| Pausa | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| EP by | ||||
| Released | May 28, 2020 (2020-5-28) | |||
| Recorded | 2019–2020 | |||
| Studio |
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| Length | 21:05 | |||
| Language | Spanish | |||
| Label | Sony Latin | |||
| Producer |
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| Ricky Martin chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Pausa | ||||
Pausa (Spanish for 'Pause') is the firstextended play by Puerto Rican singerRicky Martin. It was released on May 28, 2020, throughSony Latin.Pausa is the first studio release by Martin since his 2015studio album,A Quien Quiera Escuchar. Originally planned as a full-length album, Martin changed the concept following the spread of theCOVID-19 pandemic and his experience withpanic attacks. He split the album into two EP's,Pausa which consists of slower songs andballads andPlay which is set to include more up-tempo songs. The EP features six songs, out of which, five are collaborations withSting,Carla Morrison,Pedro Capó andBad Bunny among others.
Following its release,Pausa charted at number eight on the USLatin Pop Albums chart. It was promoted with two singles, "Cántalo", with Bad Bunny andResidente, and "Tiburones". The latter became Martin's 49th entry on USHot Latin Songs charts, making him the first and only artist in history to enter the chart in five different decades. Additionally, it became his 50th entry on the USLatin Pop Airplay chart.Pausa was nominated for Album Of The Year and won Best Pop Vocal Album at the21st Annual Latin Grammy Awards. It also has been nominated for Best Latin Pop or Urban Album at the63rd Annual Grammy Awards.
In 2015 Martin released his tenth studio album,A Quien Quiera Escuchar.[1] The album spawned four singles, including theinternational hit, "La Mordidita"; it became Martin's twenty-sixth top ten hit on the USHot Latin Songs chart[2] making him the fourth artist with the most top tens in the history of the chart.[2] At the58th Annual Grammy Awards,A Quien Quiera Escuchar won theaward forBest Latin Pop Album.[3] In 2016, Martin released, "Vente Pa' Ca", a collaboration with Colombian singerMaluma. It became Martin's 16th number-one single on the USLatin Airplay chart[4] andtopped the charts in eight other countries. Two years later, he released another collaboration, "Fiebre", featuringWisin & Yandel;[5] it received a platinum certification (Latin) from theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for moving over 60,000 units in the US.[6]
I think it is a time when the world is asking us – the cosmos, God, as you want to see it – is asking us to pause and go home. So I see it, I am an artist and this is my defense mechanism.
In January 2020, Martin announced the release of his eleventh studio album, initially titledMovimiento. The record was supposed to be inspired by Puerto Rico's recent history includingHurricane Maria in 2017, the2019 political protests and the2019–20 earthquakes.[8] However, following the spread ofCOVID-19 pandemic, Martin started experiencingpanic attacks, "I spent two weeks with a poker face so my family wouldn't be affected, but finally I was able to raise my head and say ‘eh, something very good has to come out of this, get creative.’ And I started making music and it was my medicine, honestly, because I really felt like I was gasping for air."[9] Subsequently, he contacted his label,Sony, and decided to split the album in twoextended plays,Pausa andPlay. Martin described the former as more "chill" and "relaxed", while the latter will consist of more upbeat songs.Pausa was released on May 28, 2020, whilePlay would be slated for a September release, though thePlay release did not occur yet.[10] Martin's husband,Jwan Yosef, shot the artwork forPausa; it features the singer's naked back.[citation needed]
Pausa consists of six songs, five out of which are collaborations.[7] Musicians featured on the EP include, English singerSting, Mexican singer-songwriterCarla Morrison,Spain Romaniflamenco singerDiego el Cigala and Puerto Rican artistsPedro Capó,Residente andBad Bunny.[10] Regarding his collaboration with Morrison, Martin stated, "It's the singer's sound, her storytelling, her tone, the way she writes. I love her. I love her stories."[11] Martin's sound engineer Enrique Larreal, based in New York, helped record the material with the other artists being based in London, Paris, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic, "My engineer was able to create a system where everyone — my producer in Miami, me in L.A. — had a sharp, immaculate audiovisual experience. I can be recording and literally see in my laptop the movement he is making in his console table in New York."[9] Inspired by the singer's fears, insecurities, and panic moments he experienced during quarantine, Griselda Flores ofBillboard described the lyrics as "introspective", "poignant" and "melancholic".[10]
The EP opens with "Simple" a collaboration with Sting, described by Flores as "simple yet forceful and grand". Martin contacted Sting who accepted the duet-offer and decided to sing in Spanish, "I [Martin] called him [Sting] stepping out of my comfort zone because I don't really like asking people and he said yes, to send him whatever I had and he liked what I sent him. It's a dream come true."[10] "Recuerdo", the collaboration with Morrison, is an emotional song with "heart-wrenching" lyrics. According to Martin, the song came out of a rough moment and sadness he and Morisson were experiencing when they wrote it.[10] Elias Leight ofRolling Stone, regarding "Recuerdo", wrote that the singers showcase "complementary vocal styles"; Morrison has more "light and lilting", while Martin opts for a "creamier, more forceful approach".[5]
"Cae de Una", a duet with Capó, has an "infectious" beat, with a light melodic tune and "heartbreak" lyrical content. "Quiéreme" is a "flamenco-tinged"pop song and was co-produced by Spanish musicianRaül Refree in Barcelona. Refree turned the melody to "an explosion of sounds" on which Martin and Cigala trade "dramatic and powerful vocals".[10] "Tiburones" is an emotionalballad co-written by Pablo Preciado and Oscar Hernandez. It contains deep lyrics that advocate for peace, love, unity, and acceptance.[12] "Cántalo" is the only exception on the album tempo-wise[7] and features a variety of genres includingsalsa,reggaeton andtrap. It is based on the original master ofHector Lavoe's 1974 song, "Mi Gente".[13] A collaboration with Residente and Bad Bunny, it was inspired by the#RickyRenuncia movement (a campaign against former Puerto Rican governor,Ricardo Rosselló) and includes lyrics like, "Nobody stops us today/ Not even with elephant soothing/ Money, although abundant, it is not worth."[10]
"Cántalo" was released as thefirst single fromPausa on November 12, 2019. Its artwork was inspired by the protest posters issued in Puerto Rico during the riots that demanded the resignation of Roselló.[14] Commercially, it reached number 35 on the US Hot Latin Songs chart[15] and was certified Latin gold by the RIAA, for moving over 30,000 units in the country.[6] Martin alongside Residente and Bad Bunny performed "Cántalo" at the20th Annual Latin Grammy Awards held on November 14, 2019, in Las Vegas.[13]
"Tiburones" was released on January 23, 2020, as the second single from the EP.[16] It became Martin's 49th entry on US Hot Latin Songs charts, where it peaked at number 34 in May 2020.[17] With this feat, he became the first and only artist in history to enter the chart in five different decades.[18] "Tiburones" also became the singer's 50th entry on theLatin Pop Airplay.[19] It peaked at number nine and became Martin's 38th top-ten single on the chart.[20] Additionally, topped theMonitor Latino singles chart in Puerto Rico for three consecutive weeks[21] and reached the top 10 in nine other countries. Kacho Lopez filmed the music video for the song in Puerto Rico. According to Martin, "Both the song and the video embody all the emotions, energy and feel, which are emblematic of when we come together as people."[12] Martin performed the song at theLo Nuestro Awards on February 20, 2020.[22] The song was nominated for "Song Of the Year" at the21st Annual Latin Grammy Awards[23] where Martin also gave it a performance along with his song "Recuerdo".[24] An official remix of "Tiburones", featuring singerFarruko, was released on April 10, 2020.[25]
On July 23, 2020, "Recuerdo" released as the onlypromotional single from the extended play.Billboard picked the song as one of the Best Female/Male Latin Collaborations of 2020 and one of the most beautiful ballads released that year.[26] The song reached the top 10 in Martin's native Puerto Rico[27] and became his third top 10 hit in the country from his EP.
Griselda Flores fromBillboard gave the extended play a positive review, saying: "Packed with introspective, poignant and melancholic lyrics, the six-track set is born from a state of vulnerability and the need to heal through music."[28]
It was also ranked as one of the Best Latin Albums of 2020 byBillboard.[29]
| Year | Ceremony | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Latin Grammy Awards | Album of the Year | Nominated | |
| Best Pop Vocal Album | Won | |||
| FM DOS Awards | Album of the Year | Nominated | ||
| Premios lo Mas | Male Spanish Pop Album | Nominated | ||
| 2021 | Grammy Awards | Best Latin Pop or Urban Album | Nominated | |
| Premio Lo Nuestro | Pop Album of the Year | Nominated | ||
| GLAAD Media Awards | Outstanding Music Artist | Nominated |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Simple" (withSting) |
|
| 3:35 |
| 2. | "Recuerdo" (withCarla Morrison) |
|
| 3:52 |
| 3. | "Cae de Una" (withPedro Capó) |
|
| 3:39 |
| 4. | "Quiéreme" (withDiego el Cigala) |
|
| 3:06 |
| 5. | "Tiburones" |
| 3:14 | |
| 6. | "Cántalo" (withResidente andBad Bunny) |
| 3:39 | |
| Total length: | 21:05 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Simple" (headphone mix) (with Sting) |
|
| 3:34 |
| 2. | "Recuerdo" (headphone mix) (with Carla Morrison) |
|
| 3:52 |
| 3. | "Cae de Una" (headphone mix) (with Pedro Capó) |
| 3:42 | |
| 4. | "Quiéreme" (headphone mix) (with Diego el Cigala) |
|
| 3:03 |
| 5. | "Tiburones" (headphone mix) |
| 3:15 | |
| 6. | "Cántalo" (headphone mix) (with Residente and Bad Bunny) |
|
| 3:38 |
| 7. | "Mi Sangre" (headphone mix) (featuringNeha Mahajan) |
| 3:30 | |
| Total length: | 24:34 | |||
| Chart (2020) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[38] | 79 |
| USLatin Pop Albums (Billboard)[39] | 8 |
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | May 28, 2020 | Sony Music Latin | [40] | |
| Various | May 29, 2020 | [41] |
