#1 on the charts in 57 countries: Brazil to Russia; USA to India. That, my friend, is the status Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s Spanish-language song Despacito is enjoying. Here’s all you need to know about the summer hit of 2017.
WHAT DOES THE SONG MEAN?
‘Despacito’ means ‘slowly’. But it’s the song’s chorus that’s winning audiences super-fast. A rough translation reads: I want to smell your neck slowly/Let me whisper things in your ear/So that you’ll remember if you’re not with me/ Slowly I want to undress you with my kisses, slowly/ I sign the walls of your labyrinth/ And make your whole body a manuscript. Moments later the lyrics move to: I want to see your hair dance/ I want to be your rhythm/ And you show my mouth/ Your favourite places/ Let me surpass your danger zones/ To make you scream/ And you forget your last name.
WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL?
The song is about having sex… ‘slowly’… like in many other songs! But the last time a song, sung primarily in Spanish, hit #1 on the US pop charts was back in 1996. That was Los Del Rio’s Macarena. It’s successor is the January 2017 release Despacito, whose remix featuring Justin Bieber has claimed the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100. The urban-pop fusion number (some label it reggaeton-pop fusion) follows in the footsteps of Ricky Martin and Enrique Iglesias. Of course, credit must be given to YouTube and Spotify that have amplified the track’s popularity.
WHO ARE BEHIND THE SONG?
The original song has been recorded by a pair of middle-aged Puerto Ricans — Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee. The ‘middle-age’ bit is important because the average age of a lead solo artiste at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 is 28.5!
HOW DID THE SONG HAPPEN?
“I woke up one morning with the word ‘des-pa-cito’ in my head. It was that simple; it was that obvious. I recorded all these little ideas on my phone and I said: ‘Hey look, I have this idea to do kind of this fun, up-tempo song, and let’s write this real sexy lyric around despacito,’ which means slowly. All the things that we’re gonna do slowly,” Luis Fonsi has told Genius, a website that provides interpretation of song lyrics.
Daddy Yankee has had a successful career and you may remember him as the man behind tracks like Gasolina and Limbo. The once underground artiste is now more dance-pop, considering his recent efforts Shaky Shaky and Hula Hoop.
AND THE BIEBER CONNECT?
The remix has a familiar voice, the far from middle-aged, Justin Bieber, who has helped a local-language hit strike like a thunderbolt around the world. How did Bieber enter the picture? Luis has said in interviews that he was touring Europe and was in Italy. At 3am he received a call from his record label saying “Bieber’s camp” was interested in the song. Justin had heard the song while touring Colombia and wanted to do a remix. In other words, Justin initiated the talks. And JB also has something to gain: A spot in the Latin music market, which is huge.
BUT DIDN’T BIEBER GOOF UP?
Yes, that’s how his last week unfolded. While performing his part of the song, he goofed up with the Spanish words and replaced it with “blah blah blah” and “I ate a burrito, I just want a burrito”. Coming to his rescue, Luis in a Rolling Stone interview: “That chorus is not easy to sing, even for fluent Spanish singers like myself.”
WHAT DOES THE SONG’S SUCCESS MEAN?
Petra R. Rivera-Rideau, author of Remixing Reggaeton: The Cultural Politics of Race in Puerto Rico, has made an interesting observation in his interview with The Atlantic: “When I was writing my dissertation, a lot of people were telling me to hurry up because nobody’s going to be listening to this music by the time the book comes out. But people are still listening to it. There are some who are really upset because reggaeton has become very commercialised. But on the other hand it’s an interesting moment to think about how this genre has moved from being so maligned, marginalised, and censored to now being the No. 1 song on the English-language pop charts.”
As for Universal Music Group’s Latin America and Iberia division, things are looking the opposite of despacito. “My sister labels — Republic, Capitol, Polydor — are now knocking on my door for Latin artistes to collaborate all the time,” says its chairman Jesus Lopez.
LOVE? NAH, JUST NIBBLE ON IT
According to a recent research published in the journal Sexuality & Culture, pop songs are now less about love than at any point since the 1960s. That means, a classic love song like Al Green’s Let’s Stay Together (1971) about weathering a rocky relationship has been replaced by Despacito’s You fit me tailor-made, love how you put it on/ Got the only key, know how to turn it on/ The way you nibble on my ear, the only words I wanna hear/ Baby, take it slow so we can last long. According to The Guardian, the research analysed 1,250 songs released between 1960 and 2008, and found that while only seven per cent of songs from the ’60s were about sex, that number had increased to 40 per cent by the end of the study.
DJ TALK
I heard Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s track before I heard Justin Bieber’s version. Bieber has so far mainly done mainstream pop. So getting the Latin flavour and lending English vocals is, in a way, filling the gap left by Enrique Iglesias. And girls are crazy about Latin music and its feel. There is the Latin music in the background and Justin’s voice... and his voice has matured a lot. He’s not sounding like the Oh whoa baby baby type any more — DJ Girish, head resident DJ of M Bar Kitchen and director of Nightlife
The Jamaican reggae vibe makes it different and Justin Bieber featuring in the song has made it all the more popular
— DJ Rishi, resident DJ of Roxy
Justin Bieber is topping charts with most of his collaborations. The song has taken over the industry and has been the ladies’ favourite in K-Town. Despacito, which means ‘slowly’, has a reggaeton feel and that has topped it off well. It’s one of my favourite songs of the moment — DJ Felix, hip hop DJ
STUDENT JAM
This is one of those songs that makes you want to groove no matter where you are! You may not understand head or tail of the lyrics but you will still hum to the music! And there is something about Spanish music that keeps the audience hooked. Also, Justin Bieber singing the song is a reason why it’s a huge hit. — Sulogna Ghosh, St. Xavier’s College
The song shows that language is no bar for music. The exotic locations in the video, the kick-ass rap by Daddy Yankee and the dance steps have got the song its fans. Let’s not even start talking about Miss Universe Zuleyka Rivera’s perfect smile! If you ask me to dance to the song, I would totally go Pasito a pasito!
— Agniva Ray, Ramakrishna Mission Residential College, Narendrapur
It’s groovy and has become popular among us on the dance circuit. Our favourite Canadian singer Justin Bieber has made both the English and Spanish parts his own. He owns the track, which is why we love it!
— Sehrish Hazarika, Jadavpur University
I am dancing to Despacito because....
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