It’s official: \u201cDespacito\u201d is now the most streamed song of all time, and it got there in just six months.<\/p>\n
Luis Fonsi\u00a0and\u00a0Daddy Yankee\u2019s\u00a0hit original song and its remix featuring\u00a0Justin Bieber\u00a0have accumulated more than 4.6 billion streams across all platforms since its release in January.<\/p>\n
The track, which is currently No. 1 in the U.S., U.K. and Australia, surpasses the previous record holder, Justin Bieber\u2019s \u201cSorry\u201d (and its various remixes),\u00a0which has\u00a0clocked up\u00a0more than 4.38 billion combined plays, Universal Music Group reports.<\/p>\n
\u201cDespacito,\u201d which means \u201cslowly\u201d in Spanish, was fast out the gate. Just hours after the Latin collab arrived on Jan. 13, the Puerto Rican singers had a monster on their hands. The upbeat track set a new record on Vevo by becoming the Spanish-language video with the most views in 24 hours (it collected 5.4 million hits). Another Vevo record fell when \u201cDespacito”\u00a0become the fastest Spanish-language video to reach 200 million views, which it achieved in 22 days. It’s also the fastest ever music video to 2 billion views (154 days).<\/p>\n
Commenting on his record-smashing feat, Fonsi said: “Streaming is a connector for audiences worldwide and it has helped my music reach every corner of the planet. It is truly an honor that \u2018Despacito\u2019 is now the most streamed song in history.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lucian Grainge, chairman & CEO, Universal Music Group, congratulated Fonsi and everyone who helped make the record a hit. \u201cLuis Fonsi already had the undisputed, biggest song of the year \u2013 and now he\u2019s setting even bigger records. Streaming has opened up the possibility of a song with a different beat, from a different culture and in a different language to become a juggernaut of success around the world. My congratulations to Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber, as well as everyone at Universal Music Latin Entertainment, Republic Records and Def Jam, on this tremendous accomplishment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Streaming has “democratized music consumption, it has made Latin music increasingly relevant on the charts and it has amplified our songs and videos to a world stage,\u201d comments Jes\u00fas Lopez, chairman & CEO of Universal Music Latin America & Iberian Peninsula. \u201c\u2018Despacito\u2019 has broken every record thanks to Luis Fonsi’s talent and creativity, which have positioned him as a pillar of Latin music for the past 20 years. I also congratulate Erika Ender, Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber for their valuable contributions, as well as the different teams involved in the success of this song.\u201d<\/p>\n
“Despacito” (released on Universal Music Latino \/ Raymond Braun \/ SchoolBoy \/ Def Jam \/ UMLE \/ Republic Records) is just the 35th single to top the Billboard Hot 100 for at least 10 weeks. The record for the longest stint at No. 1 is owned Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men’s “One Sweet Day,\u201d which ruled for 16 weeks in 1995-96.<\/p>\n