She Bangs

"She Bangs" is a song recorded by Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin for his sixth studio album, Sound Loaded (2000). The song was written by Desmond Child, Walter Afanasieff, and Draco Rosa, while the production was handled by Afanasieff and Rosa. It was released to radio stations by Columbia Records as the lead single from the album on September 22, 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". The song received widely positive reviews from music critics, who often noted similarities with Martin's 1999 single "Livin' la Vida Loca", and received a nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 2001 Grammy Awards. "She Bangs" was commercially successful, reaching number one in seven countries, including Italy and Sweden, as well as the top five in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and several other countries.

A Spanish-language version of "She Bangs" was recorded under the same title and reached the summit of the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart in the United States. To promote the original version of the song, Martin performed it on several television programs and award shows, including both the Billboard Music Awards and the MTV Europe Music Awards in 2000. The music video for the song was filmed in the Bahamas and directed by Wayne Isham. The suggested sexual content of the video caused controversy and led to it being banned in several Latin American countries. Despite the backlash, the visual won the Latin Grammy Award for Best Music Video, the Lo Nuestro Award for Video of the Year, and the Billboard Music Video Award for Best Clip of the Year — Latin, all in 2001. The song has been covered by several artists, including William Hung on American Idol in 2004. His cover version received generally unfavorable responses from both the judges at the show and music critics.

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.

Columbia Records released "She Bangs" to radio stations in several countries on September 22, 2000, as the lead single from the album. Thereafter, the song was released to the singles markets in October. "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.

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. Martin's vocals span from the low note of D₄ to the high note of F♯₅. 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.

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". Desmond Child told ABC News that "She Bangs" is "a metaphor for the universe", and explained about it: "You know the big bang theory? So the universe is really this 'mother universe' — she bangs, and explodes [...] She moves. The planets, the galaxies, are all moving. That's what it means." 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."

"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. 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". Similarly to the staff, Allison Stewart from the Chicago Tribune called the song "clamorous" but thought that it replicates "Livin' La Vida Loca". Sean Piccoli and Lawrence A. Johnson of the Sun-Sentinel agreed with Stewart and noted that the resemblance of the song is a result of both songs being produced by Rosa. The two of them further noted that the song's credits include a personnel consisting of 34 people, opining the "life of any serious party knows: It's all about the entourage".

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". In a review of Sound Loaded, the Orlando Sentinel's Jim Abbott labeled "She Bangs" and "Loaded" as "'bon-bon' shakers". Both Felix Contreras from NPR and Rolling Stone staff described "She Bangs" as a "megahit".