‘Despacito’ Singer Luis Fonsi Celebrates Birthday: Look Back At His Career

It’s been four years since Luis Fonsi’s “Despacito” dominated the charts. In honor of his birthday, here’s a look back at the man behind the famous Spanish tune.

Fonsi turned 42 on Wednesday and in his 20-year career has released more than 15 albums. His debut album, “Comenzaré” went platinum after its release in 1998 and peaked the following year. His following five albums, “Eterno” (2000), “Amor Secreto” (2002), “Fight the Feeling” (2002), “Abrazar la Vida” (2003), “Paso A Paso” (2005) and his 2008 album, “Palabras Del Silencio,” also went platinum, according to Newsweek.

But, it was “Despacito,” the crossover single with Daddy Yankee, whose success surprised him.

“When I wrote this song it wasn’t meant to be a crossover record, it was just another song in Spanish,” he told Billboard on March 27.

“Despacito” remains the most viewed video in YouTube’s history with more than 6.7 billion views to date. In 2017, the year of its release, the song broke through boundaries traditionally held by mainstream pop music. It tied Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men’s “One Sweet Day” for the record of holding the No. 1 spot for 16 weeks. Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus’s “Old Town Road” later surpassed it in 2019.

Four months after the original song’s release, Billboard reported Justin Bieber asked the Puerto-Rican native if he could be part of a remixed version and Fonsi knew the opportunity could "open a lot of doors.” The remixed version of “Despacito” was released in April 2017.

“I think it’s amazing that such a big worldwide act wanted to sort of appeal to the Latin audience, wanted to take the time to get the pronunciation right in Spanish, so I tip my hat off to him,” Fonsi said.

If there’s one thing that Fonsi is proud of, it’s that he got “the whole world dancing and singing in Spanish.”

“So I’m really grateful that things just happened in such a beautiful way and all the stars aligned,” he said.