Luis Fonsi’s Despacito breaks record to become most-streamed song of all time

The Puerto Rican track has been streamed an impressive 4.38 billion times 
Record-breaking: Luis Fonsi’s Despacito is now the most-streamed song of all time
Sergi Alexander/Getty Images
Jennifer Ruby19 July 2017
The Weekender

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Luis Fonsi’s Despacito has broken the record to become the most-streamed song of all time, just six months after it was released.

The chart-topping single, featuring Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber, has now been played an impressive 4.6 billion times across all of the streaming services.

Bieber’s hit song Sorry held the previous record of 4.38 billion streams, after being first released back in 2015.

“Streaming is a connector for audiences worldwide and it has helped my music reach every corner of the planet. It is truly an honor that ‘Despacito’ is now the most streamed song in history,” said Fonsi in a statement.

Lucian Grainge, chairman & CEO, Universal Music Group said that streaming has “opened up possibilities” for songs from different cultures.

“Luis Fonsi already had the undisputed, biggest song of the year – and now he’s setting even bigger records,” he said.

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“Streaming has opened up the possibility of a song with a different beat, from a different culture and in a different language to become a juggernaut of success around the world.

“My congratulations to Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber, as well as everyone at Universal Music Latin Entertainment, Republic Records and Def Jam, on this tremendous accomplishment.”

Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You is currently the third most-streamed song of all time, having reached 4.07 billion streams after it was released earlier this year.

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