Broadway bound Ricky Martin is definitely mellowing out in his old age. The Latin heartthrob continued his comeback and just dropped his first video in several years, for "The Best Thing About Me Is You," the lead cut from Puerto-Rican pop crossover's upcoming ninth studio and first bilingual album, "Music+Soul+Sex" which is set for release on February 1. The feel-good vibed song features British soul powerhouse Joss Stone, and in the video, Martin sports an equality symbol on his chest and the video shows loving couples from all walks of life celebrating their differences. A Spanish version of the tune featuring Natalia Jiminez is also being offered."The Best Thing About Me Is You," is an upbeat tropical bluesy happy-go-lucky track in the vein of Jason Mraz with so full of positive energy. The words and tempo are upbeat and Martin/Stone voices are great together. It's a lighthearted tune where his "allergy to tragedy" is accompanied by a smiling rainbow of faces. It's clear that the new single and video from Martin is a deeply personal statement for him since coming out about his homosexuality by telling Oprah last November. It offers a clear, heartwarming message about inclusion that, quite frankly, in these divisive times, can never be stressed enough. Martin is very entitled to make a statement, and this one comes with an easy to swallow, lilting melody.
Recently filmed in Miami by Carlos Perez, the video portrays positivity and freedom from beginning to end. It's a relentlessly earnest and upbeat song and clip. The simple video, shot primarily against a white or black background often with equality scribblings in a black marker, features people of all different races, religions and sexual orientation. Of course, the unifying feature is that they're all stunningly gorgeous and straight from a modeling agency. If there was ever a well-intentioned clip, this is it. By the end, the multitudes are all together, gently swaying back and forth with Martin. And Stone does not appear in the video.
Martin was one of the biggest teen idols in Latin America during the '90s and a major figure in American pop music by the end of the decade, but struggled to maintain an international chart presence. Now the unlikely couple have joined forces on "The Best Thing About Me Is You." This isn't anything groundbreaking from the Latin heartthrob. More like nice dinner party music. Still, the addition of Stones warm vocals here gives the song a nice touch. Desmond Child, who is producing Martin's new album, tells that "I'm really excited about the music, the content, because since he's come out it's unleashed his creativity and the scope of what he can sing about and say and do. Once he opened that door, a floodgate of energy and creativity just really exploded."
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