Columbian artist J Balvin continues to leave his mark. With his song, “Reggaeton,” J Balvin took his listeners on a journey back in time.
With beats and lyrics that sound like the old reggaeton, his music continues to impact the world. Referencing the big boss, Daddy Yankee, J Balvin included in his lyrics, “Yankee pa’ esta me inspiro.”
Puerto Rican native, Daddy Yankee also continues to influence emerging Latin artists.
J Balvin’s “Mi Gente,” focused on uniting the world through the lyrics. Shortly after releasing his song with Willy William, another version was released featuring Beyoncé.
“Mi Gente” charted on Billboard’s Hot 100’s Top 10 in 2018.
From producing songs in Spanish and English, Latin artists’ music is being played on English speaking radio stations in the language that they were produced.
“The movement is huge right now for the Latino vibe and the Urban Latino vibe,” said Edgar Sotelo, a radio host from AMP Radio. “The beautiful thing about music is that it’s worldwide, it’s a universal language, music, rhythm, melody.”
According to the U.S. Radio Industry — Statistics and Facts, “radio is one of the most powerful mediums in the United States, with a weekly reach of over 90 percent among adults.”
With music applications increasing, radio hosts continue to make sure to play music that is in high demand with their listeners to ensure that they tune in.
‘“Despacito” is the most viewed music video in history, and artists continue to break these records so it’s not whether we approve or not,” said Sotelo. “It’s that we give the people what they want.”
Calipso Aranda, KIIS FM radio host says that because of the success of “Despacito,” the station made sure to include the song in the rotation.
“Despacito” was being played once every hour, whether it was at the beginning or the end of the hour. Aranda says that they made sure to include the song because of its high demand.
Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito,” featuring Justin Bieber also won the Top Hot 100 Song, Top Streaming Song (Video), Top Selling Song, Top Collaboration and Top Latin Song during the 2018 Billboard Music Awards.
“Despacito” is predominantly sung in Spanish. Although the song begins with Bieber singing in English, the song continues in almost all Spanish.
After the success of “Despacito” and “Mi Gente,” the crossover of Latin music on English language radio became evident. Spanish music was here to stay.
Although the majority of the public is happy with the impact that reggaeton is making in the United States, there are some listeners that don’t approve of the lyrics.
The debate on whether children should listen to these lyrics has been discussed both on and off the air.
“I think it’s an opportunity for parents to educate and if kids do hear it, it’s an opportunity to talk to them,” said Sotelo. “This is in any genre, it’s not just from Latinos.”
According to Aranda, music is a form for Latin artists to express themselves.
“Reggeaton it’s not always just dancing,” said Aranda. “It can be anything that’s going on, it’s kind of like you’re writing about stuff, about life. I like to listen to the words.”
J Balvin is one of many artists that continues to discuss what is important to him through his music and is also constantly heard all over the radio.
Whether it’s the beat of a song or the way a video is produced, 2018 was a year full of wins for Latin artists.
