Why not release an English-language album by a Latin American artist? Mottola zeroed in on Shakira, the young Colombian star who was redefining the parameters of women in rock. But then he decided to take on an even bigger challenge. The hits started coming out so quickly that the media and the industry coined the term crossover, created to identify those acts who began their careers in Spanish but could “cross over” into the English and global markets.Īs Martin continued to top the Billboard charts, Sony Music Chairman Tommy Mottola was readying releases by Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez, both born and raised in the Bronx to Puerto Rican parents. Ricky Martin’s phenomenal success opened the door for a string of Latin artists who waved the flags of their heritage, but who sang in English. Other singles featured in Decoding “Despacito,” out now, include tracks by Santana, Ricky Martin, J Balvin, Selena, Gloria Estefan, Luis Fonsi, Rosalia and more.
mainstream, “Whenever, Wherever.” Daddy Yankee also goes deep on his 2004 hit “Gasolina,” the single that took reggaeton from the barrios of Puerto Rico to the top of the charts.
In this excerpt from the book, Shakira, her collaborators and then-Sony Music chairman Tommy Mottola talk about the decision to translate some of the young Colombian star’s hit Spanish-language songs into English, including “Suerte,” which became Shakira’s opening salvo in the U.S. In Leila Cobo’s new book Decoding “Despacito”: An Oral History of Latin Music, the author and Billboard’s VP of Latin Music breaks down the genre’s biggest singles of the past 50 years in the words of the artists, producers and executives behind each song.