Ricky's Hitmaker Explains It All

November 17 -- MIAMI BEACH — That new Ricky Martin song? It doesn't quite mean what you might think it means.

At least that's the word from one of the songwriters of "She Bangs," the first single from Martin's just-released Sound Loaded.

"She bangs! It's a metaphor for the universe," says veteran hitmaker Desmond Child, who's penned smash singles for Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Cher, KISS, Chynna Phillips, Joan Jett, and Michael Bolton — but is lately best known for co-writing "Livin' La Vida Loca" and "The Cup of Life" for Martin. "You know the big bang theory? So the universe is really this 'mother universe' — she bangs, and explodes," Child says. "She moves. The planets, the galaxies, are all moving. That's what it means."

In his splendid waterfront living room, Child is smiling and waving his arms as he tries to explain the indelicately titled song and how he might respond when parents ask, "She what?"

He's laughing now — most amused by all this — but is definitely all business when it comes to explaining what it takes to put together a great hit song.

He and his "La Vida" writing partner Robi Rosa, along with Walter Afanasieff, Mark Taylor, and other chart-topping composers appear to have worked their magic again for Martin's latest record. Yet they've done so in a way that moves the Latin heartthrob forward, while retaining the sizzle that made his self-titled English-language crossover set such an enormous success last year.

"You know when we wrote 'La Vida Loca,' Robi and I very specifically said we we're going to write the Millenium Party Song From Hell. We wouldn't allow any choice to be in the song that wouldn't correspond with that feeling. So we would say, 'Does this kick-drum sound like the Millenium Party Song From Hell? Would it have that in it? No? No. Then let's keep searching.'

"It was just one of those instances where the song and the guy who sang it were one. Ricky, at the turn of the century, represents this kind of hopeful reckless future we all want to live."