Luis Fonsi's Despacito has
become the most-streamed song of all time, just six months after it was
released.
The
hit single has been played
4.6 billion times across all streaming services, overtaking Justin Bieber's
Sorry, which previously held the title.
"What's happened with this
song is just insane," said Fonsi, who hails from Puerto Rico and sings in
Spanish.
"I don't want to use the
word accident because I was trying to write a hit, but I didn't plan for it to
cross over.
"I just wanted to make
people dance."
The 39-year-old said the global
success of his song - which has reached number one in 35 countries, including
the UK - gave him hope in the current political climate.
"I come from Puerto Rico and
I live in Miami. We're living in an interesting time right now when people want
to divide us. They want to build walls.
"And for a song to bring
people and cultures together, that's what makes me proud."
Despacito is a sun-bleached slice
of sensual reggaeton. The title translates as "slowly", referring to
the speed of Fonsi's seduction technique.
It hit number one around Latin
America when it was released in January, but only caught fire in the
English-speaking world after Justin Bieber heard the song in a nightclub and
asked to add a verse.
His version of the song - known
as
Despacito
(Remix) - has become a phenomenon on streaming services, most
notably Spotify and Apple Music. It is already the fourth most-played video of
all time on YouTube, where it is rapidly closing in on the top three, all of
which are years old.
The head of Universal Music
Group, Sir Lucian Grainge, said the success of Despacito showed how streaming
was democratising the music market.
"Streaming has allowed a
song with a different beat, from a different culture, in a different language,
to become this juggernaut of success and pleasure," he told the BBC.
"The industry has
predominantly been English-speaking artists for the last 50 years [but]
streaming will continue to open up music from Latin America artists globally.
"Anything and everywhere is
up for grabs."
Of course, records will continue
to be broken alongside the growth of streaming services - which give users
access to a vast library of on-demand music for a monthly fee.
In March, Spotify announced it
had attracted 50 million subscribers. Apple Music, which is yet to reach its
second birthday, has already attracted 27 million paying customers; while
Google Play, Amazon Unlimited, Deezer and YouTube and dozens of others have
contributed to Despacito's success.
Critics might point out that the
song would never have achieved such visibility without Bieber's contribution,
but Sir Lucian was candid about how Universal had harnessed the star's brand
power.
"Bringing in Justin Bieber
meant that we could take something that was well on its way, and really take it
to heights that would have been perceived as unimaginable when the song was
written," he told the BBC.
"We were at one level, and
he helped us get to the next."
Fonsi also paid tribute to
Bieber's contribution, and reflected on his breathtaking success in a phone
interview from Lisbon.
Hi Luis! How does it feel to
have the most-streamed song in history?
It's been an incredible ride.
Pretty much from the start it has just been crazy. Obviously it was a snowball
effect. It started first with my more traditional market - the Latin American
market. But we had an instant response. I got phone calls congratulating me
from people who don't normally call.
Is it a source of pride that
Despacito is predominantly a Spanish-language song?
Yeah, that's the beauty behind
it. The original version, which I did just with Daddy Yankee, was in Spanish
then four months later, Justin Bieber jumps in [and] adds a verse at the
beginning in English.
It was his choice to keep the
chorus in Spanish - because we had an English lyric for it - but he wanted to
stay true to the original version.
Now I'm getting videos from
different parts of the world, listening to people trying to nail the Spanish,
trying to learn a bit of Spanish through the song.
Have you forgiven Justin
for butchering
the song when he performed it live? (The singer sang
"burrito" and "dorito" instead of the Spanish lyrics)
Yeah, you know, it's not his
language. If he was saying he could speak Spanish and he couldn't, I'd be like,
"Hey man". But I don't think he's ever come out and said he's a
Spanish-speaker. He just wanted to do the song because he loved it. And I think
you have to tip your hat to him, because he took the time to phonetically learn
the chorus in Spanish.
I know that that takes time
[because] I've actually done the song in different languages myself. I've just
done the song in Portuguese, and Portuguese is very similar to Spanish, but it
was very hard for me to nail that version. And if you were to ask me to sing it
now in Portuguese, I wouldn't have a clue where to start!
So I think we just have to let it
go.
Why has it become so popular?
This is a question I've been
asked a lot but, for some reason, I don't have the perfect answer for it. I
think it's the sum of lots of little things.
Obviously, it's a very catchy
melody. The way the chorus starts "Des-Pa-Ci-To" is
very easy to remember. And it's almost impossible not to move when you hear the
track, even if you're not a dancer. And obviously you add Justin Bieber to
that, and it brings another angle to all of this.
But I wish I knew exactly what
the secret was, so I could apply it to all my future songs!
What is the strangest place
you've heard it?
It probably hasn't been anywhere
too strange - but you walk into a restaurant, or you're at a traffic light and
the car next to you is listening to it… It's just insane! I can't help but
smile.
Just today, I heard a Hebrew
version of Despacito. Yesterday, I had some friends who were visiting Croatia
and it was playing there. People are sending me all kinds of different
versions.
Yeah, you know what? I'm
compiling a bunch of footage and audio from all the different versions that
have been done in all the different languages and I want to edit it together.
It's so amazing. It makes me proud that the world's coming together.
I come from Puerto Rico and I
live in Miami. We're living in an interesting time right now when people want
to divide us, they want to build walls, and for a song to bring people and
cultures together, I think that's what makes me proud. Music has that power. It
might sound cheesy but I do believe music brings us together.
Did you see that Canadian PM
Justin Trudeau put you on his summer
playlist?
Oh really, I didn't know that!
That guy has good taste!
How can you ever top something
like this?
Oh, you don't. This is a
once-in-a-lifetime thing. I don't want to be a pessimist about it. I don't want
to be negative about it. But my next song, I can't approach it thinking,
"How do I beat Despacito?"
Do you really expect to win the
lottery twice? We just have to be grateful for what we've done and go forward.
Luis Fonsi was speaking to BBC
Music's Kev Geoghegan.
