The #1 song in the U.S. right now isn’t in English

It seems the winds of change are currently blowing through the world of music. For the third week in a row, the track sitting at the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 list is “Despacito,” a Spanish-language song by Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi and reggaetón star Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber. Which means, the number one song in the U.S. right now isn’t in English, and that doesn’t happen very often.
According to the Washington Post, this is only the third non-English-language song to become the number one song in America in the past 35 years. In fact, based on the stats provided, we’ve learned that only 15 songs not sung in English have even made it to the top 60 in that same time.
The wonderful thing about music is, we don’t always need to understand the words to a song to enjoy it. We know good music transcends language, culture, and time — which is why we often find ourselves enjoying the same tracks our parents danced to at prom. However, it is worth noting that since the percentage of Americans who speak Spanish has more than doubled since 1980, popular non-English-language songs have followed suit. And have made the transition from gimmicky dance tracks to real stories being told in the form of song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJQP7kiw5Fk?feature=oembed
Some users on Twitter have even joked that “Despacito” has helped them up their Spanish game.
pretty sure i learned more spanish by looking up the lyrics to "Despacito" than i learned all year from my actual Spanish teacher
— MADISON SIMS (@madisoncarlei_h) May 28, 2017
https://twitter.com/udfredirect/status/869046503066808320
And in case you were wondering about the other two chart-topping, non-English songs…
“La Bamba” by Los Lobos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_SS-TyXhhU?feature=oembed
“Rock Me Amadeus” by Falco
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVikZ8Oe_XA?feature=oembed
We don’t know how long “Despacito” will hold its number one spot, but change is good!