Don Omar F. Lucenzo - Danza Kuduro

[Albie]

I'm sure you all remember this one.  Its been out for several years now.  In fact, we even did a routine to this in Zumba like 2 years ago.

My question is (and I wasn't sure what section to place this in) - I've been hearing this a lot on three separate English-language Pop stations in the last 2 months: KEGY, KAMP & KMVQ (all CBS stations).  So...why?  Its not like this song was played on Pop and they are playing it as a recurrent.  Also, its not like this is a current song going for adds or anything. 

What the heck?  Is anyone else hearing this and can explain?

[Juan Carlos]

"Danza Kuduro" <3 This is one of the few songs that I didn't care when it came out or gave a try when I listened to it. However, it grew on me some time later, like six months or a year after its release. Really weird.

Nov 21, 2014 19:55:31 GMT -5 Albie said:

I've been hearing this a lot on three separate English-language Pop stations in the last 2 months: KEGY, KAMP & KMVQ (all CBS stations). So...why?

Well, I'm not the right person to answer this, but I was checking his Spotify profile and I found out that there are five different versions (!!!), including a new one released some days ago, since the original came out in 2010 The only thing I could think about is that this is way of taking advantage of a huge song and release some new versions to make the original to have some spins. I mean, I don't think that the original one is going to be re-released after all this time.

[JOJO SIWA DERANGEMENT SYNDROME]

Nov 21, 2014 19:55:31 GMT -5 Albie said:

KMVQ (all CBS stations)

That's the CHR/Pop station from my market! I was surprised when they were playing it because I know that they never played it when it was actually new. But Spanish songs with either a Dance or Hip Hop element usually cross over here. One of the other CHR/Rhythmics used to play a lot of Latin House tracks in their mixshows back in the day and there is a significant Spanish-speaking audience in this area so that might be why.

I hadn't really cared for this when it was a single but I forgot all about it and I began to like it when they began playing it later on.

[Albie]

Nov 22, 2014 1:33:51 GMT -5 JOJO SIWA DERANGEMENT SYNDROME said:

Nov 21, 2014 19:55:31 GMT -5 Albie said:

KMVQ (all CBS stations)

That's the CHR/Pop station from my market! I was surprised when they were playing it because I know that they never played it when it was actually new. But Spanish songs with either a Dance or Hip Hop element usually cross over here. One of the other CHR/Rhythmics used to play a lot of Latin House tracks in their mixshows back in the day and there is a significant Spanish-speaking audience in this area so that might be why.

I hadn't really cared for this when it was a single but I forgot all about it and I began to like it when they began playing it later on.

Oh that's right I forget you're in SF. But yeah, I first heard it on KEGY in SD a few months ago and I know they never played it before that. I visit LA like weekly so I soon heard it on KAMP and just tripped out all over again. Then, I visited SF like twice in the last few months and heard it there each time too! I was wtf? Cause the competition Pop stations don't play it now and didn't before either. I just find it so random. If anything, it just shows me how closely tied together the playlists are for these cluster stations.

[Kishi KCM]

They are still playing this?

[♛ The Manticore ☯]

Maybe I can explain.

First this song was huge in New York City around the fall of 2012. This and "Gangnam Style" were two foreign language songs that got a lot of airplay around that time. Z100, 92.3 Now and WKTU were all over this. The origin of Kuduro is from Angola in the 1980's. Before Don Omar's "Danza Kuduro", there was "Vem Dancar Kuduro" by French/Portugese artist Lucenzo and then Don Omar released the spanish language version with Lucenzo and that became big internationally starting in 2010/2011. This was very huge in Florida and WPOW would play it every hour lol. Remember This and "Stereo Love" by Edward Maya was unique at that time with the accordions & dance.

It reached number one in numerous countries in Europe and the latin charts. It became even bigger when the movie "Fast Five" was released in 2011 starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne The Rock Johnson and more. Don Omar was in the movie as well. The movie was a big success in the box office. "Danza Kuduro" was played almost towards the end. The song had a resurgence when HBO started airing "Fast Five" around the summer of 2012. Here's the most impressive thing. Despite reaching low on the U.S. Hot 100, it's certified 5x Platinum by the RIAA in the United States. That is HUGE! :o I think that's a big part of the reason why your pop stations in your area is playing this.

There were different versions of this and there was even the one with Qwote feat. Lucenzo & Pitbull. You can check the thread of "Danza Kuduro" and see how it did on the CHR/POP section around 2011/2012 here. And this song was number one in my year end classics chart in 2013.

Zumba has been very popular as of late in pop culture. Besides video games, there's a Zumba storyline with Cruz on NBC's Chicago Fire in recent episodes. Here's one of the scenes.

Hope this helps Albie.

[Albie]

Thanks Konami. Yes that makes sense. I remember it from 2011 and the Fast Five soundtrack for sure. I just found it odd that they are playing it so out of the blue. I guess I was more wondering if anyone else was hearing this now outside of Cali CBS stations.

[♛ The Manticore ☯]

Z100 & WKTU are both from iHeartMedia (formerly Clears Channel) and were playing the song the past two years on the east coast. 92.3 Now became 92.3 AMP radio a few months ago and that's owned by CBS. The NYC station is an extension of the "Amp" format already heard on sister station KAMP in Los Angeles.

IDK but maybe the impact of Danza Kuduro in NYC also impacted the CBS stations in Cali. Better late than never lol. But wow at 5 million copies sold without ever crossing the top 40. Goes to show how incompetent U.S. Radio stations are. If only someone can amend the Telecommunications ACT of 1996.

[♛ The Manticore ☯]

I can see what's going on between CBS Radio and iHeartMedia. In the Los Angeles terrestrial radio market, look who's the top two stations here. KBIG-FM and KIIS-FM are both owned by iHeartMedia. The two stations by CBS Radio is in 5th & 6th place. In the New York City market, the number one CHR is WHTZ-FM Z100. The competing CHR, 92.3 AMP (WBMP-FM) is nowhere near the top ten.

Here's an article from the Daily News a few months back when CBS radio made 92.3 Now to 92.3 AMP.

Tired of chasing mighty Z100 in a straight Top 40 race, WNOW (92.3 FM, 92.3 Now) is switching to a different pop-hits format that focuses more on new music.

Based on what "Amp" plays in Los Angeles, it will still feature top pop stars like Katy Perry, Justin Timberlake, Kesha, Pitbull, Pharrell Williams, Ariana Grande and Calvin Harris.

But it will focus more on "breakout artists" like Iggy Azalea, Jhene Aiko and Tiesto.

It will also feature EDM artists and local artists who are starting to draw attention.

The station's new program director, Rick Thomas, said in a statement, "We are excited to introduce a dynamic radio station with an aggressive approach to highlighting today's hottest names in music while also exposing audiences to those artists just emerging on the scene."

It has built a loyal core audience, but has never seriously dented the Top 40 dominance of WHTZ (100.3 FM, Z100).

In the most recent Nielsen ratings, Now was tied for 15th place in the city while averaging 2.2% of the audience.

Z100 was No.4, averaging 5.4% of the audience.

Source

Don Omar isn't someone recognizable in U.S. mainstream radio compared to other artists. Yes he's a big name in big U.S. cities, the latin community and internationally as well as the Fast & The Furious franchise but if you look at the article above, Tiesto is mentioned as a breakout artist (thanks to "Red Lights" & "Wasted") even though Tiesto was and still a huge name in the EDM world for many years and way back as underground. So "Danza Kuduro" was Don Omar's breakout which fits perfectly with CBS radio's new strategy despite him being around for awhile and going 5x platinum shows that a lot of people love "Danza Kuduro" and bought it despite never reaching the top 40. Too bad that no radio stations where I live in Northeastern Pennsylvania hasn't played "Danza Kuduro".

CBS focus back then is copying Clears Channel (now iHeartMedia) playlist and that's not going to get them anywhere. Listeners will notice and get bored with the same playlist in almost every station. So CBS radio has to do something different to make it competitive against iHeartMedia. It's a tough radio market out there since younger listeners are more listening to online like Spotify, Internet Radio, Itunes, Youtube Channels of record labels and less of terrestrial radio. It's different now than what it was 20 years ago.

[emerald]

My local Top 40(WODS) in Boston plays this as well.

[Albie]

^Another CBS station in a big city. Interesting.

[1wxrld]

Lucenzo is very popular in Europe actually and considered one of the main promoters of kuduro, an Angolan genre of music. Of course "Vem Dancar Kuduro" featuring rapper Big Ali, originally from New York was his most famous single. The delightful music video is filmed in Cuba with noticeable participation from Cuban local cast. Don Omar version came much later in an effort to get attention in US who wouldn't care for a music video filmed in Cuba with Lucenzo and Big Ali. So Don Omar jumped in with "Danza Kuduro". His version in Spanish brought in 639 million views. Plus that Lucenzo sings in French and Portuguese in the original "Vem Dancar Kuduro", both languages not favoured in the American market. The song brought Lucenzo some very limited chart success in UK with the English "Throw Your Hands Up (Dançar Kuduro)" credited to Qwote featuring Pitbull and Lucenzo, again another remake of "Vem Dancar Kuduro". 

Lucenzo has also hit with done "Wine It Up" feat. Sean Paul, and from his "Emigrante Del Mundo" album with "Baila Morena". He was also in the Tropical Family French album project in which many artists revisited tropical well-known song classics with new interpretations. Lucenzo, for me, performed the best on it with "Obsesión"  from the Dominican-American bachata band Aventura, a great classic. The lady singer featured in the Lucenzo cover is the French-Algerian Kenza Farah and worthy of radio broadcasts. Many do remember Aventura with great passion.

For me, my favourite Lucenzo song is his title track from his album "Emigrante del Mundo".

He hasn't had a hit for a while now, so it is nice American stations revisit his old hit "Danza Kuduro" with Don Omar again. 


   

[afterglow]

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