Ricky Martin can count on his family to help him with his creative process.
"When you really want to do something, nothing can stop you," the Latin superstar tells ET's Kevin Frazier ahead of the release of his new surprise EP, Pausa, which is out now. Martin, 48, has been keeping busy amid quarantine, making music, collaborating with music's biggest names and even filming a music video for the "Tiburones" remix (the original is featured on the EP) -- all with the help of his loved ones.
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"I shot a video at home with my phone," Martin reveals. "Is that scary or what? I think it worked out. [Our] director was in Miami and we were here doing everything we could, you know, obviously maintaining social distance. But this is the new post-corona attitude. 'What do we need to do? Let's do it!' And let's do it right!"
Martin also adds that his husband, Jwan Yosef, also helped him creatively with the EP.
"My husband took the picture of my new album cover," he says. "My assistant, who is quarantining with us, he all of a sudden became a set decorator and he's an expert at lighting. We gotta reinvent ourselves, I guess!"
His kids, 11-year-old twins Valentino and Matteo, even chime in about his music and tell him what they like and don't like.
"They're picky and they love music. When I come home with something that they don't like, they have no filters. They tell you," Martin says with a laugh, adding that when they do love something, they will also express their interest. "Especially this new single… One of the twins, he heard it and then [he's like], 'Nice. Yeah. This I like.'"
"It's pure, it's honest, it's real and they come up with ideas and I take them away. It's good," he adds.
Martin started working on his new EP about eight months ago, but when he was in isolation, "nothing but magic came out," he says. His plan is to release two EPs -- with his first being a more "chill, relaxing" set of songs, and the second, titled Play, filled with more dance and party songs -- in September.
"I am so excited because I was raw, honest, I was vulnerable, introspective -- romantic, why not, I'm gonna say it -- and this is what I'm presenting," he shares about Pausa.
Martin's second single will be "Recuerdo," a beautiful collaboration with Mexican singer Carla Morrison that takes fans on a gorgeous musical love story. "She is very beautiful and an amazing storyteller," Martin fawns. "She is very cool, bohemian, chic, and she is just real, and I'm just obsessed with her."
The Puerto Rican singer also has a song with Sting, called "Simple," which he says was a "dream accomplished," as well as another track with Residente and Bad Bunny.
"I just work with people that I respect. I think that Bad Bunny, even though he's young, he's making the right decisions and everything he's presenting to the audience, he's always pushing the envelope," Martin expresses. "I like that from young artists. There is a whole young generation of musicians that are doing really interesting things and the audience is reacting to them."
Martin is set to go on a joint tour with Enrique Iglesias in September. As of now, the two have not canceled or postponed the 21-city North American arena tour. On Martin's end, he wants to make sure people are safe, but is also ready to get back onstage.
"I've been doing this since I was 12 years old. I cannot imagine life without being able to be onstage," he says. "So we're gonna take our time and we're gonna do it right. I'm sure every venue, every country, every city is gonna have their rules and regulations. We will follow them. But we will produce something amazing for you guys because there's nothing like the live experience."
"I think what's most important is for people to wash their hands, to wear the mask, and then the more we do this, the faster we're going to go to our normal again," he adds.
In the meantime, Martin has been helping the fight against COVID-19, working with his Ricky Martin Foundation to give personal protective equipment (PPE) to health care workers in hospitals.
"It is important. We have to, we have to do this," the singer expresses about giving back. "I was able with my foundation and an alliance with Charity Stars and Project Hope, we delivered PPEs to 50 hospitals in Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and the United States. And this is only the beginning. I think now more than ever is when the victims need our help, because the aftershocks of this pandemic are really intense. So we're gonna provide [them] with mental health and education and nothing but love because they deserve it."
For more on Martin, watch below. Pausa is out now.
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