"She Bangs"
Single by Ricky Martin
from the album Sound Loaded
B-side
ReleasedSeptember 22, 2000 (2000-09-22)
Recorded2000
StudioSony 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)
GenreDance
Length4:42 (album version)
4:06 (radio edit)
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Walter Afanasieff
  • Robi Draco Rosa
  • Desmond Child
Ricky Martin singles chronology
"Private Emotion"
(2000) 		"She Bangs"
(2000) 		"Nobody Wants to Be Lonely"
(2001)

"She Bangs" is a song written by Desmond Child, Walter Afanasieff and Robi Draco Rosa and recorded by Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin. It was released as the lead single from Martin's sixth studio album Sound Loaded on September 23, 2000. "She Bangs" is a dance song with Latin music influences in which the singer who wants hold on to a woman. It was met with positive reviews by music critics noted the similarities with Martin's previous single "Livin' la Vida Loca" and received a Grammy nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance in 2001. Commercially, it peaked at number one in Italy and Switzerland and reached the top five in several countries in Europe.

A Spanish-language version of the song was also recorded under the same title and reached on top of the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart in the United States. The music video for "She Bangs" was filmed in the Bahamas and directed by Wayne Isham. The video's suggested sexual content caused controversy and was banned in several Latin American countries. Despite the backlash, it won the Latin Grammy Award for Best Music Video and the Lo Nuestro Award for Video of the Year in 2001. "She Bangs" has been covered by several artists including William Hung on American Idol. His rendition was met with unfavorable reactions from both the judges at the show and music critics.

Composition and lyrical interpretation

"She Bangs" is a dance song that features Latin music influences and lasts for four minutes and forty-two seconds.[1][2] According to Alfred Publishing Company's digital sheet music for the single, "She Bangs" is composed in the key of F# minotr and set in common time signature, and has a groove of 142 beats per minute.[3] Martin's vocals span from the low note of D4 to the high note of F#5.[3] The song's instrumentation features powerful percussion, trumpet blasts and tropical beats.[2][4] Chris Willman of Entertainment Weekly wrote that the single starts with a "teasing snatch" of a "sputtering" Spanish guitar, before the disco beats start. They are followed by "equally inevitable driving" horn section, similar to the one on Martin's 1999 single "Livin' la Vida Loca".[5] 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."[4] Billboard's reviewer stated that the song's lyrics are "insane" and that make cynics bark 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."[2]

Critical reception

The song received generally positive reviews from music critics. A reviewer 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 Martin's 1999 number-one single "Livin' la Vida Loca". According to him, the single is just what the radio needed at the moment, a "summertime smash" in the fall season.[2] Similarly, Allison Stewart of Chicago Tribune called the song "glamorous" but thought that it replicates the former.[1] Sean Piccoli and Lawrence A. Johnson of Sun-Sentinel agreed with Stewart and noted that the resemblance of the song is a result of both songs being produced by Rosa. They further noted that the song's credits include a personnel consisted of 34 people, "The life of any serious party knows: It's all about the entourage".[6]

Geoff Boucher of Los Angeles Times noted that the erotic images of the song and its accompanying music video are "up a notch" from his previous lead single "Livin' la Vida Loca" "and will likely do no harm to Martin's hunk status".[4] In a review of Sound Loaded, Orlando Sentinel's Jim Abbott labeled "She Bangs" and "Loaded" as "bon-bon shakers" referencing Martin's 1999 single "Shake Your Bon-Bon".[7] Jose F. Promis of AllMusic concluded by calling the song "electrifying" and stated that is arguably one of best songs of the 2000s.[8] At the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards in 2001, "She Bangs" earned Martin a nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.[9] "She Bangs" was recognized as the one of the best-performing pop songs at the 2002 BMI Pop Awards.[10] At the 16th Annual International Dance Music Awards, presented in 2001, the single won the award for Best Latin 12".[11]

Commercial performance

"She Bangs" was released to radio stations on September 22, 2000.[12] On October 29, 2000, "She Bangs" debuted and peaked at number three on the Australian Singles Chart. It spend six weeks in the top-ten of the chart, before slowly started declining on it. It stayed for a total of 15 weeks.[13] It was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) denoting shipments of over 70,000 copies in the country alone.[14] In New Zealand, the song debuted at number 31 on the singles chart, on October 15. The next week the song reached a peak of 16, before reaching its final peak of two on December 3. It stayed on the chart for a total of 15 weeks.[15] In the United Kingdom, "She Bangs" reached a peak of number three on November 4; similarly as in the previous nations charts it stayed on the chart for 15 weeks.[16] It was later certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) denoting shipments of over 200,000 copies in the country.[17] In Continental Europe, it was most successful on the Italian[18] and the Swedish Singles Chart where it peaked at number one.[19] Additionally, it was certified gold by the Swedish Recording Industry Association (GLF) denoting sales of over 15,000 copies in the country.[20] It was also successful in Spain where it peaked at number two,[21] it reached number three in Finland,[22] number four in Norway,[23] and number seven in Switzerland.[24] In Latin America, the song peaked at number nine in Guatemala,[25] number five in Nicaragua,[26] and number one in Uruguay.[27] The song also reached number one in Argentina, Chile, Hong Kong, and South Africa.[28]

In the United States, "She Bangs" debuted at number 38 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.[29] After several weeks on the chart it reached its peak of number 12.[30] As of January 2011, the single has sold over 152,000 digital copies in the country alone and it is Martin's second best-selling single, only behind "Livin' la Vida Loca".[31] It was more successful on the Hot Latin Songs chart[32] and the Tropical Songs chart where it reached peaks of number one and became his fifth number-one song on the former chart.[33] Otherwise, it also peaked at number two on the Latin Pop Songs chart[34] and number eight on the Mainstream Top 40 chart.[35] On the Adult Top 40 and Hot Dance Club Songs, "She Bangs" peaked at number 24[36] and 27 respectively.[37] The single was more successful in Canada, where it reached number two on the Canadian Singles Chart.[38] The song experienced moderate chart success in Japan, where it peaked at number 58.[39]

Music video

Development and synopsis

The music video for "She Bangs" was directed by Wayne Isham and shot at the Atlantis Paradise Island hotel in the Bahamas. Isham has worked on some of Martin's previous videos including "La Copa de la Vida" (1998) and "Shake Your Bon-Bon".[12] The singer described the concept of the video to-be as part of a trilogy with "María" and "Livin' la Vida Loca", "with this girl who drives me crazy because she's crazy, she won't talk to me or tell me her name".[40] Martin told Univision he envisioned the video taking place in Atlantis and felt the Bahamas was the perfect place to film the video.[41] Jamie King helped with the creative direction of the video and over 100 people was involved with the production of the film.[42] A body double for Martin was used during the scenes with sharks.[41] The Spanish version of the music video premiered on September 26, 2000 for the Hispanophone market while the English version debuted on MTV's Making the Video the following day.[43]

The video begins with a group of women in a beach at night swimming to an underwater nightclub with Martin following them. Martin explained that the filming the scene was hard for him because he had to resist without taking air for a long time; also he had to mime the lyrics without blowing bubbles of his mouth.[40] Upon entering the nightclub Martin proceeds to sing "She Bangs" while dancing with the people in the club with several scenes resembling an orgy. In one scene, Martin sees himself being seduced by mermaids and is later taken into a closet where he dances erotically with several women. Near the end of the video, Martin spills a bottle of water on himself and the people nearby him. The video concludes with him returning to the surface at daylight.[44]

Reception and controversy

The explicit sexual scenes received criticism from the audience; several American television station cut the scenes when airing the video. According to Daily Record's John Dingwall with the video the singer ditched his teen idol image with a transformation to more mature one.[40] The video was consequently banned in several Latin American countries such as the Dominican Republic.[45] Martin told MTV News that the video represented freedom rather than his sexuality.[46] At the 2nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards in 2001, Martin and Isham won the award for Best Short Form Music Video.[47] In the same year, it was the Video of the Year at the 13th Lo Nuestro Awards.[48]

Live performances

Martin performed "She Bangs" live at the 2000 Billboard Music Awards.[49] To promote the song in Mexico, Martin performed it on the television programs Al Fin de Semana and Otro Rollo.[50] During the 2000 MTV Europe Music Awards, Martin was accompanied by underwater dancers in tanks as he sings "She Bangs".[51] In his only North American concert in 2001, "She Bangs" was one of the songs Martin performed during the annual Wango Tango in Los Angeles.[52] In the same year, it was sung by Martin at the 43rd Annual TV Week Logie Awards.[53] The song was included in the set list for the 2011 Música + Alma + Sexo World Tour and his 2013 Australian Tour.[54][55]

Cover versions

"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. His rendition was rendition was poorly received with David Hasselhoff remarking that he had zero talent" and was immediately eliminated afterwards.[56][57] Similarly, Jedward's rendition on the The X Factor was criticized for not remembering the lyrics, but were not eliminated.[58]

William Hung version

"She Bangs"
Song by William Hung
from the album Inspiration
Released2004
Recorded2004
GenrePop
Length3:32
LabelKoch Entertainment
Songwriter(s)Desmond Child Walter Afanasieff Robi Draco Rosa Glenn Monroig Julia Sierra Daniel López

William Hung gained notoriety when he auditioned for the third season of American Idol. Hung was strongly criticized for his singing and dancing. Simon Cowell interrupted his audition and asked him, "You can’t sing, you can’t dance, so what do you want me to say?"[59] Despite the negative reception, Hung gained a following his performance and signed on to Koch Entertainment.[60] Hung recorded his cover of "She Bangs" on his debut album Inspiration (2004) which was panned by music critics. AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine writes 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."[61] Chris Carle of IGN called it the "best track but that's like saying a tetanus shot is the best kind of injection you can get."[62] Clem Bestow wrote for Stylus Magazine that Hung performance of the song was "like a tone-deaf taxi driver and dancing like an epileptic octopus".[63] When Martin was asked about his thoughts on Hung's cover, he replied: "William, keep up the good work buddy!"[64] The music video for Hung's version was directed by Jeff Richter and filmed in Los Angeles.[65]

Credits and personnel

Recording
Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Sound Loaded, Columbia Records.[66]

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[14] Platinum 70,000^
Sweden (GLF)[20] Gold 15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[17] Silver 200,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.


References

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External links

Ricky Martin singles
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