Ricky Martin: Song Analysis

Ricky Martin: A pioneer of openness in "The best thing about me is you"

When Ricky Martin sings "The best thing about me is you" today, there is no question that the song he sings is a proud testimony of his status as an openly gay man. Recently, a number of pop stars such as Tyler Glenn of Neon Trees and Adam Lambert have garnered a great deal of publicity for being honest about their sexuality. However, the Latin music star Ricky Martin has been "out" since 2010, when he came out in Rolling Stone. Martin's honesty about his sexuality is particularly noteworthy given that he began his career as a Latin heartthrob, a genre which has tended to embrace very rigid standards of masculinity. Martin has been forthright and honest, however, and retained his fan base, despite the commonly-expressed fear that when a male singer comes out women cannot find him attractive and men will not want to listen to him. Martin has a deep and broad-based fan base partially because of songs like "The best thing about me is you" which are upbeat and celebrate tolerance with an infectious pop Latino beat.

"I'm as happy as I can be/Coz I'm allergic to tragedy / The doctor says something wrong with me / The smile on my face has no remedy." The lyrics of the song stress Martin's happiness and security with who he is. Contrary to the notion that being gay is a defect or a "tragedy," Martin stresses that he is allergic to such ideas. Although the song does not explicitly began as an anthem of Martin's gay identity it suggests an ease and sense of comfort with the singer's personal, internalized sense of self. The idea that taking a chance and expecting the best in terms of people's positive self-acceptance of your character traits is also embodied in such lyrics as "Don't say no/Come on and just say yes / You know it's time to keep it simple / Let's take a chance and hope for the best." Hope and possibility rather than fear and shame are also communicated in the up-tempo, swinging beat of the song. "Life is short so make it what you wanna / Make it good, don't wait until manana / I think I'm cool cause your name's on the short sheet, now do / The best thing about me is you." Martin's casual reference to manana is consistent with his style as a Latin American singer -- he uses occasional Spanish language references but they do not dominate the song; rather the beat and music confirm this aspect of his identity. This is one of the reasons Martin has such broad-based "crossover" appeal.

The song becomes more explicitly a love song as Martin engages in a duet with Josh Stone. The two of them engage in a duet: "It's you.../Oh the best thing about me is you / Now the best thing about / Oh yes it is.../is you." Just as Martin skillfully negotiates his Latino identity, he does the same with his gay identity throughout the song. Martin celebrates honesty and is upfront that he is singing to a man but the lyrics of the song are ambiguous enough that anyone, regardless of their sexuality, can relate to it. Thus Martin acts as a cross-over artist in terms of his sexuality, showing the common connections all people share in relation to this facet of human experience.