Justin Bieber drew mixed reactions from fans and critics alike when he forgot the Spanish lyrics to "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee. In May, the Canadian pop singer was caught on camera performing the smash hit at a local bar in New York. While nothing was wrong when the song started rolling, the "Sorry" artist had to make an improvisation of the lyrics when it reached the chorus.
Bieber draws backlash for forgetting 'Despacito' lyrics
"I don't know the words, so I say burrito, I don't know the words, so I say Dorito, I don't know the words, so I say puerquito [pork]," he sang.
"Zubba-zubba-zubba-zubba-zubba-zubba-zub-burrito, I ate a burrito, I just want some puerquito."
Following the incident, Justin Bieber refused to sing the Spanish-language remix during his performance at the Summerbust Festival in Stockholm last June. He even admitted that he does not know the lyrics of the song before an audience member pelted a water bottle at the pop singer. "Don't throw things at me, please," he addressed the crowd.
Luis Fonsi, on the other hand, has nothing but praise for the pop singer for his determination to learn the proper pronunciation of the Spanish words. The Puerto Rican singer-songwriter also revealed that Justin Bieber personally suggested having the chorus in Spanish despite his difficulty in learning the language.
"We had a full English lyrics already written out for him, and he said, "Ahh ah. No. I'm doing this the real way. I'm doing this in Spanish." He did it on point, so hats off to the Biebs," he said in a previous interview.
Luis Fonsi defends Bieber from critics
When asked if he was offended when Justin Bieber forgot the lyrics to "Despacito," Luis Fonsi recently told PEOPLE that he does not expect the pop singer to memorize the entire song.
"They’re hard, and he doesn’t speak the language. Go easy on him," he said.
He added, “I recorded a Portuguese version of the song — it was for a Brazilian version of the song — and Portuguese is very similar to Spanish. If you asked me right now to sing the Portuguese version, I wouldn’t even know the first word."
The 39-year-old singer-songwriter reiterated that he does not blame Justin Bieber for forgetting the Spanish lyrics to their smash hit.
He even credited the "Love Yourself" artist for doing a great job in coming up with the idea of recording the chorus in Spanish.
"Despacito" was originally released by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee in January, while the remix version with Justin Bieber was dropped in April. The song currently holds the title as the most-watched music video on YouTube with over 3.4 billion views in seven months.
