Despacito (2017) - The Story Behind Mzansi's Viral Memory

Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee released Despacito in January 2017, filmed largely in the La Perla neighbourhood of San Juan, Puerto Rico. A remix featuring Justin Bieber in April of that year pushed it into English-language radio, but the original Spanish video is the one that broke every record.

It reached three billion views in August 2017 faster than anything before it, then passed four billion, then in April 2018 became the first video ever to reach five billion. No non-English song had ever dominated global pop on that scale.

It held the title of the most viewed video on YouTube until Baby Shark overtook it in late 2020. By August 2026 it sits above 8.7 billion views, second only to a children's song about a family of sharks.

It also topped charts in more than forty-five countries and spent sixteen weeks at number one in the United States, which is remarkable for a track almost entirely in a language most of that audience does not speak.

South Africa is a country where people routinely dance to songs in languages they do not speak. With eleven official languages, nobody here waits for a translation before enjoying a rhythm. Despacito fitted straight into that habit.

It ran at every Mzansi wedding, matric dance and December Durban beachfront season in 2017 and 2018. Local DJs mixed it into house and early amapiano sets, and the guitar line turned up in countless South African covers, church bands and street performances.

The video remains one of the most watched pieces of media ever created and still gains hundreds of millions of views a year. Fonsi and Daddy Yankee both continued successful careers, and the song is credited with opening global playlists to Latin music permanently.

In 2026 Despacito is the proof point people cite when arguing that English is no longer a requirement for a worldwide hit. Everything from Afrobeats to amapiano to K-pop has benefited from the door it opened.