Ricky Martin makes ‘Pausa’ to channel newly found anxiety
NEW YORK (AP) — The world paused and for the first time in his life Ricky Martin felt anxiety.
From his home in Los Angeles, where he worked with his foundation to get protective gear and food to hospitals and people in Puerto Rico and beyond, he followed the pandemic news and tried to hide his distress from his family. “I had never
suffered from anxiety, and I left home when I was 12 (to join boyband Menudo). I have seen things, I have lived, but this is a new level, this is a new monster and to top it all, it is invisible,” Martin told The Associated Press in a recent interview via Zoom.
“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,” he said.
The result is “Pausa,” a surprise extended play album “with a lot of introspection” released on Thursday, featuring four new songs that evoke romance, and at times, sadness. It includes collaborations by Sting (singing in Spanish), Carla Morrison, Diego El Cigala and Pedro Capó as well as the previously released singles “Cántalo,” with Residente and Bad Bunny, and “Tiburones.”
The new songs are “Simple,” with Sting; “Recuerdo,” with Mexican indie-pop singer-songwriter Morrison; “Cae de una,” with Puerto Rican Capó, and “Quiéreme,” with flamenco singer Diego El Cigala. Each embraces the style of the guest.