Nicky Jam Talks Embracing His 'Rockstar' Moment on New Album “Insomnio” and Feeling 'at Peace' (Exclusive)

The reggaeton star released his eighth studio album on Sept. 6

• Nicky Jam released his eighth studio album, Insomnio, on Sept. 6

• The reggaeton star says that the album was inspired by many sleepless nights

• The "El Amante" singer opens up about feeling happy in his life and new marriage

After making an album that cost him many sleepless nights, Nicky Jam is finding his groove again.

The reggaeton star, 43, released his eighth studio album Insomnio (Spanish for insomnia) on Sept. 6, marking his first full-length album in three years. This time around, Nicky wanted to create something people could dance to — but if you listen closely, those lyrics hold a deeper meaning.

"I used this album to talk about the situation that I was going through. Whether it was my love life, whether it was my drinking, partying, and all that stuff. I really didn't sleep for most of the time of these last two years," the singer-songwriter tells PEOPLE exclusively of the album's inspiration.

The 14-track album — which includes features with Eladio Carrion, Luar La L, Sean Paul, Belle, Ryan Castro, Saiko, Benny Benassi & Kaeme and Trueno — came together during a time period where the "X" singer found himself drinking excessively. It helped him get his "mojo back" — but he's since decided to slow down to get his health back in check.

Related: Nicky Jam Says He Aims to Inspire as He Talks New Movie, Scholarship and Music: 'Big for the Culture'

"Whatever I'm going through, whatever I'm doing, I'll talk about it. I feel that's the best way to go. And to be honest with you, most of the biggest artists in the world and rock stars, we're in that same situation when they did a lot of the biggest hits that we're listening to today. So it's no secret when it comes to being a rock star," he says.

Nicky, who was open about his journey with addiction in the 2018 documentary Nicky Jam: El Ganador, adds, "The reality of everything is that people, because they saw that documentary, they think my life is just... I'm already fixed and everything's OK. That's not the way it works. You keep battling. You have your good days, your bad days, your bad moments, and that's what it's all about."

The final song on the album is a merengue version of the title track — and it acts as a mirror for what Nicky was feeling at the time. On the surface it sounds fun and playful — but the lyrics reflect a somber feeling.

"Normally a merengue song is very upbeat. It's a very happy song. But this song is really a sad song... you won't recognize that it's a sad song because it makes you want to dance," he says. "That's the magic of my music. That's what I do. If you listen to 'El Perdon,' it's one of my biggest hits. 'El Perdon' is really a sad song."

Now, Nicky is in a "good space": he recently married Colombian model Juana Valentina Varón and is "really happy."

Related: Nicky Jam Feels 'Like a Proud Father' Seeing Reggaeton Break Records: 'I Knocked on Doors'

"You can have 50 girls coming in and out, you still feel lonely. That doesn't really make you feel complete. So I found somebody I love. I found somebody that's with me and that makes me feel way better," he says. "I'm busier now. I have to work so much. So I have no time to party as much like I was doing back in the day. I feel way better if I'm functioning."

With the album out, Nicky's only goal is to be "at peace" and pay it forward by uplifting emerging artists.

"My dream is to be just in peace, be happy and have good health and keep doing what I like doing," he says. "Just keep doing music and probably sign some artists and make them bigger than me. Hopefully I'll find somebody that will have so much talent and I can dedicate my whole life to this person and this project and do big things."

Insomnio is out now.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.