Ácido Sabor

Background and release

Ricky Martin’s eleventh studio album began as Movimiento, a project he started recording in late 2019 after being inspired by Puerto Rico’s political protests that year. The COVID-19 pandemic and his own experiences later led him to split the album into two EPs, Pausa and Play. Pausa came out in May 2020. The track Ácido Sabor opens Play, which was released on July 13, 2022.

It was the last song Martin recorded for the EP, created during a studio session with the production team SubeloNEO after they met in April 2022. Sony Music Latin sent Ácido Sabor to Latin American radio stations on July 15, 2022, as the EP’s only promotional single. An Orbital Audio version of the song appears as the first track on the Orbital Audio edition of Play, which came out at the same time as the original.

Music and lyrics

Musically, Ácido Sabor is a Spanish-language pop ballad incorporating flamenco, bolero, urban pop, acoustic, electronic, and reggaeton. The track runs for 3 minutes and 30 seconds. Lyrically, the song translates to Sour Taste in English and is a romantic piece filled with many contradictions like life, representing finding love and the singer himself. Lyrics include lines such as Peligroso / Tal vez todo se sienta dulce, pero es doloroso / Agarro tu mano, camino y me siento grandioso / No tengo alas / Pero tú me haces volar, eh.

Critical reception

Critics widely praised "Ácido Sabor" upon its release. Billboard's Jessica Roiz called it a heartfelt track with an innovative rhythm, while colleague Griselda Flores named it one of the pop gems from the album Play. Marca declared the song a hit, and Latinas' Lucas Villa described it as seriously sexy. A Happyfm writer gave it a positive review, calling it an amazing song and noting that Martin has always shown enormous talent and consistently leaves listeners speechless.

Music video

On June 27, 2022, Martin shared a photo of himself in action, revealing it would be for his next music video, with a caption teasing the video's feel. On July 13, he announced the video would be released soon. The music video was released on July 14, 2022, directed by Carlos Perez, who had previously directed videos for many of Martin's singles. In the visual, Martin portrays a bullfighter, and it contains religious references and bullfighting.

It shows Martin in a confessional inside a temple and in a symbolic battle against himself. A phrase appears at the end: La incertidumbre de un conflicto se desvanece con el poder de la integridad. The video was nominated for Favorite Video at the 2022 Buenos Aires Music Video Festival.