100 Facts You Should Know About “Despacito”
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What Does It Mean?
Well, it means Slowly.
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Who’s singin’ it?
It’s the Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi featuring also Puerto Rican rapper Daddy Yankee
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When was it released?
It was released on January 12, 2017 by Universal Music Latin
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Where was the video shot?
The video was shot in La Perla, San Juan, Puerto Rico. The tourism in the area rose significantly after the launch of the hit (45% rise).
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Wanna know more about the “Despacito” madness?
The whole Des… pa .. ci ..to hysteria is estimated to have amassed more than 5 billion views, if we take into account its numerous versions and covers also:
Details here
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Who’s that chick in the video?
If you wonder who’s the gorgeous girl in the video – she is Zuleyka Rivera, ex-Miss Universe (2006)
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Record breaker
It’s a record breaker – the first video ever to have broken 3 bln views on Youtube (3.4 bln as of Aug 2017)
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Who wrote the song?
It was written by Luis Fonsi, Erika Ender and Daddy Yankee
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Can it be played anywhere on the planet?
The song is reggaeton-pop as genre, and it was banned in Malaysia for having way too sexy lyrics (even though they are quite metaphoric)
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Charts, charts, charts
It is the first song primarily written in Spanish to reach first spot on the Billboard Hot 100 since Macarena in 1996
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“Despa” Stats
The song got 1 billion views on Youtube in less than 100 days (97 to be precise). It is the second-fastest video on Youtube to reach that milestone, after Adele with “Hello”
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Even more stats
It hit 2 billion views in 154 days and after 204 days it broke the 3 billion views record on YouTube
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Best seller
It’s one of the best-selling Latin singles in the U.S.
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Bieber madness + Despacito = Despacito Madness
A remix of Despacito was released on April 17, 2017, featuring Justin Bieber – this one pushed the success of the song even further, especially in the English-speaking countries
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Most streamed video
In July 2017, it became world’s most streamed song ever, with 4.6 bln streams
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It ended Fonsi’s hiatus
Luis Fonsi did not release any new material in 2 years before launching “Despacito”
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The first idea of the song
It came from Fonsi, at the end of 2015. He just woke up one day with part of the chorus in his head 🙂 He later showed it to his friend, Erika Ender and they wrote the rest of the hit together
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Despacito was meant to be ballad
Beleive it or not, Despacito was meant to be ballad at first, being composed as a “cumbia” and pop song, but it became the reggaeton hit with urban influences that we know today after Daddy Yankee‘s input. Yankee and Fonsi collaborated before for the song “Una Oportunidad” (in 2010)
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When was it recorded?
The song was recorded in 2016, in Miami
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Was Daddy Yankee supposed to collaborate with Fonsi in the first place?
Errr, no! Nicky Jam should have been the rapper in the collaboration instead of Daddy Yankee
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How is it composed?
… in common time (4/4) and written in the key of D major with a tempo of 89 bpm, and we meet the common chord progression of Bm—G—D—A. It was created in Pro Tools / 47 tracks
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Charts again
The song went directly to no. 2 in the US Hot Latin Songs chart and no. 1 on the US Latin Digital Songs chart
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NO. 1 again
It went to no. 1 on the US Hot Latin Songs chart on February 18, 2017 and stayed there for 27 consecutive weeks
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How many weeks was it no. 1 in the US Hot 100?
At the end of May 2017 , it became no. 1 on the Hot 100 (feat. Justin Bieber) and stayed there for 16 consecutive weeks
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Was there a quick rise to fame?
The hit had 5.14 million views already after 24 hours on Youtube
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Who are the producers?
The producers of the song are from Colombia – Mauricio Rengifo and Andres Torres
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Did Bieber sing in Spanish before?
Despacito is Bieber’s first song in Spanish .. and he managed quite well, we must say 🙂
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No. 1 just in the US and Latin America?
Not only. It became no. 1 in more than 50 countries. We don’t have yet stats about other planets / other gallaxies, but we’ll keep you updated :))
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What’s that bar in the video called?
“La Factoría” was the bar in San Juan where shots for the video were taken. You can imagine now that all tourists wanna go there!
[ to be continued … 100 is not so far 🙂 ]
You may also read:
The “Despacito” Madness – 5 billion views on YouTube
You can find here a very interesting map with the spread of the Despacito-virus here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/despacito-most-viewed-youtube-video_us_5984b563e4b08b75dcc6c1e1
There is also a chart with it’s huge and not quite “despacito” growth, compared to other videos:
- See you again by Wiz Khalifa (ft. Charlie Puth)
- Sugar – Maroon 5
- Sorry – Justin Bieber
- Gangnam Style – Psy
