Christopher Martin - File

Fast-rising reggae star Christopher Martin departed the island on Monday for a 12-city European tour as he looks to broaden the reach of his growing popularity and further strengthen his legacy as one of the most sought-after reggae acts coming out of Jamaica today.

Martin has shows lined up in Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Cologne, Vienna, Munich, Oslo, Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmo, Zurich, Porto, and Mannheim between March 28 and April 13. "We will be there three weeks promoting the Chris Martin movement trying to broaden the reach of the brand on a wider scale," the singer said on the eve of his departure.

This year has been big for Martin whose star continues to shine brightly, fuelled by a series of hit songs that continue to win him new fans all over the world. Songs like Hotter Than Them, Hold You, are monster hits in Central and South America, especially in countries like Costa Rica and Panama. Some of his older hits like Paper Loving, Cheater's Prayer, Na Na Na, Girlfriend, and Chill Spot also continue to do extremely well in that region.

significant following

The 2005 Rising Star winner also has a significant following all over Africa, where he is celebrated as a megastar. His new songs Change Ma Plans and Mi Friend Dem are staples in countries like The Gambia, Rwanda, Uganda, and Kenya where Martin was named Reggae Artiste of the Year in 2011.

Martin, who confesses that he would love to do a remix of Cheater's Prayer with global superstar and sex kitten Rihanna, said the past few months have been very rewarding with the success of his songs on the global landscape.

"It has been great. I have been promoting the Chris Martin movement and the music has not been falling on deaf ears and the people have been showing appreciation and love," he said. "Doing Cheater's Prayer with someone like Rihanna would be great as in some places that song is like a brand-new song. Some people are just now getting over Paper Loving."

With his new songs doing well and the present focus being on his European tour, Martin says there are no plans to release anything new in the near future. However, he has songs that were done with several producers.

Those songs, he said, will be released at the discretion of the producer. "I don't know when those songs are dropping. That will be up to the respective producers," he explained.

Among the songs to be released is Too Much Killing on the Fi Mi Records label and Nah Work from Daseca. There is also the third part of the Cardiac Key rhythm called Reggae Road Block.