She Bangs

From 1999 to 2000, Martin embarked on his fifth tour the Livin' la Vida Loca Tour to promote his first English album Ricky Martin. While on tour in 2000, Martin returned to the studio and began recording material for Sound Loaded. On August 29, 2000, El Siglo de Torreón revealed the lead single's name as "She Bangs" in an article and mentioned that in addition to the original version of the song that is in English, it will feature a Spanish version. In an interview with the newspaper, Martin's then representative Ricardo Cordero said She Bangs' is going to show Ricky one step further up in his career", and announced the possibilities of Martin performing an acoustic concert for MTV. 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. "She Bangs" was included as the first track on Martin's sixth studio album Sound Loaded, released November 14, 2000, and the Spanish version was included as the tenth track. == Composition and lyrics ==

Musically, "She Bangs" is a dance song that features Latin and salsa music influences, and lasts for 4:42. According to Alfred Publishing Company's digital sheet music for the song, "She Bangs" is composed in the key of F♯ minor and set in the time signature of common time, with a groove of 142 beats per minute. The song's instrumentation features "powerful" percussion, trumpet blasts, and tropical beats. 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". "She Bangs" was written by Desmond Child, Walter Afanasieff, and Draco Rosa, while the production was handled by Afanasieff and Rosa. Also, Glenn Monroig, Julia Sierra and Daniel López joined the original version's lyricists to write the Spanish version. 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." == Critical reception ==

"She Bangs" was met with widely positive reviews from music critics. 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". According to the staff, the single was just what the radio needed at the time of release, a "summertime smash" in the fall season. 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". She also ranked "She Bangs" as Martin's best song on her 2019 list. In 2020, MTV Argentina ranked it as one of Martin's best songs, and Luca Mastinu from Optimagazine listed it as one of Martin's five greatest hits. He also called the track a "Latin American bomb" and stated that it "is still present in the playlists of all the occasions when you need to ignite the party". 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". Both Felix Contreras from NPR and Rolling Stone staff described "She Bangs" as a "megahit". Accolades Jose F. Promis from AllMusic called the song "electrifying" and stated that it is arguably one of best songs of the 2000s, and Billboard ranked the track as the 85th greatest song of 2000. The track was recognized as one of the best-performing pop songs at the 2002 BMI Pop Awards. At the 16th Annual International Dance Music Awards, presented in 2001, the single won the award for Best Latin 12". == Commercial performance ==

On October 29, 2000, "She Bangs" debuted and peaked at number three on the Australian Singles Chart. It spent 6 weeks in the top 10 of the chart, before slowly starting to decline on it, though lasted on the chart for a total of 15 weeks. The song was later certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), indicating shipments of over 200,000 copies in the country. number five in Nicaragua, and number one in Argentina, The song was also a chart topper in Hong Kong and South Africa. "She Bangs" debuted at number 38 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. After several weeks on the chart, the track reached its peak of number 12. The Spanish version was more successful on the country's Hot Latin Tracks and Tropical/Salsa Airplay charts, both of which it peaked at number one on, and became his fifth number one song on the former chart. The track further peaked at number two on the US Latin Pop Airplay chart and number eight on the Mainstream Top 40. On the Adult Top 40 and Dance Club Play charts, "She Bangs" peaked at numbers 24 and 27, respectively. The track was more successful in Canada, reaching number three on the Canada Top Singles chart. It experienced moderate chart success in Japan, peaking at number 58. == Music video ==

Development and synopsis , depicting Martin dancing in an underwater nightclub. The music video for "She Bangs" was directed by Wayne Isham and shot at the Atlantis Paradise Island hotel in the Bahamas. Isham had worked on some of Martin's previous videos, including the ones for "La Copa de la Vida" (1998) and "Shake Your Bon-Bon". Martin told Univision he envisioned the visual taking place in Atlantis and felt that the Bahamas was the perfect place to film it. Jamie King was responsible for the creative direction of the video and over 100 people were involved in the production process. A body double for Martin was used during the scenes with sharks. The video begins with a group of women on a beach at night swimming to an underwater nightclub, with Martin following them. 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. American actor and dancer Channing Tatum makes an appearance in the video as a shirtless bartender and dancer among many other dancers, which was at the beginning of his career. Reception and controversy The explicit sexual scenes of the music video were met with criticism from the audience; several American television stations cut the scenes when airing the video. According to the Daily Records John Dingwall, with the visual, Martin ditched his teen idol image by transforming to a more mature one. Martin told MTV News that the video represented freedom rather than his sexuality. Writing for Mitú, Cristal Mesa complimented the visual, saying: "The use of underwater Martin shots cropped onto the dance floor is pretty amazing". She also ranked "She Bangs" as Martin's 15th best music video on her 2018 list. At the 2nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards in 2001, the video was awarded Best Short Form Music Video. That same year, it won the award for Video of the Year at the 13th Lo Nuestro Awards, as well as Best Clip of the Year — Latin at the Billboard Music Video Awards. == Live performances ==

Martin gave his first live performance of "She Bangs" on the BBC's Top of the Pops on November 3, 2000. Later that year, he performed it live at the 2000 Billboard Music Awards on December 5. To promote the song in Mexico, he performed it on the television programs Al Fin de Semana and Otro Rollo that same year. At the 2000 MTV Europe Music Awards, Martin was accompanied by underwater dancers in tanks while he sung "She Bangs". 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. In the same year, it was sung by Martin at the 43rd Annual TV Week Logie Awards. The song was included on the set lists for Martin's 2011 Música + Alma + Sexo World Tour, 2013 Australian Tour, and the Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin Live in Concert tour. Martin also performed "She Bangs" along with his other hits during the 55th Viña del Mar International Song Festival on February 23, 2014. He performed "Livin' la Vida Loca", "She Bangs" and "Adrenalina" with the show's finalists, and "La Copa de la Vida" with Cristina Scuccia on season two of The Voice of Italy in 2014. Also, on May 13, 2015, he performed "Mr. 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. == Cover versions and appearances in media ==

"She Bangs" has been covered by several contestants on various music talent shows. Ronny B performed "She Bangs" on season three of ''America's Got Talent in 2008. His rendition was poorly received, with judge David Hasselhoff remarking that Ronny B had "zero talent", and he was immediately eliminated afterwards. In 2020, Llama (Drew Carey) delivered a performance of "She Bangs" on season three of The Masked Singer'', and in 2010, Wagnar performed the track along with a cover version of "Love Shack" by the B-52's on series seven of The X Factor. Wagner was ranked as one of the most iconic X Factor contestants of all time by Grazia. "She Bangs" was featured in the American animated jukebox musical comedy film Sing 2 (2021). William Hung version Hong Kong–born American motivational speaker and former singer William Hung gained notoriety when he auditioned for the third season of American Idol in 2004. Hung was strongly criticized for his singing and dancing; judge Simon Cowell interrupted his audition and asked him, "You can't sing, you can't dance, so what do you want me to say?" Despite the negative reception, Hung gained a following after his performance and ultimately signed to Koch Entertainment. Hung released a cover of "She Bangs" on his debut studio album Inspiration (2004), with the cover being generally panned. 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". Chris Carle of IGN said that it is the "best track... but that's like saying a tetanus shot is the best kind of injection you can get". 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". The music video for Hung's version was directed by Jeff Richter and filmed in Los Angeles. 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. On May 2, 2022, coinciding with American Idols 20th anniversary, Hung returned to the show "to reprise his epic" performance of the song. ==Formats and track listings==

• Australian maxi-single • "She Bangs" (English Edit) – 4:02 • "She Bangs" (Obadam's English Radio Edit) – 3:59 • "Por Arriba, Por Abajo" – 3:07 • "Amor" – 3:27 • "She Bangs" (Obadam's Afro-Bang Mix) (English) – 7:28 • Brazilian promotional CD single • "She Bangs" (Album Version) – 4:40 • "She Bangs" (Obadam's English Radio) – 4:04 • "She Bangs" (Obadam's Afro-Bang Mix) (English) – 7:30 • "She Bangs" (Obadambangadub) – 10:24 • European 12-inch single • "She Bangs" (English) – 4:44 • "She Bangs" (English Edit) – 4:02 • "She Bangs" (Spanish Edit) – 4:01 • "She Bangs" (Spanglish Edit) – 4:01 • "Almost a Love Song (Casi Un Bolero)" – 4:41 • Japanese CD single • "She Bangs" (English Radio) – 4:04 • "She Bangs" (Spanish) – 4:35 • "She Bangs" (Spanglish) – 4:41 • "She Bangs" (English) – 4:42 • UK CD 1 • "She Bangs" (English Edit) – 4:02 • "She Bangs" (Obadam's English Radio Edit) – 3:59 • "María" (Spanglish Radio Edit) – 4:30 • UK CD 2 • "She Bangs" (English Edit) – 4:02 • "Amor" – 3:27 • "She Bangs" (Obadam's Afro-Bang Mix) (English) – 7:28 • US 7-incg single • "She Bangs" (English Edit) – 4:02 • "She Bangs" (Spanish Edit) – 4:02 == Credits and personnel ==

Recording • Recorded at Sony Music Studios (New York City); The Hit Factory Criteria, the Gentleman's Club (Miami); WallyWorld Studios, Capitol Studios (Hollywood); Aireborne Studios (Indianapolis); Quad Recordings (Nashville) • Mixed at Sony Music Studios Personnel Musicians • Ricky Martin vocal • Desmond Child composer, lyricist, vocal producer • Walter Afanasieff composer, lyricist, producer, drum programmer, keyboards • Robi Rosa composer, lyricist, producer, executive producer • Glenn Monroig additional composer, lyricist for the Spanish version • Julia Sierra additional composer, lyricist for the Spanish Version • Daniel López percussion, additional composer, lyricist for the Spanish version • Michael Landau acoustic guitar, electric guitar • René Toledo acoustic guitar • Michael Migliore alto saxophone • Maurice Lauchner background vocal • Chris Willis background vocal • Will Lee background vocal • Ron Grant background vocal • Gustavo Laureano background vocal • Illyak Negroni background vocal • Larry Loftin background vocal • Michael Contratto background vocal • Robbie Nevil background vocal • Ronnie Cuber baritone saxophone • Ramses Colón bass • Herb Besson bass • Rusty Anderson electric guitar • Paquito Hechavarría piano • Ed Calle saxophone • Jerry Vivino tenor saxophone • Lenny Pickett tenor saxophone • Keith O'Quinn trombone • Wayne Andre trombone • Richard Rosenberg trombone • Dana Teboe trombone • Glen Drewes trumpet • Earl Gardner trumpet • Mark Pender trumpet • Danny Cahn trumpet • José Sibajas trumpet • Scott Healy arranger Production • Mike Couzi recording engineer • Jules Gondar recording engineer • Gregg Bieck recording engineer, macintosh & digital programmer • David Reitzas recording engineer • Dave Gleeson recording engineer • Ted Jensen mastering engineer • Tony Maserati mixing engineer • Jimmy Hoysen assistant engineer • Juan Turek assistant engineer • Nathan Malki assistant engineer • Larry Brooks assistant engineer • John Hendrickson assistant engineer • Aaron Shannon assistant engineer • Andy Manganno assistant engineer • Conrad Golding assistant engineer • Craig Lozowick assistant engineer • Fabian Marascillo assistant engineer • Germán Ortiz assistant engineer • Robert Conley additional programmer • Carlo Tallarico coordinator • Brian Coleman coordinator • Dean Lawrence coordinator • Chris Apostle coordinator • Jolie Levine-Aller coordinator • Angelo Medina executive producer • Phantom Vox executive producer • Ricardo Cordero project coordinator • Iris Aponte project coordinator • Nanette Lamboy project coordinator Credits adapted from Tidal and the liner notes of Sound Loaded, Columbia Records. == Charts ==

Weekly charts Year-end charts == Certifications ==