‘Despacito,’ Featuring Justin Bieber, Becomes Biggest Summer Hit In UK Despite ‘Filthy’ Lyrics In English

“Despacito” continues to break records, despite the controversy associated with its lyrics. The original Spanish music video earlier became the most-viewed YouTube video of all time. Now, the English remix version of the song, featuring Justin Bieber, has become the biggest-selling song in the UK this summer.

The rhythmic song has now amassed 1.8 million in sales. The song has been legally downloaded more than 347,000 times during the period between June and August. During the same period, the combined sale of the song reached 1.2 million.

Justin Bieber released his version of the chartbuster song by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee in April. It instantly became hugely popular. At the same time, the English version helped the original song gain recognition across continents.

“Despacito” reached a milestone in July. The song became the most-streamed song in the world, with 4.6 billion streams on platforms like Spotify and YouTube, Sky News reported. Interestingly, the earlier topper on the list was Justin Bieber’s “Sorry,” with 4.38 billion streams.

Bieber’s version of the Spanish hit has been ruling the UK charts for 11 weeks now. The second place on the list of highest sales goes to French Montana’s “Unforgettable,” featuring Swae Lee. The song has got 693,000 in combined sales. DJ Khaled’s “Wild Thoughts” is at third place.

According to Sky News, Jonas Blue has become the highest-ranking British artist. His “Mama” gathered 578,000 in combined sales. The song featuring William Singe finished fourth, while Liam Payne’s “Strip That Down” finished fifth.

“Despacito” is the third Spanish song to reach the U.S. top 40. The other two Spanish songs that became massive hits in the United States were Los Del Río’s “Macarena” and Ritchie Valens’ “La Bamba.”

“Despacito,” with its extraordinary success in sales, has its share of controversy. Many people have a problem with its lyrics. According to The Sun, many consider the English translation of the Spanish song “absolute filth.”

In Malaysia, the song has been termed as “un-Islamic porn” and banned on state radio and TV. “Despacito,” which means “slowly” in English, is an erotic song. Not everyone is comfortable with its “explicit” lyrics.

“Let me surpass your danger zones until I make you scream and you forget your last name.”

Meanwhile, the song continues to break records in terms of popularity.

[Featured Image by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images]