Ricky Martin was riding high.

It was 2000, a year after his self-titled English-language debut made him an international superstar when - quite unexpectedly - the 28-year-old singer walked away from the performance stage.

But why? The former lead singer of Menudo, a popular Puerto Rican boy band, seemed so at home under the floodlights. Whatever the reasons, the break would be instrumental in Martin's transformation from heartthrob to one of the best-known humanitarians focusing on child welfare in the Third World.

The first in the recent wave of Latino singers to burst into mainstream pop music, Martin will return to the stage - before thousands of screaming fans at HP Pavilion - on Tuesday to launch the U.S. leg of his Black & White Tour. The monthlong, 20-city tour - including Fresno, Los Angeles and Las Vegas - reflects the experiences and influences that have helped Martin evolve over the past two decades.

"I'm not the same person I was," said Martin, now 35, who rose to fame with his hip shaking anthem, "Livin' La Vida Loca." "I've grown and (everything) I've been exposed to has influenced me."

Change in music style

The HP Pavilion show will be "a high-energy, very colorful and very instrumental" fusion of his work that he believes will please fans.

"I grew up in Puerto Rico, where we have the Latin sound," Martin said recently, "but we're also influenced by the sound. The African "influence is so who I am," he said, adding that the sound plays a significant role in his shows, where he blends it with all the rhythmic styles that move him - including Indian.in Africa."

While his music style has shifted from the sound that first made him a crossover success, Martin is confident his new sound will strike a chord with his many mainstream fans. "If you listen to my first album and listen to what I'm doing now, it's different - thank God," joked Martin, who released his 10th album, "MTV Unplugged," in October. When Martin was 12, he became a member of Menudo, a popular band consisting of boys who are circulated out after they are too old.

He stayed in the group for five years until he left to begin an acting career, appearing in the telenovela "Alcanzar una Estrella" and in "General Hospital." In 1991, he launched his solo singing career with his first self-titled Spanish-language album. Martin dropped a new Spanish album almost every other year, developing a loyal fan base across Latin America before signing with Columbia Records.

His new label first introduced Latino entertainers to the English-language market when Martin delivered a show-stopping performance at the 1999 Grammy Awards. Months later, "Ricky Martin" was released and Billboard magazine opined that in the span of a year, Martin became "one of the best-known singers in the world."

Children's foundation

"All I've done is work," said Martin, still a superstar, but one who keeps a reputation for sincerity. "I've worked non-stop since I was 12 and I all wanted was to be the best." With little down time, he released "Sound Loaded" in 2000 and decided to take a hiatus as his record label released a 17-song, Spanish-language compilation of his hits called "La Historia."

During that time, he started the Ricky Martin Foundation, which is aimed at helping children in need around the globe, but mostly in Third World countries. In 2003, he returned to his roots with his first Spanish album in years, "Almas de Silencio," and took another short break.

He focused on the foundation, expanding its scope to include rescuing children from an international network that abducts children for sexual exploitation. On a trip to Kolkata, India, formerly known as Calcutta, he saved three young girls who were begging for change on the street.

The three girls, sisters younger than 13, eventually were sent to a music school, where hundreds of others have been sent in part by Martin's help. His proudest moment had nothing to do with his first Grammy or platinum album. The moment came in 2005, months after the tsunami washed through Thailand, destroying villages and killing more than 280,000 people.

After traveling through the devastation, he teamed up with Habitat for Humanity to help build 225 homes for devastated flood victims.

The proudest moment?

"It happened when I handed them their house keys," Martin said. "It was in their eyes."