A 'Return to Romance' with Jon Secada

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Jon-Secada

If American Airlines ever needs a new celebrity spokesman, Jon Secada is their guy.

After a recent tour of Japan, the Grammy Award-winning pop singer logged his 5 millionth frequent-flyer mile on American. That’s 20 years of traveling around the world and then some.

“After a while you start seeing the same flight attendants and you get to know them by name,” he says, with a laugh. “Thank God I do like to travel. If I didn’t enjoy it, I’d really be in trouble.”

Secada, who has sold more than 20 million albums since his debut in 1992, won’t have to travel far for his next gig. The Havana-born, Miami-raised singer will perform a unique concert at Sarasota’s Powel Crosley Estate on Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14). Presented by Chillounge Night, the evening is billed as a “Return to Romance.”

(UPDATE, FEB. 13: Because of inclement weather expected over the next few days, the venue for the Jon Secada/Valentine's Day concert has been moved from the Powel Crosley Estate to the hangar at Flight Source next to Sarasota Bradenton International Airport.)

LEDs

The Powel Crosley Estate will be decorated with 80 colorful LED globes.

The Mediterranean Revival-style mansion normally hosts destination weddings, receptions, meetings and other small events, but never a concert like this. The Chillounge Night folks will have the bayfront estate decked out with giant multicolored LED globes and two semi trucks worth of swanky outdoor lounge furniture. Each ticket gets you catered food, an open bar, roses for the ladies, and of course, the concert.

“It’s going to be a beautiful night with the atmosphere that the mansion has to offer,” says Chillounge Night founder Rainer Scheer.

Secada promises to deliver.

The 50-year-old, known for his soaring vocals on the Top 10 hits “Just Another Day” and “If You Go,” takes good care of himself.

“I’m very health conscious,” he says. “It’s just common sense things, like getting lots of exercise, eating right. I’m always working on my vocal technique. If you’re a professional singer, and you know what you’re doing, you can sing well into your 80s like Tony Bennett.”

So far, Secada's career has been beyond his wildest dreams. The University of Miami grad, who has a master's in jazz vocal performance, started out as a background singer for Gloria Estefan in the late 1980s. He began composing music for her, including "Coming Out of the Dark," which he wrote for her a year after she was nearly killed in a tour bus crash in 1990. “Coming Out of the Dark” was Estefan’s third No. 1.

In 1992, Secada released his self-titled debut album, which sold more than 6 million copies and spawned the Top 5 smash “Just Another Day” and three more Top 30 hits. Of his 18 albums (some in English and some in Spanish), two won Grammys for Best Latin Pop performance.

“I was very fortunate to be taken under the wing of Gloria and Emilio Estefan,” Secada says. “I remember having a conversation with Emilio about how I was happy doing what I was doing for them in the studio, writing songs and composing and singing backup. I was totally content with that.

“Everything that has happened since has been icing on the cake. Twenty years later and I’m still here. When I look back on it, I feel so lucky. And I never take it for granted. I thank Gloria and Emilio in every show. As artists, they have been so generous with me.”

“RETURN TO ROMANCE” WITH JON SECADA
7 p.m. Feb. 14. Presented by Chillounge Night at Flight Source, next to SRQ airport. Tickets priced at $140 and $160, includes catered food, a full liquor bar and the concert. (888) 695-0888; chilloungenight.com.
Last modified: February 13, 2013
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