Editorial Note – Soraya Alcalá
“Despacito” did not simply top charts; it forced the global music industry to recalibrate its expectations of Spanish‑language songs. Reaching 9 billion views is proof that this shift was not a trend but a structural change in how audiences consume, recognize, and legitimize Latin music worldwide. This milestone belongs to the artists and to the millions of listeners who turned a regional sound into a permanent part of the global soundtrack.
© Soraya Alcalá · Original Editorial Note
The global hit continues breaking records nearly a decade after its release
Miami, FL (April 26, 2026) –
Nearly a decade after its release, “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee has reached a new milestone, surpassing 9 billion views on YouTube. With this achievement, it remains the most viewed video by a male artist in the platform’s history.
Beyond its record-breaking success, the song has demonstrated sustained longevity over the years. It spent 35 consecutive weeks at #1 on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart and accumulated a total of 56 weeks at the top, setting a historic record.
The video has also shown remarkable chart longevity, remaining for 479 weeks, and was one of the fastest to reach one billion views.
The impact of “Despacito” has been recognized with seven Guinness World Records, reflecting its global reach.
Culturally, Rolling Stone included it among the 50 greatest Latin pop songs of all time, while Time named it one of the best songs of 2017, noting, “In a year when xenophobia reared its head around the world, it was encouraging to see the charts dominated by such a universal and multicultural hit.”
Beyond the numbers, the song helped expand the global presence of Spanish-language pop. As Fonsi shared in an interview with Billboard, “It opened a huge door for the non-Latin world to connect with Latin music.”
Approaching its 10th anniversary in 2027, “Despacito” continues to accumulate views and maintain its place as one of the most influential and historic releases in contemporary music.
Alongside this new milestone, Fonsi continues to lead the charts with new music. His latest single, “Cambiaré” with Feid, reached #1 in the United States after topping charts in 11 countries.
This marks Fonsi’s 14th #1 hit, confirming that what he is creating today resonates just as strongly as what he has built over more than 27 years of his career.
