Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi’s Despacito , whose reggaeton beat has swept the globe, on Wednesday was named the most streamed song of all time.
The song’s label, Universal Music Latin Entertainment, said Despacito in its original and remixed versions had reached 4.6 billion streams across platforms including YouTube and Spotify.
Despacito went viral soon after its release in January and found an even wider audience in April when pop celebrity Justin Bieber appeared in a remix.
The song dethroned another track with Bieber, the Canadian’s 2015 song Sorry , which has 4.38 billion plays, according to Universal.
Despacito — which means “slowly” in Spanish — has spent 10 weeks at number one on the U.S. singles chart, the first Spanish-language song to reach the top spot since Macarena in 1996.
Lucian Grainge, chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group, the world’s largest label conglomerate, called Despacito the biggest hit of 2017.
“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,” Mr. Grainge said. Reggaeton — which has roots in Jamaican dance hall and hip-hop — has historically provided a voice to black Puerto Ricans.
