Despite only having been out for about eight months, the hit song “Despacito” has already broken records and made history. Now the worldwide sensation by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee has hit yet another milestone by becoming the most watched video in the history of YouTube in record time.
Yet another change at the top spot on YouTube
Back on November 24, 2012, “Gangnam Style” by South Korean singer Psy became the most watched video on YouTube, accomplishing the milestone only 133 days after it was uploaded. “Gangnam Style” held the top spot for a record 1,689 days until last month.
On July 10, American rapper Wiz Khalifa's song “See You Again” finally broke Psy's time at the top of Youtube. It took “See You Again,” a tribute to Paul Walker featured on the “Furious 7” soundtrack, a total of 827 days after being uploaded to claim the top spot.
Despacito makes record history on YouTube
Now, “Despacito” has come in and snatched away the top spot from “See You Again” after the latter only held the top spot on YouTube for 26 days. The music video for the hit song by Puerto Rican duo Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee was uploaded to YouTube on January 12, taking 205 days to claim the top spot. While this was not done as quickly as “Gangham Style,” “Despcaito” gained significantly more views to claw its way to being the most viewed video on the site.
The music video also became the first in YouTube history to pass the three billion view mark, currently sitting at 3,019,350,206. This all comes shortly after the Spanish-language song became the most-streamed song of all time, across all platforms last month, surpassing Justin Bieber's 2015 song “Baby.” In part due to the massive success of the song, Daddy Yankee also became the most globally listened to artist on Spotify last month.
Meanwhile, “Despacito” is currently enjoying its 12th straight week holding the number one spot on Billboard's Top 100 chart. It is the first mostly Spanish speaking song to hold the top spot since “Macarena” by Lois del Rio back in 1996.
Daddy Yankee acknowledges the accomplishment
Daddy Yankee discussed and honored the record breaking accomplishment of reaching the top of YouTube in a video message to TIME.
He said “Thank you YouTube for Despacito's success. I recognize the influence that the platform has.” Yankee also added that “The music industry has changed. The rules of music have changed. And YouTube has a big responsibility, and I recognize it.”
