The early part of this year was the incubation period of a song that had the makings of a true global hit. “Despacito” by Puerto Rican artists Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee would go on to be a worldwide phenomenon, being played everywhere and translated into several languages despite its bawdy lyrics, ultimately becoming the most streamed song in YouTube history. But its domination of the Billboard charts has come to an end with the rise of a new number from Taylor Swift. Her “Look What You Made Me Do” has only been released for just over a week, but that was enough to topple “Despacito” and start its own chart-topping reign.
Milestone lost
Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito” has ruled the roost of the Billboard Top 100 for 16 weeks. A week more and it would have broken its tie with “One Sweet Day” (1995) by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men to become the new longest-running Number One song of all time. Too bad for them, because of the advent of “Look What You Made Me Do,” the first solo single released by country-pop star and Grammy winner Taylor Swift after a break of three years. While its debut on Billboard was not straight at number one, it only needed a week to ruin a potential 17-week top streak.
Swift’s latest single is the initial salvo from her latest upcoming album “Reputation.” The fact that in just one week after its release “Look What You Made Me Do” racked up a massive boost in streaming and sales, handily explains its rapid climb to number one on Billboard.
The accompanying music video shows Taylor in an ostentatious presentation with plenty of shout-outs to recent happenings in the artist’s life. It has gone on to become the most streamed video over a 24-hour period.
Gaming the streams
Another significant contributor to the usurpation of “Despacito” by “Look What You Made Me Do” on Billboard was a social media campaign launched by Mariah Carey and Taylor Swift fans.
Over the previous week, they urged music lovers online to simultaneously halt streaming of Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s song and up the streams of Swift’s new single instead. The plan worked beyond expectations, earning Taylor her fifth Billboard chart-topper.
One potential milestone may have been lost for “Despacito,” but its artists may take consolation in the other achievements racked up by the infectious tune before Taylor came in the picture.
Several other music hit lists have already hailed the number as the “Song of the Summer” for 2017, such as international streaming giant Spotify. And it remains the most-streamed YouTube video for now, and it will join the music library of the "Just Dance 2018" video game.
