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WHAT IS DESPACITO?

Figure: Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, the singers of the original Despacito song

For most people across the globe, Despacito needs no introduction owing to the

widespread fame it has received in the last five years. It is a song by Puerto Rican singers Daddy

Yankee and Luis Fonsi, released in January 2017. The song is widely considered a fusion of

reggaeton and Latin pop. The sexual desire and smooth nature of the song make it popular

amongst romantic song lovers. Despite being released in Miami, USA, by musicians of Puerto

Rican descent, it has garnered popularity across the globe with translations done in various

languages. The eight billion views garnered by the song on YouTube in the last five years show

how popular it is across all ages of viewers. During the first few months after its release, the song
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topped the charts in more than forty-seven countries. The popularity and soothing nature of the

song led it to emerge top in numerous awards. One of the most notable awards won by the song

was the “Record of the Year” award won during the 18th Grammy awards (Mcphate). The song

would go on to be nominated in various categories in the following years. On YouTube, the song

is the second most viewed song, with its views rising yearly. The success associated with the

song in recent years has mesmerized most stakeholders in the music industry.

Even though “Despacito” is a Spanish word for slowly, the song defied its name's

meaning and shot very fast to fame after its launch. It took the song four months to hit the

topmost spot of Billboard's top 100 charts. Moreover, it remained at the helm of the charts for a

further four months. Within the first six months of its video release, the song surpassed three

billion views on YouTube, making it one of the first videos to do so in a very short time (Mia).

Even though the song is in Spanish, it appeals to all languages, as shown by the number of views

across all languages. During its first year, approximately 146 million Italians watched it, 41

million Indonesians, and more than 18 million Israelis. The cross-language appeal of the song

has fascinated most music enthusiasts after surpassing all international boundaries. Considering

the world has an approximate population of eight billion and the song’s YouTube views are the

same, it is safe to assume that almost everyone knows or has heard about the song.

DESPACITO RECEPTION
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Figure 2: Cover of Justin Bieber’s Remix of Despacito with Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee

Many critics argue that Justin Bieber's involvement in Despacito's song in its first

year contributed to its fast rise into the limelight. Around the period when Despacito was

released, Justin Bieber's presence was all over the top music charts in most countries. Just like he

had done with other songs around the same period, his remix with Fonsi and Yankee propelled

Despacito into the limelight, enticing many people, especially English music listeners (Tingen).

Bieber's effect on songs at the time was associated with his long-time presence on top music

charts. Many song versions have been produced, the most popular ones being the salsa version,

Major Lazer's & MOSKA version, and the Merengue Version (Faruki). The salsa version done
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by Victor Manuelle included instruments used in the song while at the same time increasing the

tempo. MOSKA and Major Lazer's remix is acknowledged for adding a dancehall touch to the

song by using drums and high-pitched bass in the background. Finally, the Merengue version is

famous for being the fast version of Despacito, which was a hit mainly in the Dominican

Republic and other Southern American countries. All these remixes not only helped make

Despacito famous but also increased the fan base of the song across the globe.

The good pop songwriting skills and readiness of the audience for the song contributed to

the success of Despacito. During the release period of Despacito, most of the anglophone

audiences were primed to receive a reggaeton-pop song mainly because of the reduction in the

intensity of previous Spanish songs (Marshall). The choice of words and tempo of the songs not

only brings out the best in reggaeton music but also makes it appealing to the middle class. The

successful infusion of reggaeton into pop music is attributed to a touch of Daddy Yankee, who

had been singing reggaeton for a long time. The precise arrangement of the chords also

contributed to song harmony, something rare in reggaeton songs, making the song the

millennial's biggest hit. The contribution of many writers in making the song also played a key

role in establishing its genre. Fonsi and Yankee's previous illustrious careers in the music

industry also helped bring out the song's best.

Precedence of Despacito by Afro-Caribbean songs provided a reception platform for the

anglophone audience, who immediately fell in love with the song. Musicians like Rihana and

Drake, who hail from the Caribbean, helped introduce reggaeton into pop music (Marshall). The

most immediate precedence can be attributed to Shakira's 'Hips Don't Lie song produced in 2005.

These preceding songs made the anglophone audience fall in love with songs produced in the
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South American and Caribbean areas. As such, when Despacito was produced, its reception

amongst pop music lovers was high.

Rhythm plays a huge role in endearing music lovers into a specific song, achieved

through the creative use of musical instruments. The producers of Despacito cleverly utilized the

'dembow' beat to create a rhythm that would make the song irresistible. The four-on-the-floor

musical loop coupled with 3+3+2 rhythmic has long been used to endear reggaeton music. The

'dembow' has been around for a long time and has been used in many songs with high success

rates. Its use in Despacito made the song sweet to listen to and easy for non-Spanish listeners to

flow with the beats. In summary, the people behind the creation and recording of Despacito had

sufficient knowledge and skills to make it possible for them to reach out to the musical needs of

the audience.

The remix of Despacito by top artists like Justin Bieber has increased the song's

popularity. The Despacito remix by Justin Bieber is played in many places by many individuals

as it is loved. To date, the remix by Justin Bieber is one of the biggest hits today as it hit the top

100 in the Billboard chart. The remix came after a long time of unavailability of such a song, and

many people embraced it. Justin Bieber, a famous and loved artist, added the sauce to the already

loved song by combining genius vocals, a catchy music arrangement, and Spanish lyrics. This

made Despacito an award-winning song. Notably, the by Fonsi and Puerto Rican rapper Daddy

Yankee had already wooed Latin fans; it obtained new fame when Canadian Justin Bieber

decided to remix it. The song has earned a great spot in the Genius history books. The remix

became the most-viewed song after it reached over 9.9 million page views (Hosken). It has

reached milestones that other songs have not reached. Many people were interested in the
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Spanish version of it, so they flocked to look at the meanings of the Spanish words, and for the

first time, the Despacito song became a major hit in the United States.

From the YouTube views, it is evident that the song has been highly accepted. Lous

Fonsi and Daddy Yankee are very proud musicians after their video for the Despacito song

attained eight billion views on Youtube. This makes history for the song as one of the most

significant releases and has several records. The badger enabled Fonsi to enter the seven

Gunnis world records. Again, the song was on the billboard as a hot Latin song for fifty-six

consecutive weeks, and it thus beat the records for lasting a long time on Billboard. The

popularity of the song also emanates from it having great beats. Deposit is considered a

successful bourgeoisification genre and has made reggaeton easy to consume by the masses
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(Marshall). Fonsi has hugely contributed to the popularity of the song. The song's

popularity has also developed from Fonsi being an international musician as he is an

award-winning global artist and emerges as a top Latin music figure. Fonsi has a unique

talent, and he also has many radio hits making him an influential artist, enabling him to

break all the barriers, taking his music across borders. His being a popular artist has

contributed to many people loving and loyal to his music. He has won many awards for the

great music he is feeding the world, especially his song Despacito, which has always been

on top of the chart.

In conclusion, there are numerous factors that contributed to the success of the

Despacito song. It is agreeable that this song is a hit and has served the audience with many

goodies. One of the most significant achievements of the Despacito hit song is the artficats

that has ked into people appreciating the Spanish culture and liking their artifacts. The

Despacito song is an eye-opener to many musicians as it has led to diversity in Spanish

songs by different artists. The Despacito song has reached a recognizable milestone, as

noted from the many Youtube views, showing that the song has been accepted

internationally. Many people have also considered making covers of the song, and despite

the translation, the song has received, its Spanish version has remained to be on top. From

receiving the Justin Bieber effect to having great beats to originally being sung by

international artists are some factors that have contributed to the greatness of this song.

Works Cited
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Faruki, O. "We Ranked All 9 Versions Of 'Despacito' From Worst To Best." Junkee, 21 July

2017, junkee.com/we-listened-to-all-9-versions-of-despacito-to-see-which-is-the-best/

113804.

Marshall, Wayne. "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About ‘Despacito’." Vulture, 22 Aug.

2017, www.vulture.com/2017/08/everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-

despacito.html. Accessed 22 Nov. 2022.

Mcphate, T. "Luis Fonsi: "Despacito" Wins Record Of The Year | 18th Latin GRAMMYs." 17

Nov. 2017, www.grammy.com/news/luis-Fonsi-despacito-wins-record-year-18th-Latin-

Grammys. Accessed 21 Nov. 2022.

Mia, K. "How “Despacito” Became the Biggest Video of All Time." 9 July 2020,

bettermarketing.pub/how-despacito-became-the-biggest-video-of-all-time-6dfde650ad95.

Accessed 21 Nov. 2022.

Tingen, P. "The Making of the Justin Bieber "Despacito" Remix." Paul Tingen - 'zen' Guitarist

and Author, 5 Jan. 2018, tingen.org/making-of-Bieber-despacito-remix/.

Works CitedHosken, Patrick. "Justin Bieber Helped Luis Fonsi's 'Despacito' Become The Most-

Streamed Song In History." MTV, 19 July 2017, www.mtv.com/news/ggp1j5/despacito-most-

streamed-song-ever. Accessed 22 Nov. 2022.