She Bangs

"She Bangs" is a song recorded by Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin for his sixth studio album, Sound Loaded (2000).

A dance track with Latin and salsa music influences, its lyrics see Martin wanting to hold on to a woman, and the song is a "metaphor for the universe".

A Spanish-language version of "She Bangs" was recorded under the same title and reached the summit of the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart in the United States.

Also, Martin's publicist Nanette Camboy told El Siglo de Torreón that although "Ricky is still putting the final touches on his production in studios in Miami and New York", the song's music video had already been shot in the Bahamas on August 15, 2000.

[10][12] Chris Willman of Entertainment Weekly wrote that the song begins with a "teasing snatch" of a "sputtering" Spanish guitar, before the disco beats start.

The beats are followed by an "equally inevitable [...] driving" horn section, which Willman called reminiscent of the one on Martin's 1999 single "Livin' la Vida Loca".

[14] Lyrically, "She Bangs" is similar to the singer's previous singles "María" (1995) and "Livin la Vida Loca"; it tells a "tale of a wild woman who may be hard to let go and even harder to hold".

"[15] Billboard wrote that the song's lyrics are "insane" and will make cynics drive away in a triumph, "Talk to me, tell me the news/ You'll wear me out like a pair of shoes/We'll dance until the band goes home/Then you're gone, yeah baby.

The staff of Billboard magazine praised the song and wrote that "She Bangs" is "simply manic with exuberance and energy", being designed to ignite the flavor of "Livin' la Vida Loca".

[10] Also from Billboard, Taylor Mims described it as a "danceable track meshed a salsa flare with heavy rock guitar and an irresistible pop beat for universal appeal".

[6] Similarly to the staff, Allison Stewart from the Chicago Tribune called the song "clamorous" but thought that it replicates "Livin' La Vida Loca".

[16] Writing for O, The Oprah Magazine, Amanda Mitchell complimented the song, saying it "solidified Martin's place as a crossover artist thanks to the salsa-infused pop and the double entendre lyrics".

[19] Geoff Boucher of the Los Angeles Times noted that the erotic images of the song and accompanying music video are "up a notch" from "Livin' la Vida Loca" "and will likely do no harm to Martin's hunk status".

[32][33] Additionally, the song was certified gold by the Swedish Recording Industry Association (GLF), denoting sales of over 15,000 copies in Sweden.

[44] As of January 2011, the track has sold over 152,000 digital copies in the United States and stands as Martin's second best-selling single, only behind "Livin' la Vida Loca".

Martin explained that filming the scene was hard for him because he had to resist without taking air for a long time, as well as having to mime the lyrics without blowing bubbles out of his mouth.

[55] Upon entering the nightclub, Martin proceeds to sing "She Bangs" as he dances with the people in the club, with several scenes resembling an orgy.

According to the Daily Record's John Dingwall, with the visual, Martin ditched his teen idol image by transforming to a more mature one.

[63] Writing for Mitú, Cristal Mesa complimented the visual, saying: "The use of underwater Martin shots cropped onto the dance floor is pretty amazing".

[69] To promote the song in Mexico, he performed it on the television programs Al Fin de Semana and Otro Rollo that same year.

[71] In his only North American concert of 2001, "She Bangs" was one of the songs Martin performed during the annual Wango Tango in Los Angeles.

Put It Down", "Livin' la Vida Loca", "She Bangs", and "The Cup of Life" alongside Clark Beckham, Nick Fradiani, Quentin Alexander, Qaasim Middleton, and Rayvon Owen on fourteenth season's finale of American Idol.

AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that Hung "sang it as if the song meant something to him even though he didn't understand the words, which gave the Berkeley civil engineering student innocence or, to some of his harsher critics, the appearance of being mildly retarded".

[88] Clem Bestow wrote for Stylus Magazine that Hung's performance of the song is "like a tone-deaf taxi driver and dancing like an epileptic octopus".

[90] On June 3, 2018, Martin invited Hung as a surprise guest to his concert at the Monte Carlo Theater in Las Vegas, and the two performed the original together.

[8] In an interview with Variety, 20 years after the release of "She Bangs", Hung told the magazine that he's "grateful" to have Martin's song, and explained that "otherwise I wouldn’t be where I am today.

A screenshot from the music video , depicting Martin dancing in an underwater nightclub.