Daily News from New York, New York • 52

News Beat UdDadluDDg.iiflp oil teusseaoDiidl Martin hits Irving Plaza with energetic, slick quick show -ml Tom Sizefflore By ISAAC GUZMAN DAIUf NEWS FEATURES WRITER Ricky Martin's bon-bon she-banged its way back into the spotlight during a brief but joyous performance last night at Irving Plaza. The five-song, 25-minute club date was the latest publicity salvo in Martin's campaign to push "Sound Loaded," his sixth album, to the stratospheric heights reached by "Ricky Martin," his English-language breakthrough of last year. That record featured hits such as "Liv-in' La Vida Loca," "The Cup of Life" and "Shake Your Bon-Bon." It sold more than 17 million copies and turned Martin into the poster boy for Latin pop stars looking to cross over into English-language success. Last night, a crowd of about 1,000 people formed a line that snaked around Irving Plaza. Having received their tickets in radio-station giveaways, many waited three hours to get in.

Chants celebrating Martin frequently rose up from the crowd. Some fans waved Puerto Rican flags. One planted a lipstick kiss on a poster of Martin that hung on the club's door. Inside, Martin CONCERT launched his performance with "She Bangs," which largely clones the sound and style of "Lrvin La Vida Lo KEN MURRAY ONLY NEWS Latin heartthrob Ricky Martin lights up Irving Plaza with five-song teaser concert last night to plug new album "Sound Loaded." ca." Martin's 12-piece band looked cramped on Irving Plaza's relatively small stage, but the musicians played as if they were trying to reach the back tiers of a stadium, helping Martin generate an electric groove that galvanized the dance floor. "Very intimate, very intimate," Martin said.

"Forget about Madison Square Garden. This is the crowd I was looking for." Dressed in a white shirt and black slacks, Martin sported a new, slightly shaggier haircut and a smile so brilliant that his teeth frequently outshone the stage lights. He writhed to the music with moves reminiscent of a toreador. Despite his observation that it was an "mtimate" show, Martin did little to connect with the audience He even used the hackneyed "this side of the room shout louder than this one" technique to rouse Though the show was brief, it succinctly encapsulated Martin's contribution to pop: music that is at once irresistible and buoyant, but also content-free and slickly impersonal. Like so much that pop culture celebrates, Martin is a gorgeous puff of meringue.

But like many wonderfully crafted confections, he leaves us hoping for something more substantial than a gleaming smile, a wave and a quick exit. the crowd. About the only uncanned message he sent out was his dedication of the new song "Amor" to famed Latin jazz bassist Israel (Cachao) Lopez. "To me, he's the king," Martin said. To round out the show, Martin blew through upbeat Spanish versions of "Cup of Life" and "Maria" that showcased his vibrant blend of Latin rhythms, Eurodis-co and house music.

will play Al Cap one in a new film. Slzemore fits for 2 flicks MOVIES "Red Planet" star Tom Sizemore has made a landing in two films. He'll star opposite Josh Hartnett in Ridley Scott's "Black Hawk Down," and is in talks to take a role as Al Capone in Sam Mendes' "The Road to Perdition." "Black Hawk" is based on the true story of the battle of Mogadishu during the Somalian civil war in October 1993. Sizemore will play lieutenant colonel in the extraction force commissioned to rescue two Blackhawk helicopters shot down during the longest sustained ground battle involving American soldiers since the Vietnam War. "Capone" is based on DC Comics' 1998 graphic novel set in 1930s Chicago.

The picture is the tale of a hit man known as the Angel of Death, who will be portrayed by Tom Hanks. Faith Hill up for 4 awards MUSIC Country singer Faith Hill, rapidly becoming a favorite at awards shows, led the list of nominees for the American Music Awards with four nods, organizers announced yesterday. Suave salsa singer Marc Anthony and Florida-bred rock band Creed picked up three nominations each. Eight acts received two nominations each, including pop singer Britney Spears, who will play host for the event. The 28th annual awards ceremony will be held Jan.

8 in Los Angeles. Eagles' 'Greatest Hits' soars MUSIC The Eagles have leapfrogged to the top again. Just a few days after Michael Jackson's "Thriller" album was certified by the Recording Industry Association of America with U.S. sales of 26 million copies, the Eagles' "Greatest Hits 1971-1975" was certified at 27 million. This brings the Eagles' total album sales to more than 66 million, putting them seventh on the all-time list.

Their greatest hits album, released in 1976, was'the first record ever to get the RIAA's platinum certification-' 'Ball' bounces to stage THEATER Most new musicals come from the movies. But has there ever been a stage play based on a hit TV commercial? Writer-di-' rector Charles Randolph-Wright has just signed a deal to direct and co-write "Ball," a show about street basketball that is based on the successful ad campaigns for Nike NYC. 'Ball is about those who play street ball and the people in those neighborhoods," says a spokesman for the producers, adding that a composer and lyricist would be announced at month's end. David Hinckley a news services Patti puts inner diva aside in 'Heart' concert a ularly those of Stephen Sondheim in part, because they grow out of character. As a great singing actress, LuPone understands how to project the visceral quality of "Being Alive" and the plaintive tone of "Not a Day Goes By." Both these numbers make the most of her abundant vocal resources and powerful emotions.

Last spring, when she played Mrs. Lovett, the woman who bakes Sweeney Todd's victims into meat pies in the whelming New York Philharmonic con-' cert, she was devastating. Happily, the live performance has been captured on CD. Listening to it, you can grasp the way she captures the verbal bite and the intense musicality of the material. But few of the numbers in her concert, which opened last night, have that range.

As the title suggests, she's going for a romantic mood, but a lot of the songs come across as just plain bland. That's even the case with "Hello, Young Lovers," which she delivers as if it were merely a pretty tune, not a poignant and eloquent statement about the limits of love. By HOWARD KISSEL DAILY NEWS FEATURE WRITER The obvious question raised by "Matters of the Heart," the concert Patti LuPone is giving Sundays and Mondays at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theater, is why such a formidable performer is doing a one-woman show instead of a full-fledged musical. Ever since she played Evita on Broadway 21 years ago, LuPone has been the quintessential Broadway diva, with the requisite pipes and the outsize ment. But since Andrew Lloyd Webber scuttled her from "Sunset Boulevard" in favor of Glenn Close, her only appearances in musicals in New York have been concert versions: "Pal Joey" five years ago and "Sweeney Todd" last spring.

It says something about our musical theater, much of whose history was built on vehicles for divas, that no one knows how to do so anymore. This seems a pity, because the best moments in "Matters of the Heart" are the theater songs partic I LuPone sings show CM 0 tunes and pop in one-woman show. There are a few comic numbers, and some smart songs by John Bucchino. Lupone is backed by the estimable Dick Gallagher on piano and a string quartet. It's as if she's trying to undercut the brassiness that's part of her appeal.

Concert-mode Patti is better than no Patti at all, but it's like getting a Virgin Mary when you wanted a Bloody..