Another Latin Explosion?

[YourFaveIsAFlop]

I feel like every few years we get a new iteration of the same article.

Shakira & Maluma are on the cover of Billboard this week talking about how this time the Latin explosion is REALLY happening and isn't going to fade like the other umpteen Latin explosions that were supposed to have fundamentally reshaped American popular music.

So is it going to last this time? 

I doubt it.

[kcdawg13]

I don't think so, we haven't had any spanish language hits since Mi Gente and there's none making any buzz right now. Havana and I Like It are the closest we have to spanish hits on the Hot 100 right now.

The latin explosion lasted a year, which is a pretty good length with a couple big hits. But that's all for now.

[YourFaveIsAFlop]

I mean, I get the hesitation to call Spanish songs that cross over "novelty hits", because it's a legit genre but when you look at a song like Despacito that would never have achieved what it did without the Justin Bieber version, or Mi Gente that never would have gone to #3 without Beyonce, the massive success of these songs is clearly not 100% organic. I mean, Shakira hasn't had a mainstream hit since 2014 and that was with the Rihanna pulling her along. She's still a proven hitmaker in the Latin market, but to pretend that she and Maluma had some sort of cultural breakthrough with Chantaje is kind of ridiculous IMO.

[thelegends]

How is that in the business part of Pulse. It should be in YOP.

[YourFaveIsAFlop]

Maybe you could read the article before coming at somebody...

[jenglisbe]

I don’t consider a couple of hits to be an “explosion.”

[Chelsea Press 2]

May 8, 2018 14:45:34 GMT -5 jenglisbe said:

I don’t consider a couple of hits to be an “explosion.”

I agree.

So far, it has just been "Despacito", "Mi Gente", and "Havana." And maybe "I Like It" could be the next one to add to the list. I would like to see more Latin artists cross over but without the help of another major artist or it being a novelty song. I could see Maluma potentially doing that eventually.

[jenglisbe]

How many artists had traction in the late 90s and early 00s? Ricky Martin, J Lo, Marc Anthony, Enrique Iglesias, and Shakira all had top 10 hits (and multiple hits). Acts like Luis Miguel, Thalia, and Paulia Rubio were at least somewhat known. Christina Aguilera recorded a Spanish-language album. You could argue the 98 Degrees hit "Give Me One Night (Una Noche)" was influenced by the trend.

[Gary]

Maybe we are still seeing the start of the same "explosion" started by Despacito

[YourFaveIsAFlop]

If there is one way that this Latin explosion will be different than others, it's that streaming could keep it around longer. It seems like we have had big Latin hits charting at the bottom of the Hot 100 recently based off their streaming power. The weird thing with the Latin chart is that once a song starts to cross over, it stays on the Latin chart FOREVER. Bailando spent 41 weeks (yes 41!) at #1. That's ridiculous.

[Mike]

If anything it’s Bailando that paved the way for Despacito and Mi Gente and others.

[jenglisbe]

May 9, 2018 6:43:20 GMT -5 YourFaveIsAFlop said:

If there is one way that this Latin explosion will be different than others, it's that streaming could keep it around longer. It seems like we have had big Latin hits charting at the bottom of the Hot 100 recently based off their streaming power. The weird thing with the Latin chart is that once a song starts to cross over, it stays on the Latin chart FOREVER. Bailando spent 41 weeks (yes 41!) at #1. That's ridiculous.

Well, that wouldn’t be an explosion, it would just be that streaming is helping Latin music chart more. It would be cool if the industry sees that and pumps more into it. That’s what happened when Soundscan came about and showed how popular country music was with people.