On July 14, Ricky Martin dropped his six-track EP PLAY, home to the very heartfelt track “Ácido Sabor.” Two weeks later, he takes fans behind the scenes of the music video, premiering exclusively on Billboard below.
“‘Acido Sabor’ is a very romantic song but at the same time filled with many contradictions like life,” Martin says in the nearly three-minute-long video. “It represents finding love, it represents finding myself.”
The song, infused with flamenco flair and pop-urban undertones, was created alongside producer Subelo Neo and composer iZaak. “It’s incredible. You never know what’s going to happen in the creative process,” he noted. “I went to the studio with Subelo Neo and iZaak, and we let the ideas flow. I thought a party song was going to be born, but apparently not.”
In the music video, directed by Carlos Perez, Ricky portrays a torero (bullfighter) in training, bringing to life the song’s innovative rhythm.
“The magic that was felt during the filming, at the top of a mountain, looking at the ocean, the architecture, the weather, the radiant sun, the entire time, the communication — there was a lot of magic,” he explains in the clip.
He also elaborated on his professional chemistry with Perez. “Something happens when he’s behind the lens that I simply feel comfortable and can be myself,” he noted. “‘Acido Sabor’ is something different.”
“Ácido Sabor” is the focus track from PLAY, the follow-up to his Latin Grammy-winning EP Pausa, with Martin as vulnerable as ever in navigating love and heartbreak. While he had said back in 2020 that this second EP would be more “upbeat,” Martin stuck to his pop-ballad roots.
Watch the exclusive making-of video below:
