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105-394: " Despacito " ( Latin American Spanish: [despaˈsito] ; transl. "Slowly" ) is a song by Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi , originally written in 2015. In 2016, Luis sent the song to Puerto Rican rapper and singer Daddy Yankee to give it an "urban injection", and released it as the lead single from Fonsi's 2017 studio album Vida . Released on January 13, 2017,
210-568: A diamond certification by the Recording Industry Association of America . The music video shows both artists performing the song in La Perla neighborhood of Old San Juan , Puerto Rico and local bar La Factoría. It was the most-viewed YouTube video of all time from August 2017 to November 2020 and became the first video on the site to reach the milestones of three, four, five, six, seven, and eight billion views. It
315-423: A nylon-string guitar , as well as the presence of " swung rhythms " when the word "Despacito" is sung at the beginning of the chorus He referred to the text painting as "pretty genius." Raisa Bruner of Time magazine described the single as "an infectious Latin melody amped up with reggaeton grooves and an irresistible dance tune." Spanish record producer Nahúm García stated that "the way the rhythm breaks before
420-422: A recording contract . These demos are usually sent to record labels in hopes that the artist will be signed onto the label's roster and allowed to record a full-length album in a professional recording studio . However, large record labels usually ignore unsolicited demos that are sent to them by mail; artists generally must be more creative about getting the demos into the hands of the people who make decisions for
525-488: A campaign event headlined by Luis Fonsi. In response, Trump tweeted an edited video showing Biden instead playing N.W.A 's " Fuck tha Police ". In addition, the song was used by delegates from Puerto Rico at the 2024 Democratic National Convention to represent the territory. Десь по світу ("Somewhere in the world") was a Ukrainian version of the song, produced featuring children in Drohobych Raion , to encourage
630-483: A child is getting his hair cut, two people are talking while listening to the radio, and couples are dancing in the background. The video intercalates with shots of Fonsi and Daddy Yankee singing in front of a car with people sitting on it and dancing next to it. As Daddy Yankee is finishing his verse, Zuleyka Rivera enters La Factoría bar while the artists are performing and dancing alongside other people, and men are playing bomba drums. Fonsi proceeds to dance with Rivera as
735-460: A crisp bass, and the excellent vocals by Luis Fonsi and [Daddy Yankee] were enough to get a hit single from the start." Leila Cobo of Billboard praised its "undeniable immediate catchiness" and wrote that the song "is a clever blend of romantic Latin pop with a reggaeton beat and subtly naughty lyrics." Robert Joffred of Medium 's culture blog That Good You Need highlighted the use of a steel-string guitar to play flamenco -style melodies instead of
840-674: A full scholarship, He also joined the school's choir , the Florida State University Singers, and sang with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra . Eventually, he dropped out in order to pursue a career in music. Soon after, he was offered a recording contract by Universal Music Latin . In 1997, Fonsi recorded his debut album, Comenzaré ( I Will Begin ), released in 1998. The record peaked at number 11 on Billboard ' s Top Latin Albums chart and contained
945-443: A full-length album. With the evolution of the access to software allowing musicians to produce high quality music on their own, the amount of music released every day has skyrocketed. With over 100,000 new songs released on Spotify every day, the level of quality required for demos to convince record labels has also increased, and the limits between demos and actual finished recordings have become blurrier. Demos are seldom heard by
1050-479: A good taste". In April 2017, American singer and songwriter Nicky Jam revealed that the original version of "Despacito" featured him instead of Daddy Yankee, but had to decline due to the song's release interfering with the launch of his album Fénix . Three months after the release of "Despacito", Canadian singer Justin Bieber wanted to record a remix version after hearing the song in a Colombian nightclub during
1155-485: A length of three minutes and forty-seven seconds and written in the key of B minor with a tempo of 89 beats per minute and a common chord progression of Bm—G—D—A. The vocals span from F# 3 to B 4 . Its implicit lyrics are about having a sexual relationship in a smooth and romantic way, making heavy use of allegories. However, Luis Fonsi expressed that some lines are free for interpretation. Mauricio Rengifo and Andrés Torres produced "Despacito" using Pro Tools and
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#17327830635701260-418: A music-related video in 2017 as of September. Caroline Soriano of Ernstars magazine stated that Bieber's voice "sounds appealing with the song," whose remix version make it sound "a little bit better." Mike Senior of Sound on Sound gave a negative review of the remix's mixing by criticizing its polarity inversion regarding the original version and Justin Bieber's louder vocal track than Daddy Yankee's. As to
1365-412: A pair of men enjoying a game of dominoes." The video shows both artists performing the song while participating on different parties on the island, featuring model Zuleyka Rivera . The clip starts with shots of La Perla's coast during daylight while showing Zuleyka Rivera arriving at the shanty town on foot. Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee perform the song in a street while elders are playing dominos,
1470-535: A pass" because Spanish is not Bieber's main language. Luis Fonsi performed "Despacito" on American talk show Conan on June 12, 2017 -his first late-night television appearance in the United States- and on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on September 14, 2017. He also performed the song with random lyrics alongside American television host Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on January 30, 2019. Both Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee included
1575-510: A reference to his eighth career album. He then did a tour named "Somos Uno" in 2014–15. He also mentioned that acting would be on his career path and that he wouldn't mind acting with Mexican actors and actresses. In January 2017, " Despacito " featuring Daddy Yankee was promoted and released. On April 5, 2018, the music video reached five billion views on YouTube , with the song becoming number one in nearly every Latin Billboard chart, and
1680-436: A reggaeton energy and an subtle urban beat". Ender stated that the track "went through several arrangements" until Fonsi got "exactly the arrangement he wanted". Fonsi described "Despacito" as a very melodic song that can adapt well to many other music genres. Due to the sensual nature of the song, they "needed to be responsible with a good lyric" and Ender's approach to writing for Fonsi was "to take care of how to say things with
1785-657: A religious ceremony in Guaynabo , Puerto Rico, attended by many celebrities including Joey Fatone , Charytín Goyco , Ednita Nazario and Carlos Ponce , as well as his brother Jean Rodríguez. On November 8, 2010, they officially divorced. Fonsi and Spanish model Águeda López were married on September 10, 2014, after three years of living together. They had their first child together, a daughter, in December 2011 in Miami . On December 20, 2016, they welcomed their second child,
1890-611: A son. Since 2008, Luis Fonsi has been an ambassador of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital , which fights against childhood cancer . In 2017, the Billboard Latin Music Awards honored him with the Spirit of Hope Award for his humanitarian work. After Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic in 2017, the singer became one of the major helpers to raise the islands from
1995-474: A songwriting session. Fonsi co-wrote the song on a Gibson Emmylou Harris guitar. He originally composed it as a cumbia and pop song with lyrics written as a ballad but decided to give it an "urban injection" and sent a demo to reggaeton artist Daddy Yankee . They recorded the song at Noisematch Studios in Miami in late 2016. Daddy Yankee improvised his verse in a corner of the studio's control room while thinking about his father playing bongos and wrote
2100-517: A tour in South America. The following day, Luis Fonsi received a phone call from Universal Latin about the intentions for remix and authorized the label to send the track to Bieber. Bieber's manager Scooter Braun contacted his vocal producer Josh Gudwin to work on the song, who flew to Bogotá and recorded Justin Bieber's vocals at Estudios Audiovisión. Justin Bieber sang in Spanish for
2205-583: A tribute album honoring Víctor Yturbe , singing a classic bolero , "Historia de un Amor". In 2007, Luis Fonsi was selected to be part of the jury of the new version of the Latino boy band Menudo . The band would be a fusion of urban, pop and rock music in English and Spanish to produce several albums with the label of Sony BMG Epic Records . Several auditions were held in different cities such as Los Angeles , Dallas , Miami , New York , among others. Fonsi
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#17327830635702310-514: A verse in Spanglish , while Daddy Yankee's verses were kept from the original version. "Despacito" was made available for digital download on January 13, 2017, by Universal Music Latin . Some music publications believed the single's success was influenced by a trend of combining Latin pop and urban music. Fonsi referred to it as "the new pop" and Ender said that "everyone is making this type of fusions." Luis Fonsi also stated that two weeks after
2415-478: A very low price. Amateur (and some professional) musicians may choose to make demos available to interested listeners through websites such as SoundCloud or Bandcamp in order to share new ideas, receive feedback and/or provide fans with "behind the scenes" access to the songwriting process. In 1977, punk band the Sex Pistols released an album of demos called Spunk , which has been comparared favourably to
2520-580: A wide range of artists around the world, including Korean singer J.Fla , a classical crossover by Croatian-based duo 2Cellos , a metal version by Norwegian musician Leo Moracchioli , a piano version by Hungarian pianist and world record -holder Peter Bence , an acoustic version by American band Boyce Avenue and a Broadway -style cover by American musical collective group Postmodern Jukebox . These covers garnered between seven and 47 million views on YouTube except for J.Fla's video, which has 217 million views. Leo Moracchioli's version peaked at number 35 on
2625-1106: Is a Puerto Rican singer. He is known for his soulful and dance oriented songs, most notably 2017's " Despacito ". Fonsi received his first Latin Grammy Award nominations in the Record of the Year category and won Song of the Year thanks to the song " Aquí Estoy Yo ". The song also won three Billboard Latin Music Awards . "Despacito" became Fonsi's biggest success, winning four Latin Grammy Awards, seven Billboard Latin Music Awards, five Billboard Music Awards and three Grammy Awards nominations. He also won one Latin American Music Award for " Échame la Culpa " with Demi Lovato . As of 2018, Fonsi has broken six Guinness World Records and sold more than 11 million records with "Despacito", whose music video
2730-491: Is a song or group of songs typically recorded for limited circulation or for reference use, rather than for general public release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas in a fixed format, such as cassette tape , compact disc , or digital audio files , and to thereby pass along those ideas to record labels , producers , or other artists. Musicians often use demos as quick sketches to share with bandmates or arrangers , or simply for personal reference during
2835-455: Is also the site's most-liked video , with over 53 million likes as of June, 2024. On Vevo , the music video received 5.14 million views in its first 24 hours of release, which the website reported as being the most for a Spanish-language video's first day on its platform. The music video received a Latin Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video at the 18th Latin Grammy Awards and a Billboard Music Award for Top Streaming Song (Video) at
2940-409: Is interesting." Felix Contreras of National Public Radio praised the writing, arrangement and performances. The remix version featuring Justin Bieber was released on April 17, 2017, by Universal Music Latin, Republic Records , Def Jam Recordings , RBMG and Schoolboy Records . Its official audio video garnered 20 million views on YouTube on its first 24 hours, making it the third-highest debut for
3045-488: Is now the second most-viewed video on the site, with " Baby Shark " by Pinkfong being the most-viewed. The lyrics of "Despacito" were written in late 2015 in Luis Fonsi 's house in Miami because he wanted to record a "swinging song" for his new album after two years without releasing new music. He woke up mulling about "a song called 'Despacito ' " and invited Brazilian-Panamanian singer and songwriter Erika Ender to
3150-647: The Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart and at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart . In October 2018, he collaborated with Italian singer Eros Ramazzotti for the song " Per le strade una canzone ", from the album Vita ce n'è . On January 13, 2019, the singer joined with Wisin , Alejandra Guzmán and Carlos Vives as coaches of the first Spanish season of La Voz by Telemundo . After five years since 8 , on February 1, 2019, his 10th studio album, Vida
3255-404: The 2017 midterm elections , by scientists to protest against President Mauricio Macri and by feminists as an initiative to convoke people to a concentration about violence against women. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro used it to call for voting in the controversial Constituent Assembly election . Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee and Erika Ender showed their displeasure with the unauthorized use of
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3360-407: The 25th Billboard Music Awards , and was nominated for an American Music Award for Video of the Year at the 45th American Music Awards. Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee performed "Despacito" live together for the first time at the 2017 Billboard Latin Music Awards on April 27, 2017, and later on The Voice season 12 finals on May 23, 2017. The only live performance by Justin Bieber and Luis Fonsi
3465-562: The Billboard Latin charts. During his time in the studio for the next album, Fonsi recorded "Amazing", a duet with Spice Girl Emma Bunton for her 2004 album Free Me . His sixth CD, Paso a Paso , debuted at number one and sent him into international markets. " Nada Es Para Siempre " also reached number one on the music charts, and was a nominee for the Latin Grammy Awards. In 2006, he contributed to El Piruli ,
3570-643: The Great Jubilee Concert for a Debt-Free World , an outdoor concert in Rome, attended by Pope John Paul II . That same year, Ednita Nazario won a Latin Grammy Award for a song composed by Fonsi. He also performed, with other artists, at the White House in honor of the victims of the September 11 attacks . In 2002, Fonsi was the opening act for Britney Spears ' Dream Within a Dream Tour in
3675-924: The Madison Square Garden , becoming the 12th and 13th Latin artists ever to perform at the Grammy Awards. Fonsi also participated on United States President Joe Biden 's inauguration by performing "Despacito" at the Celebrating America special on January 20, 2021. The first two official remixes for "Despacito" were released on March 17, 2017: a solo pop version by Fonsi and a salsa version featuring vocals by Puerto Rican musician Víctor Manuelle . Two other remixes were released on May 5, 2017: an electronic dance version produced by American trio Major Lazer and Colombian DJ MOSKA and an urban version remixed by Colombian producer Sky. A Portuguese-language version written by Erika Ender and performed by Luis Fonsi featuring Brazilian singer Israel Novaes
3780-483: The "Stars of the Year" by People en Español . Rolling Stone ' s critics ranked the track 91st in its "100 Greatest Songs of the Century So Far" list and included it among the 50 greatest Latin pop songs of all time, describing it as "one of the most successful hits in pop music history." Billboard selected it among the best Latin summer songs of all-time and included it among the 100 songs that defined
3885-563: The 10 most-viewed YouTube music videos were for songs performed in Spanish by Latin artists and Billboard ' s Lars Brandle referred to it as "the 'Despacito' effect." British Official Charts Company recognized it as the song that "helped Latin pop crossover to the mainstream once again." Nielsen 's Erin Crawford stated that the track had "a halo effect on several other Latin hits ripe for crossover success", most notably on J Balvin and Willy William's "Mi Gente" Rolling Stone stated that
3990-768: The 2010s decade. The song was inducted to the 2019 edition of the Guinness World Records for achieving seven milestones. In the United States, the single debuted at number two on Billboard ' s multi-metric Hot Latin Songs chart on February 4, 2017, becoming Fonsi's highest-charting single since " Aquí Estoy Yo " on June 13, 2009. "Despacito" reached number one on the US Hot Latin Songs chart on February 18, 2017, where it remained there for 35 consecutive weeks until October 14, 2017, when it
4095-493: The Hot 100 on the week ending May 27, 2017, becoming both Fonsi and Daddy Yankee's first number one on the chart and Bieber's fifth. It topped the Hot 100 for 16 consecutive weeks, tying with " One Sweet Day " by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men as the longest-leading number-one single in the chart's history at the time, before being surpassed by " Old Town Road " by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus on August 3, 2019. It also became
4200-446: The Hot 100 year-end chart and was the best-performing single on Hot Latin Songs for two years in a row in 2017 and 2018. In the United States, the single sold 2,983,000 downloads as of June 20, 2019 and received a 13× platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on January 6, 2020, for units of over 13 million sales plus track-equivalent streams, making it the 14th highest-certified single of all time in
4305-522: The Hungarian Single Top 40 chart on August 10, 2017. In 2017, American-Greek parody artist So Tiri released a viral Greek-language parody titled " Thes pastitsio " on his YouTube channel. "Weird Al" Yankovic covered the song as a part of his 2024 polka medley " Polkamania! ". The song has been used, with altered lyrics, for political purposes. In Argentina, the melody was used by various politicians for their respective TV advertisements for
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4410-634: The Machine (" What the Water Gave Me ", among others) and Cults on the EP Sunday Jams . The event of a demo tape appearing on eBay has happened in the past, with the recordings being leaked onto the internet. In rare instances, a demo may end up as the final released recording of a song, as was the case with Foster the People 's " Pumped Up Kicks ". The version of "Pumped Up Kicks" that
4515-639: The Mexican telenovela named Corazones al límite in which he played Roy. He also had a special appearance in 2001 on the Nickelodeon television series Taina . Fonsi joined the cast of Broadway's Forever Tango for a two-week engagement in August 2013 In 2003, Fonsi started to become romantically interested in actress Adamari López , who, as a Univision artist and fellow Puerto Rican, constantly found herself near Fonsi. That same year, Fonsi released
4620-806: The US Billboard Hot 100 for the first time in September 2008 with his song " No Me Doy por Vencido ", debuting at number 98 and peaking at number 92. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart, one of his biggest hits to date. "No Me Doy por Vencido" became Billboard ' s "Latin Pop Song of the Decade", and spent 21 weeks at number one on the Hot Latin Songs chart. In November 2009, Luis Fonsi
4725-565: The US and Mexico. In the same year he debuted his English album "Fight The Feeling" trying to do a crossover with the first single "Secret" featuring Joey Fatone in the video. In 2003, Luis Fonsi performed to billions of viewers across the globe at Miss World 2003 in China. His fifth CD, Abrazar la vida , sold very well, which opened new markets in Europe. "¿Quién Te Dijo Eso?" reached number one on
4830-861: The United Kingdom and Germany, among others. It also received a diamond certification in Canada and a 5× platinum certification in Australia. In Latin America, it was certified 6× diamond in Brazil and 5× diamond and 4× platinum in Mexico. The remix version alone topped the charts of five countries and was certified platinum in New Zealand and Brazil and gold in Germany. In the United Kingdom, "Despacito"
4935-753: The United States increased 15% between the first half of 2016 and the first half of 2018. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) reported that revenue in Latin America grew 17.7% in 2017 and described "Despacito" as a "game-changing hit." In 2018, eight out of the 10 most-viewed YouTube music videos of the year were for songs performed in Spanish and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation referred to it as "the 'Despacito' effect." Sony/ATV Music Publishing President Jorge Mejía stated that
5040-453: The United States. It became the first Latin and 18th overall single to receive a diamond certification by the RIAA. It was the ninth best-performing single of the 2010s decade on the Hot 100 and was ranked at number one on the Hot Latin Songs chart. It is the best-performing track of all-time on Hot Latin Songs and the 33rd best-performing on the Hot 100. Internationally, "Despacito" has topped
5145-410: The Year , Song of the Year , Best Urban Fusion/Performance , and Best Short Form Music Video at the 18th Latin Grammy Awards . "Despacito" has been also ranked among the best Latin songs of all time and the best songs of 2017 by various publications, which referred to it as one of the most successful Spanish-language tracks in pop music history. The song topped the charts of 47 countries and reached
5250-493: The Year , Song of the Year , and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 60th Grammy Awards . The remix also received six Billboard Latin Music Awards and five Billboard Music Awards . Erika Ender became the youngest person to be inducted into the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame and the first female Latin artist to garner a Grammy Award for Song of the Year nomination. Billboard ' s critics ranked
5355-685: The Year at the Latin American Music Awards of 2018 and received one nomination for Best Latin at the MTV Video Music Awards . As of 2018, the song had sold more than 1 million copies worldwide. In June 2018, Fonsi released the single " Calypso ", with Stefflon Don . The song peaked at number 11 on the Hot Latin chart. On November 2, 2018, he collaborated on the track " Baby" by Clean Bandit from their second studio album. The song peaked at number 13 on
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#17327830635705460-526: The age of 10, his family decided to move from Puerto Rico and relocated to Orlando, Florida . He attended Westridge Middle School and Dr. Phillips High School , both in Orlando. During his high school years, he participated in an a cappella group called "The Big Guys". They sang at school parties and local festivals. One of the members of the group, Joey Fatone , later joined *NSYNC . In 1995, Fonsi enrolled at Florida State University School of Music on
5565-534: The chart performance of acts including Maluma, Ozuna and Bad Bunny, who achieved their biggest hits in the country. In July 2017, it was reported that tourist interest in Puerto Rico increased by 45% since the worldwide success of the song. Tour operators cite the song's music video for increasing interest in locations such as Club La Factoría and La Perla district in Old San Juan , which were featured in
5670-708: The charts of 47 countries, including the original version alone and combined chart entries with the remix version featuring Justin Bieber. The song spent 26 weeks at number one in Spain, 20 in Switzerland, 18 in France, 17 Germany, 16 in Canada, 14 in Italy, 13 in Australia and 11 in the United Kingdom, among others. Across Europe, the song was certified 13× platinum in Sweden and Spain, diamond in France and Italy and 4× platinum in
5775-463: The charts were dominated by such a universal, multicultural hit." Spin magazine ranked the remix version the 38th best song of the year, stating that "it managed to transcend genre, time, space, and even personal taste in a way that was unprecedented." It was also included among the 100 best singles of 2017 by PopSugar , The New York Times , National Public Radio, The Village Voice , and The Guardian . Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee were selected as
5880-441: The chorus is genius" and that this "trick" in particular is not common in pop music. Joshua Barrie of Irish Mirror gave a negative opinion about the lyrics, referring to them as "quite rude and a bit creepy" and stating that "some people might find them offensive." On the other hand, an editor of Spanish music website Jenesaispop stated that "the melody is very good, the lyrics are sexy without being vulgar and above all its structure
5985-591: The devastation. For his contribution, he was honored with the Global Gift Philanthropy Award. He is also a supporter of spreading Latin culture around the world. Studio albums The Swiss Music Awards are presented the Press Play Association in conjunction with Media Control Switzerland to national and international musicians in over ten categories. Demo (music) A demo (shortened from " demonstration ")
6090-424: The duet with him. The song remained number one for 16 consecutive weeks, tying One Sweet Day, by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men as the longest reigning top song in the chart's history. On August 15, 2017, Fonsi was named the tourism ambassador of Puerto Rico. In November 2017, he released the song " Échame la Culpa ", featuring Demi Lovato , which debuted at number three on the Hot Latin chart. The song won Song of
6195-437: The final mix consisted of 47 tracks. The song begins with a Puerto Rican cuatro played by Christian Nieves , which is accompanied by an acoustic guitar played by Torres when Luis Fonsi starts performing. Rengifo stated that the guitar "was actually played, but then [they] chopped it and made it really digital." The producers decided to record a cuatro because they wanted "to feel very Puerto Rican and ethnic" and that it "gives
6300-402: The first mostly-Spanish-language song to lead the all-genre US Digital Songs chart, as well as the first non-primarily-English-language song to top the all-format Radio Songs and Mainstream Top 40 charts. On October 21, 2017, "Despacito" and " Mi Gente " by J Balvin and Willy William featuring Beyoncé marked the first time ever that two non-primarily-English-language songs ranked within
6405-427: The first on YouTube to receive three, four, five, and six billion views on August 4, 2017; October 11, 2017; April 5, 2018; and February 24, 2019, respectively (dates are based on UTC ) . It has received over 8.4 billion views as of June, 2024, and was the most-viewed video on the site from August 4, 2017, until November 2, 2020, when Pinkfong 's video for " Baby Shark " surpassed it, dethroning it to second place. It
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#17327830635706510-594: The first time in his career with the help of Colombian musician Juan Felipe Samper . What was most difficult for Justin Bieber was the ' ere ' (ɾ) sound in words like "laberinto" (labyrinth), "paredes" (walls) and "manuscrito" (manuscript). Samper wrote the Spanish-language lyrics phonetically to ease Bieber's pronunciation, which was "perfectly" achieved in two hours. After a four-hour recording session, Gudwin sent Bieber 's vocal tracks to Australian sound engineer Chris O'Ryan for vocal tuning. Gudwin concluded
6615-595: The issue date August 7, 2021. "Despacito" became the world's most-streamed song of all time in July 2017, with 4.6 billion streams between the original and remix version. By this time, Universal Music Group awarded Luis Fonsi with a " Plutonium Disc" in recognition of global sales of "Despacito". It was streamed 7.5 billion times as of April 2018. The remix version became the first primarily-Spanish-language song to surpass one billion streams on Spotify in February 2018, while
6720-441: The list's second longest-charting title and was removed from the chart on March 9, 2019, after 110 weeks due to a recurrent rule . On the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, the single debuted at number 88 on February 4, 2017, becoming Fonsi's third entry and Daddy Yankee's seventh. It subsequently peaked at number 44 on April 15, 2017, before the release of the remix version featuring Justin Bieber . "Despacito" reached number one on
6825-465: The most listened-to artist worldwide on streaming service Spotify on July 9, 2017, being the first Latin artist to do so. He later became the sixth most listened-to artist of 2017 on Spotify. "Despacito" was cited by Billboard ' s Leila Cobo as the song that renewed interest in the Latin music market from recording labels in the United States. Xander Zellner of Billboard credited the influence of
6930-489: The most viewed video in the world. In April 2017, the song was given an English remix featuring Canadian singer Justin Bieber . The remix featuring Bieber reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending May 27, 2017, becoming both Fonsi and Yankee's first number one on the chart, and Bieber's fifth. Bieber promoted the remix at one of his shows in Puerto Rico, inviting Fonsi onto stage to perform
7035-406: The music as the kick drum hits. It also makes heavy use of text painting when the music is slowed down as the word "despacito" (slowly) is performed at the beginning of every chorus. Its percussion consists of guache, cowbell , timbales , güira, and sequenced drum patterns. The remix featuring Justin Bieber maintained the original rhythms and Luis Fonsi translated some lines to English, singing
7140-508: The opening ceremony of the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima , Peru. He sang his songs including his worldwide hit "Despacito" at the ceremony. In November 2023, Fonsi was a guest narrator at Disney's Candlelight Processional at Walt Disney World . In 1992, Fonsi made a brief cameo in the romance film Como Agua Para Chocolate in which he played the friend of the male lead, Pedro Múzquiz. In 2004, Fonsi made his second acting appearance on
7245-484: The original became the first non-English single to reach the milestone in June 2019. In the United Kingdom, it became the longest-reigning foreign language number-one and is the 30th best-selling single in the country with 1,900,599 combined sales as of September 19, 2017. It also became the song with most weeks at number one in Switzerland and Germany. The success of the song and its remix version led Daddy Yankee to become
7350-458: The original version the fourth best song of 2017 and the fifth best Latin song of all time, referring to it as "one of the biggest hits in Latin music history" and "one of the biggest singles of all time." Rolling Stone and Time selected it as the seventh and third best song of 2017, respectively; the latter stating that "in a year where xenophobia reared its head worldwide, it inspires hope that
7455-402: The original version won three awards at the 18th Latin Grammy Awards including Record of the Year , Song of the Year and Best Short Form Music Video , while the remix version won Best Urban Fusion/Performance . It also won Collaboration of the Year and was nominated for Video of the Year at the 45th American Music Awards . In 2018, the remix version received three nominations for Record of
7560-579: The original version, Senior referred to the first appearance of the "Despacito" hook line as a "masterstroke". In July 2017, officials from the Government of Malaysia reported that "Despacito" was being banned from airing on government-owned broadcast stations as a result of public complaints. Government ministers said that the song was considered un-Islamic and that its lyrics were "not suitable to be heard." "Despacito" has received various awards and nominations following its commercial success. In 2017,
7665-500: The post-chorus. It was produced by Mauricio Rengifo and Andrés Torres ; the former is known as a member of Colombian pop duo Cali y El Dandee and the latter is known for previously working with David Bisbal , Thalía , and Ricky Martin . It was mixed by American engineer Jaycen Joshua at Larrabee Sound Studios in North Hollywood, Los Angeles . Luis Fonsi does not consider it a reggaeton song but feels that "it does have
7770-581: The public, although some artists do eventually release rough demos in compilation albums or box sets , such as the album Demolicious by Green Day . Other demo versions have been unofficially released as bootleg recordings , such as the Beatles ' bootleg demos and the Beach Boys ' Sea of Tunes series. Several artists have eventually made official releases of demo versions of their songs as albums or companion pieces to albums, such as Florence and
7875-412: The record company. Many signed bands and artists record demos of new songs before recording an album. The demos may allow the artist to provide sketches for sharing ideas with bandmates, or to explore several alternate versions of a song, or to quickly record many proto-songs before deciding which ones merit further development. Demos may include as few as one or two songs or as many as would be contained on
7980-413: The release of the song and its music video he started receiving calls from "people who normally don't call, people who only call when something different is going on." He got calls from Ricky Martin , Juan Luis Guerra , Marc Anthony and other artists telling him that the track was a "home run." Sebastian Wernke-Schmiesing of Dance-Charts journal stated that "a simple 4/4 time, Spanish guitar sounds,
8085-543: The remix's production in Parrot Cay , Turks and Caicos Islands with the mixing of Luis Fonsi's English-language vocals, whose lyrics were written by American songwriter Marty James . The entire process until the release date took six days. In June 2017, English musician Ed Sheeran revealed that he wanted to record a remix version of the song but lost out to Justin Bieber. "Despacito" is a reggaeton and Latin pop song composed in common time ( 4 time) with
8190-456: The renewed popularity of Spanish-language pop music in the mainstream market. It is a reggaeton and Latin pop song composed in common time with lyrics about desiring a sexual relationship, performed in a smooth and romantic way. "Despacito" received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who praised the fusion between Latin and urban rhythms, its catchiness, and its text painting . It has received Latin Grammy Awards for Record of
8295-470: The return of Ukrainians working abroad. Original version Credits adapted from Tidal and The Latin Recording Academy . Justin Bieber remix Credits adapted from Tidal and The Recording Academy . Luis Fonsi Luis Alfonso Rodríguez López-Cepero (born April 15, 1978), known by his stage name Luis Fonsi ( Spanish pronunciation: [ˈlwis ˈfonsi] ),
8400-433: The single's success for the Latin music domination in the US mainstream market during 2017, as 11 primarily-Spanish-language songs debuted on the Hot 100. American songwriter Desmond Child and Cuban musician Rudy Pérez expressed that "not since Ricky Martin's ' Livin' La Vida Loca ' has there been a song in any genre that has had the global impact of 'Despacito', changing the course of pop music forever." In 2017, six out of
8505-462: The singles "Si Tú Quisieras", "Perdóname", "Dime Como", and "Me Iré". Comenzaré became a hit in Puerto Rico and across Latin America, with Fonsi doing well in markets like Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico, and Venezuela. His 2000 follow-up, Eterno , was even more successful. Around this time, Fonsi also recorded a duet with Christina Aguilera for her 2000 Spanish-language album, Mi Reflejo . On May 1, 2000, Fonsi performed at
8610-550: The song "Abrazar la vida" ("To Embrace the Life"), off the eponymous album. The song would later become one of López's favorites. During 2005, Fonsi was in the middle of an international tour that was abruptly cancelled when López was diagnosed with cancer . Fonsi promised to stay by her side, and traveled with her to Mexico, Miami, and Puerto Rico for various treatment and work-related trips. She had been in remission since 2006. On June 3, 2006, Fonsi and Adamari López were married in
8715-515: The song "hastened a massive historical turn in American music, demonstrating the mainstream viability of Spanish-language pop." John Ochoa of Rolling Stone stated that "the resulting so-called 'Despacito effect' has advanced a wave of subsequent Spanish-language hits and mainstream crossovers." The Recording Industry Association of America reported that Latin music revenues grew 37% in 2017, mostly due to music streaming. Latin music's consumption in
8820-433: The song a really unique character." Nieves played salsa -influenced melodies during the chorus and the hook, which contains "old school pop" effects based on American producer Dr. Luke . Percussion instruments guache and güira were synchronized with a hi hat in order to highlight the track's cumbia influences. The song uses the side-chaining production technique in order to make the chorus "more prominent," silencing
8925-434: The song ends. The outro consists of Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee singing the hook a cappella with the people at the bar. The official music video on YouTube was released on Fonsi's channel on January 12, 2017, and amassed one billion views in 97 days, becoming the second-fastest video on the site to reach the milestone. It also became the fastest video on YouTube to surpass two billion views , with 154 days. The clip became
9030-456: The song for political purposes in Venezuela, criticizing Maduro's government use of the song as propaganda . On August 16, 2017, English television host James Corden remixed the song to comment on American President Donald Trump during his talk show The Late Late Show with James Corden . On September 15, 2020, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden played a few bars from the song at
9135-424: The song marked a "before and after" in the global consumption of Latin music. Before its success, Sony "had a big Latin single roughly every two years," a situation that reverted into an "avalanche of Latin songs around the world." Andrew Unterberger of Billboard stated that "2017 was the year that Latin pop took over the United States" due to the song and its quick impact on "Mi Gente", Camila Cabello's "Havana", and
9240-414: The song on their setlists for the 2017–18 Love + Dance World Tour and the 2017 Tamo En Vivo Europe Tour, respectively. On November 16, 2017, Luis Fonsi sang "Despacito" featuring Puerto Rican singer Victor Manuelle , Colombian band Bomba Estéreo and American disc jockey Diplo at the 18th Latin Grammy Awards. On January 28, 2018, Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee performed the song at the 60th Grammy Awards on
9345-410: The song was written by Fonsi, Erika Ender and Daddy Yankee, and produced by Mauricio Rengifo and Andrés Torres . A remix version featuring Canadian singer Justin Bieber was released on April 17, 2017, which helped to improve the chart performance of the song in numerous countries, including various number-one positions. "Despacito" has been widely credited by music journalists as being instrumental in
9450-546: The songwriting process; in other cases, a songwriter might make a demo to send to artists in hopes of having the song professionally recorded, or a publisher may need a simple recording for publishing or copyright purposes. Demos are typically recorded on relatively crude equipment such as "boom box" cassette recorders , small four- or eight-track machines , or on personal computers with audio recording software. Songwriters' and publishers' demos are recorded with minimal instrumentation, usually just an acoustic guitar or piano and
9555-602: The top 10 of six others. In the United States, it became the first song primarily in Spanish to top the Billboard Hot 100 since Los del Río 's " Macarena " in 1996, subsequently tying the longest-reigning number one on the Billboard Hot 100 at the time with 16 weeks, as well as becoming the longest-running number-one on the Hot Latin Songs chart with 56 weeks. It also became the first Latin song to receive
9660-424: The top 10 of the Hot 100 simultaneously. The song spent 52 weeks on the Hot 100 and was removed through a recurrent rule . "Despacito" was the best-selling and most-streamed single of 2017 in the United States, with 2,692,000 downloads sold and 1,322,799,000 streams. It was also the sixth most-played song of 2017, with 608,000 spins across US radio stations and an audience of 3,076,935,000. It ranked at number two on
9765-470: The video and was contacted by Fonsi to represent "the powerful Latina woman." Jorge Muñíz Ortíz of EFE stated that the music video "highlights some of the main cultural and folkloric symbols of Puerto Rico" by showing its "splendid beaches, the colorful landscape of La Perla, the rattle of the Puerto Rican cuatro and the barrels of the autochthonous genre of bomba , Zuleyka Rivera's hips movement and
9870-596: The video. The music video for "Despacito" was directed by Puerto Rican director Carlos Pérez and produced by Joanna Egozcue and Roxy Quiñones. Filming took place in December 2016 in La Perla neighborhood and the bar La Factoría in San Juan, Puerto Rico . Carlos Pérez had previously worked with Luis Fonsi on "Corazón en la Maleta" (2014) and with Daddy Yankee on clips including " Gasolina " (2004), " Rompe " (2005), " Descontrol " (2010), and " Ven Conmigo " (2011), among others. 2006 Miss Universe Zuleyka Rivera co-starred in
9975-460: The vocals. Both Elton John and Donovan gained studio experience early in their careers by recording publishers' demos for other artists since their managers also handled music publishing, as did Garth Brooks , who was so impressed when recording the demo of " Friends in Low Places " that he asked to release the song himself. Many unsigned bands and artists record demos in order to obtain
10080-428: The year in Brazil. "Despacito" was the second best-selling single of 2017 across the world, with 24.3 million sales plus track-equivalent streams. In 2018, it was the sixth best-selling song of the year, with 11.8 million sales plus track-equivalent streams, and was the 72nd most-played song in Latin America, with 107,980 spins. "Despacito" also peaked at number 114 on the recently inducted Billboard Global 200 chart on
10185-457: Was a part of the Dallas competition where along the side of radio announcer Daniel Luna they chose various contestants and in their pickings, rising star JC Gonzalez was 1 of the 25 selected. His sound producer was named Mariano Zunino from Argentina but moved to Florida. His seventh CD, Palabras del Silencio , debuted and stayed in the number one position for many weeks. Luis Fonsi entered
10290-511: Was at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in Puerto Rico on April 18, 2017, during the former's Purpose World Tour . Bieber was not able to sing the song during live performances and was caught replacing portions of the lyrics with the word " blah " and nonsensical ramblings during one performance in a much publicized incident. Fonsi has defended him for not knowing the lyrics, saying that he has to be given "a little bit of
10395-648: Was awarded a Latin Grammy Award for "Song of the Year" for his composition " Aquí Estoy Yo ". On December 11, 2009, Fonsi performed at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo , honoring recipient President Barack Obama . In 2011, Fonsi released the album Tierra Firme , and went on tour to promote it throughout Latin America. On July 9, 2011, Billboard named Fonsi "Leader of Latin Music's New Generation". In 2014, Fonsi released his album 8 ,
10500-410: Was dethroned by " Mi Gente " by J Balvin and Willy William featuring Beyoncé the following issue. In 2018, it returned to number one in three different runs for 21 non-consecutive weeks. It is the longest-reigning number-one on Hot Latin Songs and surpassed the 41 weeks of 2014's " Bailando " by Enrique Iglesias featuring Descemer Bueno and Gente de Zona on February 17, 2018. "Despacito" became
10605-545: Was released as a single and subsequently became a hit was a demo recorded by frontman Mark Foster alone, before he had formed the group. In 1982, Bruce Springsteen recorded ten demo songs in his bedroom that he intended to later record with his E Street Band , but he subsequently decided that he preferred the acoustic demos and released them as the 1982 album Nebraska . In more underground forms of music, such as noise music , black metal or punk rock , demos are often distributed by bands to fans as self-releases or sold at
10710-478: Was released on July 14, 2017. A banda version by Luis Fonsi with Mexican group La Bandononona Clave Nueva De Max Peraza was released on September 1, 2017. A Spanish/Mandarin version by Luis Fonsi and Singaporean singer-songwriter JJ Lin was released on January 26, 2018. A Norwegian version was released by Carina Dahl and Adrian Jørgensen in February 2018. This version was certified Gold by IFPI Norway in 2019 and Platinum in 2021. The song has been covered by
10815-793: Was released. The track list contains "Despacito (Remix) ", " Échame la Culpa " and "Sola". The album topped the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart and Spanish albums chart, and entered at number 18 on the Billboard 200. In 2019, Fonsi performed "Right Where I'm Supposed to Be" as the official song of the 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Abu Dhabi , United Arab Emirates in collaboration with Ryan Tedder , Avril Lavigne , Hussain Al Jassmi , Assala Nasri and Tamer Hosny . On July 26, 2019, Fonsi performed at
10920-496: Was the most-watched YouTube video of all time until November 2020, with over 8 billion views. Fonsi was born on April 15, 1978, in San Juan, Puerto Rico , the oldest child of Alfonso Rodríguez and Delia López-Cepero. He has two younger siblings: Jean Rodríguez , who also is a singer, and Tatiana Rodríguez. Growing up, Fonsi idolized the stars of the popular group Menudo , and the San Juan Children's Choir . At
11025-422: Was the second best-selling and most-streamed song of the year, with 2.3 million combined sales. It was also the best-selling single of 2017 in Canada, with more than 300,000 digital sales. It topped the 2017 year-end charts of 16 countries and was the second best-performing song in 15 others. In Latin America, it was the most-played radio song of 2017, with 580,450 spins, as well as the best-performing foreign song of
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