The undeniable Despacito, by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber, has become the most streamed track ever, Universal Music Latin Entertainment announced.
It earned a combination of global streams of more than 4.6 billion plays across leading streaming platforms in the six months since its release.
The record had previously been set by Bieber for the 2015 hit Sorry, which, along with remixes, has logged 4.38 billion plays.
Despacito is credited to UMLE, Raymond Braun Music Group, Def Jam and Republic Records, and has spent 10 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart.“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,” said Lucian Grainge, chairman & CEO of Universal Music Group.
“Luis Fonsi already had the undisputed, biggest song of the year – and now he’s setting even bigger records. 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.”
Added Jesus Lopez, chairman & CEO of Universal Music Latin America & Iberian Peninsula: “Streaming has democratised music consumption, it has made Latin music increasingly relevant on the charts and it has amplified our songs and videos to a world stage.
“Despacito 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.” – Reuters
RTM takes Despacito off the air
Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) will cease broadcasting the global hit song, Despacito, on all its radio and television stations immediately, says Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak.
He said the RTM evaluation panel decided to withdraw the approval to play the song after a re-evaluation.
“RTM is ceasing the broadcast of the song on its radio and TV stations with immediate effect,” he said to Bernama after attending the ministry’s Hari Raya open house in Putrajaya on July 19.
Several quarters have called for the broadcast of the song to be stopped, alleging its lyrics are obscene. – Bernama
