By Jill Serjeant
Catchy hit Despacito has set a record as the most streamed music track of all time, with some 4.6 billion plays across leading platforms, record company Universal Music said on Wednesday.
The song, first released in January in Spanish by Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi and rapper Daddy Yankee and then in a remixed version featuring Justin Bieber, has topped charts in 35 countries around the world, including Australia, and dominated radio play.
Its 4.6 billion streams surpasses the record set by Bieber with his 2015 single Sorry and its remixes, and makes it the most successful Spanish-language pop song of all time.
"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," Universal Music Group chief executive Lucian Grainge said in a statement.
Despacito (Slowly) has spent ten consecutive weeks on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, 17 weeks at No.1 in Spain and nine weeks in the top spot in Britain, Universal Music said.
In Australia, the single is now in its ninth-week at the top of ARIA's singles charts, as well as being certified double platinum (over 140,000 units sold).
Fonsi, previously little known outside Puerto Rico, said it was "truly an honour that Despacito is now the most streamed song in history".
- Reuters