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'Despacito' Becomes First Video On YouTube To Hit Four Billion Views

'Despacito' Becomes First Video On YouTube To Hit Four Billion Views

Another landmark for the inescapable Latin-infused hit

Mark McGowan

Mark McGowan

In news that probably won't shock anybody who has tuned into radio or music channels at any point during the past eight months, Luis Fonsi's 'Despacito' has become the first video on YouTube to hit 4 billion views.

The inescapable Latin-infused pop track became the first clip on the video streaming site to surpass three billion views back in August, with many predicting its popularity would begin to dwindle from that point on. However, the track continued to rack up views and shows no sign of slowing down any time soon.


Whether you love it or hate it, 'Despacito' has taken the world by storm, putting the Puerto Rican pair of singer Fonsi and rapper Daddy Yankee in the spotlight, and their country firmly on the international pop map.

In fact, the hit song has been so popular that it has caused a significant boost to Puerto Rico's tourism industry.

According to reports by local officials, interest in the country from tourists has increased by almost 50 percent.

Luis Fonsi
Luis Fonsi

Luis Fonsi. Credit: PA

Normally, the country welcomes about four million tourists per year but this is expected to reach six million by 2018.

'Despacito' has left every other viral YouTube video for dust, with the second most-watched video, Wiz Khalifa's 'See You Again', coming in at a 'mere' 3.15bn views.

Other videos it has topped include Psy's 'Gangnam Style' and Ed Sheeran's 'Shape Of You'.

Here is the top five:

1. Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee: 'Despacito' - 4bn
2. Wiz Khalifa: 'See You Again' - 3.15bn
3. Psy: 'Gangnam Style' - 2.97bn
4. Justin Bieber: 'Sorry' - 2.79bn
5. Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars: 'Uptown Funk' - 2.70bn

Daddy Yankee
Daddy Yankee

Daddy Yankee. Credit: PA

Speaking to CNN in July, Luis Fonsi spoke about his experience writing the smash hit.

"It just felt special because it was so simple yet so catchy," he explained.

"Sometimes you kind of go overboard when you write a song and you try to get that perfect lyric and it's -- from, like, a songwriting point of view - it's just magical. But it loses a little bit of that simplicity.

"This song, it had the correct ingredients - a very catchy melody, a very interesting lyric because it's very sensual, but it's sort of poetic at the same time."

Speaking on Justin Bieber's involvement with the track, he said: "I was in Europe on a promotional trip and I got a call from my record label -- a two o'clock in the morning phone call, 'Hey, Justin heard the song at a nightclub and he wants to do the remix tomorrow.'

"Of course, I said yes. He did his thing. A day later, I get that first cut and one more day goes by and we released it."

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: YouTube