGE| archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live|title=Ednita & Menudo "Chiquitita" (HQ) |publisher=[[YouTube]] |access-date=April 14, 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The group then released several moderately successful albums, including ''[[Fuego (Menudo album)|Fuego]]'' (''Fire''), which yielded hits "Ella A-A" ("Her"), "Fuego" ("Fire"), and "A Bailar" ("To Dance").<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.buenamusica.com/menudo/album/fuego|title=Menudo - Fuego (Álbum) |website=Buenamusica.com|access-date=February 6, 2017}}</ref> They also made "Fui Hecho Para Amarte", which itself was also a cover, in that song's case of [[Kiss (band)|KISS]]'s '"[[I Was Made For Lovin' You]]",<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/agustinacaferri/menudo-cover-kiss|title=Aunque no lo creas Menudo hizo un cover de KISS y es sensacional|first=Agustina|last=Caferri|website=BuzzFeed|date=March 18, 2015 }}</ref> but that song was not included in ''Fuego'', and was released on their ''[[Xanadu (Menudo album)|Xanadu]]'' album instead.

During 1981, the group, which by then consisted of [[Rene Farrait|René Farrait]] (14), [[Johnny Lozada]] (13), [[Xavier Serbiá]] (13), [[Miguel Cancel]] (13), and remaining original member Ricky Melendez (13), released "[[Quiero Ser|I Want to Be]]" ("Quiero Ser"). The album would launch Menudo into international stardom. It included hit songs such as  "I Want to Be" ("Quiero Ser"), "[[Sube a mi Motora|Get on My Motorcycle]]" ("Súbete A Mi Moto"), "Rock on TV" ("Rock En La TV"), "Clarity" ("Claridad"), and "My Band Plays Rock" ("Mi Banda Toca Rock"). They also had their own telenovela series entitled ''I Want To Be''
(''Quiero Ser'').

In the same year, the group hosted a television show on [[Telemundo]] entitled ''Menudo Young People'' (''Gente Joven de Menudo''). They hosted a yearly beauty pageant, "Menudo's young girl" ("La chica joven de Menudo") and the winner of the pageant would sometimes appear in the band's videos or join them onstage at their concerts throughout the United States.

Menudo became very popular throughout [[Latin America]], from Mexico to Argentina, and [[Brazil]]. They also became the first boy band to own their own private jet. Díaz, their manager, purchased a [[Lockheed JetStar]] that had belonged to American President [[Richard Nixon]] and the [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi|Shah of Iran]]. He had Menudo's name emblazoned on both sides of the fuselage. In 1982, [[Charlie Masso]], then age 12, replaced [[Rene Farrait|René Farrait]], age 14. Masso's first album with Menudo was "[[Por Amor (Menudo album)|For Love]]" ("Por Amor"). During this boom of popularity, fans started calling themselves contagious to the "Menuditis", similar to [[Beatlemania]] and [[Belieber|Bieber Fever]], or the "Menudomania". They were so popular that they starred in their own feature films: ''[[Menudo: La Pelicula|Menudo: The Movie]]'' and ''[[Una Aventura Llamada Menudo|An Adventure Called Menudo]]''. ''Aventura'' starred [[Gladys Rodríguez]] as Miss Mia ("Señora Mía") and included songs such as "Clara" and "Fly" ("A Volar").

During their first visit to New York in early 1983, [[Ray Reyes]], 12, replaced [[Xavier Serbiá]], 14. Their American fanbase grew, especially among the young, as evidenced by ''Menudo on ABC'', a
series of four minute music spots that aired during the Fall 1983 season of [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]'s youth-oriented Saturday-morning programming block.<ref name=Time-menudoinfo>{{cite news| url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,953954,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080408083216/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,953954,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=April 8, 2008 | magazine=Time | title=Show Business: American Pop Music Machine | date=June 27, 1983 | access-date=May 12, 2010 | first1=Kurt | last1=Andersen | first2=Janice C. | last2=Simpson}}</ref> They also sang the theme song for ABC's ''[[Rubik, the Amazing Cube]]''. [[Miguel Cancel]] became the first member to voluntarily quit the group. According to a 1998 interview, he was unhappy that a sudden voice change rendered him unable to sing his songs, so he opted to leave before his scheduled departure. He was replaced by [[Roy Rosselló]], 13. Menudo signed a six-year multimillion-dollar contract with [[RCA|RCA International]] and released their Spanish album ''[[A Todo Rock]]'' (''Full of Rock''). According to ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine, at the end of July, the group had already sold 3 million copies worldwide,<ref name=Time-menudoinfo/> 750,000 in USA only.<ref name=Time-menudoinfo/>

Around that time, Menudo merchandise began to be mass-produced. Merchandise included Menudo dolls, which appeared in the United States and Latin American toy markets in 1984,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/02/21/Michael-Jackson-Menudo-dolls-are-headliners-at-84-toy-fair/3222446187600/|title=Michael Jackson, Menudo dolls are headliners at '84 toy fair|website=Upi.com}}</ref> Menudo Topps trading cards,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cardboardconnection.com/bad-music-trading-cards|title=10 Laughably Bad Music Trading Card Sets|date=November 17, 2014}}</ref> wristwatches,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tecnosegura.net/alone/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/menudo-14.jpg |title=Photo |date=2010 |website=Tecnosegura.net |format=JPG |access-date=October 11, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001121411/http://www.tecnosegura.net/alone/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/menudo-14.jpg |archive-date=October 1, 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[fotonovelas]], fanzines, T-shirts, a 1981 board game named "Menudo Karshow"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ebay.com/itm/Incomplete-MENUDO-Karshow-Board-Game-Poster-1981-Fan-Club-Only-Ricky-Martin-80s/153319716704?hash=item23b2913760:g:3QYAAOSwyspcJYYd |title=Incomplete MENUDO Karshow Board Game/Poster 1981 Fan Club Only Ricky Martin 80s |publisher=eBay |date=May 28, 2019 |access-date=October 11, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://uspto.report/TM/73346349 | title=MENUDO KAR SHOW - Padosa Productions, Inc. Trademark Registration }}</ref> and other clothing accessories and school supplies. In 1984, Robby Rosa (now known as [[Draco Rosa]]), 14, replaced [[Johnny Lozada]], 16, just in time for Menudo to release their first English-language album, ''[[Reaching Out (Menudo album)|Reaching Out]]'', which featured the theme track "Like a Cannonball" for the [[Hollywood (film industry)|Hollywood]] movie ''[[Cannonball Run 2]]''; and their first Portuguese album, ''[[Mania (Menudo album)|Mania]]'', both featuring versions of some of their Spanish hits. During the first half of 1984, Menudo toured the U.S. and Brazil. The Spanish version "Como Cannonball" was used in the Filipino youth movie ''Bagets 2'' and also featured the song "Fly Away".

On September 16, 1984, [[Ricky Melendez]], 16, the sole remaining original member, left the group. Up until then, he was the only Menudo member to remain with the group for seven years. He was replaced by [[Ricky Martin]], then 12, who debuted on the album, ''[[Evolución (Menudo album)|Evolución]] ''(''Evolution''). During this time, Menudo's popularity reached parts of [[Asia]] including [[Japan]] and the [[Philippines]], and the group made English-language commercials for [[Pepsi]], [[Scope (mouthwash)|Scope]], [[Burger King]], [[McDonald's]], and [[Crest (toothpaste)|Crest]]. They also made a guest appearance on the popular American children's program ''[[Sesame Street]]''. By the end of September, sales of their records surpassed 8 million copies worldwide.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1984/09/24/menudo/322204e9-7564-4588-82ef-7f08cf58e99d/|title=Menudo|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=September 24, 1984|first=Alma|last=Guillermoprieto|archive-date=October 1, 2022|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221001222604/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1984/09/24/menudo/322204e9-7564-4588-82ef-7f08cf58e99d/}}</ref> Then, much to the surprise of fans and himself, [[Ray Reyes]], 15, departed the group earlier than expected, due to internal conflicts between Ray's father and the manager (information recently confirmed by his brother Raúl Reyes{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}). In a 1998 interview, Reyes stated he was surprised when during a Menudo interview in 1985, the interviewer asked who would leave the group next and Edgardo Díaz named Ray. The group also had a weekly television show called "Menudo Mania".

[[Raymond Acevedo]] (13) took over Reyes' spot in 1985 and Menudo sang vocals for the Spanish-English song "Cantare, Cantaras" (I Will Sing, You Will Sing) with various Latin artists to raise money for UNICEF. This song was the Latin American version of "We Are the World". "Cantare, Cantaras" was recorded on April 9, 1985, at the A&M Studios. The group released their second English-language album, ''[[Menudo (album)|Menudo]]'' which contains the songs "Hold Me" (#62 Billboard Hot 100, RCA 14087)<ref>Top Pop Singles 1955–1999. Joel Whitburn. 2000. Record Research Inc. p. 429. {{ISBN|0-89820-139-X}}</ref> and "Explosion", both with lead vocals by Robi Rosa. They also released their next Spanish album, ''[[Ayer y Hoy (Menudo album)|Ayer Y Hoy]] (Yesterday And Today)'', and their second Portuguese album ''[[A Festa Vai Comecar]] (The Party Is Going To Start)''. They successfully toured [[Brazil]], performing before hundreds of thousands of fans, but there were allegations of the tour being poorly organized: the capacity for a concert in [[Rio de Janeiro]] was 60,000 but 70,000 tickets were sold, and 2 women died. In [[São Paulo]], a 100,000-capacity stadium was sold-out with 200,000 people, and in the São Paulo city of [[Campinas]], rain delayed a concert for 4 hours.

In 1986, the song King Holiday was recorded. Later in the year [[Roy Rosselló]] (15) was replaced by [[Sergio Blass]] (13) but no farewell concert was held.  According to a book written by Raymond Acevedo's father in 2012 titled "Papi, Quiero Ser Un Menudo," Roy threatened to expose management irregularities to the press and was given a huge sum of money to leave the group due to his behavior as it was deemed by creator Edgardo Diaz as "uncontrollable." At this time, Menudo's management started [[Gaming the system|bending the rules]] a little and started allowing members to remain in the group after reaching the age limit. Sergio had been in two Puerto Rican groups prior to joining Menudo; the first being Concepto Juvenil from 1983 to 1985, and then [[Los Chicos de Puerto Rico]], for a few months in 1985. The group released several albums that year, starting with their only Italian album, ''[[Viva! Bravo!]]'', which they showcased in Italy in the [[San Remo Music Festival]]. The Spanish album ''[[Refrescante]] (Refreshing)'', the English album ''[[Can't Get Enough (Menudo album)|Can't Get Enough]]'', and the Portuguese album ''[[Menudo (album)|Menudo]]'' followed respectively, then came tours of the U.S., Latin America (including Brazil), and the [[Philippines]].