Five years ago, Luis Fonsi helped bring Latin pop back into the mainstream with his crossover smash, the Daddy Yankee-assisted "Despacito." But the seductive love song was certainly not Fonsi's first romantic hit — the Puerto Rican star has built his 23-year career on heartfelt songs, and he's continuing to spread the love with Ley De Gravedad.

Fonsi's 11th studio album, Ley De Gravedad is arguably his most romantic album yet, with 16 tracks that demonstrate his knack for writing music that touches the listener's heart. The album explores the many sides of love, whether he's crooning about feeling completed by his other half in "Vacío" (which interpolates Son By Four's "A Puro Dolor") or trying to win back the love of his life in the soaring "Nuestra Balada." And with the charming title track, Fonsi gives Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation an amorous application: "If something has to happen, it will happen / Let's not fight with the Law of Gravity," he sings about a blossoming romance.

Like "Despacito," Ley De Gravedad sees Fonsi both collaborating with Latin superstars and pushing the boundaries of Latin pop. The five-time GRAMMY nominee features some of the genre's newer hitmakers, Rauw Alejandro and Sebastián Yatra, while also championing veterans like Nicky Jam and Farruko. Sonically, he explores electronic music with the alluring "Dolce"; basks in bachata with his fellow Puerto Rican star, Myke Towers, on "Bésame"; and creates a tropical-infused getaway in "Vacaciones" with Manuel Turizo.

On the eve of the album's release, Fonsi chatted with GRAMMY.com about the "powerful" meaning behind his latest project's name, the legacy of "Despacito," and why he'll always be an artist who brings the love.

What inspired the name Ley De Gravedad?

Ley De Gravedad means "law of gravity." The official definition of law of gravity is that law of attraction or that force of attraction. The big mass attracts the smaller mass. To me, that's a parallel to love and what music is all about: the attraction.

It's attraction and it's connection and it's force. Sometimes you can control it and most of the time you can't. Sometimes you don't want to fall in love but you do. Music is sort of that invisible line, that connection.

That's what we try to get to. We try to break that fourth wall and to connect with the audience in a certain way, and to have people really live these lyrics and melodies that we're trying to share with the world.

I just thought it was a powerful name. Obviously there's a song in the album called "Ley De Gravedad." I just thought it was a great title to wrap up two to three years worth of songwriting and songs in general.

This album has a lot of love songs. Where does that inspiration come from to write such romantic songs?

I'm a romantic dude. I'm a romantic guy. I feel it. It doesn't come [to me] forced. It's just kind of how I see life. I try not to be cliché romantic. I try to be honest and to be very conversational and to talk about situations that happen to all of us.

I don't overthink songs. I don't go online and look for a Thesaurus to look for big words. I say what I feel. When people hear a song one time, I want them to really just vibe with it. That's how I base my songwriting.

Sometimes they're very personal songs. It's really me. It's something that I'm going through or a love letter for something I'm really passionate about. Sometimes they're just kind of random stories that for some reason I woke up with that idea in my head, or with that word, or that melody in my head.

Doing this for 23 years, I learned that you just don't overthink stuff. You just go with the flow. And if it works, it works. You don't analyze it too much. When you start overthinking things is when you kind of get caught in this weird alley of darkness. I wrote probably over 200 to 250 songs to get to these 16. There's still songs out there that I'm proud of that I might use in the future. It's about the journey, not the destination. It doesn't get any more cliché than that, but it is what it is.

What's the story behind your new single, "Dolce"?

A few months back, I got invited to go to this really cool fashion show in Venice, the Dolce & Gabbana fashion show. I'm a big fashion lover. I got to go there with my wife and we had a really cool time. I came back inspired by everything that I saw, and I created my own parallel story to that. It's a fun, sexy track and I named it "Dolce."

It's got almost a little bit of an electronic Latin feel. It is a little bit more electronic sounding than the previous stuff that I've done; it was really cool. I got to do this fun video and I actually had my wife be the star of the video. This time I just felt it was the right call. She was meant to be a part of this video, so I'm proud of it.

You've further explored EDM sounds by collaborating with acts like Clean Bandit, R3HAB, and Alok. What's that experience been like?

I try to expand my horizons and work with all different kinds of genres and languages. You learn so much to be able to just vibe and mix their stuff with your stuff. You never really know what's going to happen.

I always use the parallel of food — you mix ingredients, and sometimes you get this really cool flavor out of these two things that you never mixed before. Sometimes you're like, "Nope, got to throw that out." But when they work and it mixes in a very natural way, I think it's great. And again, I want to spread my Latin heritage to as much music as I can, so people get to really vibe with what we do.

I always love the Latin flavor that you add to those collaborations.

It's like putting adobo on everything. [Laughs.] You know a little adobo on everything always works. That's what Latin music is.

You also teamed up with Myke Towers on "Bésame." How was it working with him?

He's awesome. One of the most talented artists I've worked with in any language and in any genre. It was the best, the fastest, and the most productive recording session I've ever had with another artist. He was in and out in 20 minutes, without even coming prepared. He came without an idea, and wrote it then and there.

I saw it, I felt it. He's a true artist. He's got very different styles. He's got his more reggaeton style. He's got his more trap style. He's got his more aggressive and his more melodic [style] and he knows how to fit into every track in a different way. I'm really proud of this track. I can't say enough about how impressed I was to work with him.

Before "Despacito," one of your biggest love songs was 2008's "No Me Doy Por Vencido." It has more than 400 million streams between Spotify and YouTube combined. How does it feel to see that song still connecting with so many people?

That was a song that gave me a lot of beautiful memories. It was Billboard's [Latin] Song of the Decade for [the 2000s]. Funny enough, the next decade, the [Latin] Song of the Decade was "Despacito," so I was able to have two songs in two different decades that were quite important and that are quite different.

"No Me Doy Por Vencido" to this day is one of my most treasured compositions. It's a song that I've used for many positive campaigns. It's a song that's been an anthem of hope for different things — for cancer, for mental health, for many other things. It's been beautiful how that song has evolved and grown old with me. To this day when I sing it on stage, it hits me in a good place.

Speaking of "Despacito," it's been five years since the song came out. What do you think about the impact that song had on the world?

Five years is kind of a long time, but it still feels really fresh. I always tell people it hasn't really sunk in the impact that this song has had on Latin music and on the history of Latin music.

I don't dwell on it too much. Sometimes you read stuff, or somebody talks about it, and that's when you realize, "Wow, I was part of something that will go down in history."

Obviously, I'm grateful, but on the same token, I don't want to dwell on it. I'm blessed. I'm happy that I was a part of it. I'm grateful for everybody that was involved in it. It wouldn't have gotten to where it got without the help of many people and now let's just keep doing it. Let's keep riding this wave.

How did you feel to see "Despacito" be very successful in countries that typically don't speak Spanish?

I think at the end of the day, that's what I'm most proud of — how it sort of broke the language barrier. I wish that I could sit here and tell you that it was my master plan, that I knew all along that that was going to happen, but I didn't.

It was just a song that I sat down and wrote one afternoon with my friend Erika Ender. It was just a song that I later showed to this artist called Daddy Yankee, who just happens to be the biggest reggaeton artist in the world. And the rest is history.

It was the right time, the right beat, the right collaboration, and the right remix with another guy called Justin Bieber. I don't know if you've heard of him. He happens to be a big pop star. [Laughs.]

Sometimes God just shines a light on something, and it guides you. I'm a big believer of that. What I'm most proud of is just that — it's a song that represents my heritage, my language, and the love of my island, Puerto Rico. It has that swag, that thing, that sabor that we carry in our blood. It's a celebration of all of that.

Along with Justin, you've collaborated with several pop stars, like Demi Lovato and Christina Aguilera. Because of that, you have a lot of fans in the LGBTQ+ community. Do you have a message for those fans?

Absolutely! I think music is about coming together. It's about celebrating equality. It doesn't matter race, religion, or sexual orientation. We're here to all celebrate each other, respect each other. That's always been my message. That's why I always try to leave positive footprints with everything I do and in every message that I deliver.

As songwriters and artists, it's very important to share that positive message, especially with the younger generation. Maybe because I'm a father now with two young kids, but you see how important it is and how powerful words are and how powerful music is. How big of a stage we're on.

We have to take advantage every time we can to inspire and unite. That's definitely the direction that I'm going in. It's a beautiful opportunity to have to communicate [through music]. I hope that I can leave positive energy behind.

Sebastián Yatra Talks Digging Deep & Finding Joy To Create His Exploratory New Album 'Dharma': "I Just Let Go Of Any Fear"

Editor's note: This article was updated to include the latest information about Kendrick Lamar's 2024 album release 'GNX,' and up-to-date GRAMMY wins and nominations with additional reporting by Nina Frazier.

When the world crowns you the king of a genre as competitive as rap, your presence — and lack thereof — is palpable. After a five-year hiatus, Kendrick Lamar declaratively stomped back on stage with his fifth studio album, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, to explain why the crown no longer fits him.

Two years later, Lamar circles back to celebrate the west on 2024's GNX, a 12-track release that revels in the root of his love for hip-hop and California culture, from the lowriders to the rappers that laid claim to the golden state.

“My baby boo, you either heal n—s or you kill n—s/ Both is true, it take some tough skin just to deal with you” Lamar raps on "gloria" featuring SZA, a track that opines on his relationship with the genre.

The Compton-born rapper (who was born Kendrick Lamar Duckworth) wasn't always championed as King Kendrick. In hip-hop, artists have to earn that moniker, and Lamar's enthroning occurred in 2013 when he delivered a now-infamous verse on Big Sean's "Control."

"I'm Makaveli's offspring, I'm the King of New York, King of the Coast; one hand I juggle 'em both," Lamar raps before name-dropping some of the top rappers of the time, from Drake to J.Cole.

Whether you've been a fan of Lamar since before his crown-snatching verse or you find yourself in need of a crash course on the 37-year-old rapper's illustrious career, GRAMMY.com answers nine questions that will paint the picture of Lamar's more than decade-long reign.

Who Discovered Kendrick Lamar?

Due to the breakthrough success of his Aftermath Entertainment debut (good kid, m.A.A.d city), most people attribute Kendrick Lamar's discovery to fellow Compton legend Dr. Dre. But seven years before Dre's label came calling, Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith saw potential in a 16-year-old rapper by the name of K.Dot.

Lamar's first mixtape in 2004 was enough for Tiffith's Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) to offer the aspiring rapper a deal with the label in 2005. However, Lamar would later learn that Tiffith's impact on his life dates back to multiple encounters between his father and the TDE founder, which Lamar raps about in his 2017 track "DUCKWORTH."

How Many Albums Has Kendrick Lamar Released?

Kendrick Lamar has released six studio albums: Section.80 (2011), Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City (2012), To Pimp a Butterfly (2015) DAMN. (2017),Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers (2022), and GNX (2024). Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City, To Pimp a Butterfly and DAMN. received both Rap Album Of The Year and Album Of The Year GRAMMY nominations. 

What Is Kendrick Lamar's Most Popular Song?

Across the board, it's "HUMBLE." The 2017 track is Lamar's only solo No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 (he also reached No. 1 status with Taylor Swift on their remix of her 1989 hit "Bad Blood"), and as of press time, "HUMBLE." is also his most-streamed song on Spotify and YouTube.

How Many GRAMMYs Has Kendrick Lamar Won?

As of November 2024, Kendrick Lamar has won 17 GRAMMYs and has received 57 GRAMMY nominations overall, solidifying his place as one of the most nominated artists in GRAMMY history and the second-most nominated rapper of all time, behind Jay-Z. Five of Lamar's 17 GRAMMY wins are tied to DAMN., which also earned Lamar the status of becoming the first rapper ever to win a Pulitzer Prize.

His most recent wins include three awards at the 2023 GRAMMYs, which included two for his album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, and Best Rap Performance for "The Hillbillies" with Baby Keem. 

Does Kendrick Lamar Have Any Famous Relatives?

He has two: Rapper Baby Keem and former Los Angeles Lakers star Nick Young are both cousins of his.

Lamar appeared on three tracks — "family ties," "range brothers" and "vent" — from Keem's debut album, The Melodic Blue. Keem then returned the favor for Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, featuring on "Savior (Interlude)" and "Savior" as well as receiving production and writing credits on "N95" and "Die Hard."

Read More: Meet The First-Time GRAMMY Nominee: Baby Keem On Inspiring Rap's Next Generation, Why "Producer Artists" Are The Best & The Likelihood Of A Kendrick Lamar Collab Album

Why Did Kendrick Lamar Wear A Crown Of Thorns?

Lamar can be seen sporting a crown of thorns on the Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers album cover. He has sported the look for multiple performances since the project's release.

Dave Free described the striking headgear as, "a godly representation of hood philosophies told from a digestible youthful lens."

Holy symbolism and the blurred line between kings and gods are themes Lamar revisits often on Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. He uses lines like "Kendrick made you think about it, but he is not your savior" and songs like "Mirror" to reject the unforeseen, God-like expectations that came with his King of Hip-Hop status.

According to Vogue, the Tiffany & Co. designed crown features 8,000 cobblestone micro pave diamonds and took over 1,300 hours of work by four craftsmen to construct.

Why Did Kendrick Lamar Leave TDE?

After five albums, four mixtapes, one compilation project, an EP, and a GRAMMY-nominated Black Panther: The Album, Kendrick Lamar and Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) confirmed that Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers was the Compton rapper's last project under the iconic West Coast label. 

According to Lamar, his departure was about growth as opposed to any internal troubles. "May the Most High continue to use Top Dawg as a vessel for candid creators. As I continue to pursue my life's calling," Lamar wrote on his website in August 2021. "There's beauty in completion."

TDE president Punch expressed a similar sentiment in an interview with Mic. "We watched him grow from a teenager up into an established grown man, a businessman, and one of the greatest artists of all time," he said. "So it's time to move on and try new things and venture out."

Before Lamar's official exit from TDE, he launched a new venture called pgLang — a multi-disciplinary service company for creators, co-founded with longtime collaborator Dave Free — in 2020. The young company has already collaborated with Cash App, Converse and Louis Vuitton.

Has Kendrick Lamar Ever Performed at The Super Bowl?

Yes, Kendrick Lamar performed in the halftime show for Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles in 2022, alongside fellow rap legends Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Eminem, as well as R&B icon Mary J. Blige. Anderson .Paak and 50 Cent also made special appearances during the star-studded performance. As if performing at the Super Bowl in your home city wasn't enough, the Compton rapper also got to watch his home team, the Los Angeles Rams, hoist the Lombardi trophy at the end of the night.

Three years after his first Super Bowl halftime performance, Lamar will return to headline the Super Bowl LIX halftime show on Feb. 9, 2025 — just one week after the 2025 GRAMMYs — at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. 

Is Kendrick Lamar On Tour?

Yes. Kendrick Lamar is currently scheduled to hit the road with SZA on the Grand National Tour beginning in May 2025. Lamar concluded The Big Steppers Tour in 2022, where he was joined by pgLang artists Baby Keem and Tanna Leone. The tour included a four-show homecoming at L.A.'s Crypto.com Arena in September 2022, followed by performances in Europe,Australia, and New Zealand through late 2022. 

Currently, there are no upcoming tour dates scheduled, but fans should check back for updates following the release of GNX.

The legacy of Luis Fonsi's career practically goes hand-in-hand with the history of the Latin GRAMMY Awards. Fresh off his win for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 2024 Latin GRAMMYs, the Puerto Rican pop icon performed a medley of his greatest hits.

The career-spanning performance began with his beloved 2008 ballad, "No Me Doy Por Vencido." In a sparkling orange suit, Fonsi belted his heart out to the song that's become an anthem of hope. 

Dancers then joined him onstage for a sultry performance of his 2017 global smash, "Despacito," which had the whole audience — including Marc Anthony and his wife Nadia Ferreira — dancing along. Fonsi then closed out his live medley with the upbeat "Santa Marta" from his latest album, El Viaje; he danced into the audience where this year's Person Of The Year honoree, Carlos Vives, sang along with him.

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The ambitious El Viaje, which was recorded in several different countries around the world, earned Fonsi a Latin GRAMMY win for Best Pop Vocal Album. It marks his 11th Latin GRAMMY nomination to date; he has won six Latin GRAMMYs, four of those thanks to "Despacito," which won Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year in 2017.

"What I'm most proud of is just that — it's a song that represents my heritage, my language, and the love of my island, Puerto Rico," Fonsi told GRAMMY.com about "Despacito" back in 2022. "It has that swag, that thing, that sabor that we carry in our blood. It's a celebration of all of that."

Just after the 2024 Latin GRAMMYs, Fonsi will add an exciting first to his resume: his film debut. The singer will star in the rom-com Say A Little Prayer, which opens in theaters on Nov. 22. 

Check out the complete list of winners and nominees at the 2024 Latin GRAMMYs.

The Latin Recording Academy has announced its first roster of performers for the 2024 Latin GRAMMYs, officially known as the 25th Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards. The lineup includes current nominees David Bisbal, Alejandro Fernández, Luis Fonsi, Juan Luis Guerra, Carín León, Elena Rose and Ela Taubert, as well as the 2024 Person of the Year honoree Carlos Vives.

David Bisbal earned a nomination for Best Pop Song, while Alejandro Fernández scored a nomination for Best Ranchero/Mariachi Album. Luis Fonsi received a nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album, and Juan Luis Guerra earned five nominations including Record of the Year, Best Tropical Song, Album of the Year, Best Merengue/Bachata Album and Producer of the Year. Carín León garnered four nominations including Record of the Year and Song of the Year, as well as Album of the Year and Best Contemporary Mexican Music Album. Elena Rose nabbed three nominations for Song of the Year, Best Pop/Rock Song and Best Regional Song, while Ela Taubert was nominated for Best New Artist. Also set to perform is the 2024 Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year honoree, Latin GRAMMY and GRAMMY winner Carlos Vives, who will be recognized for his more than three-decade career as a multifaceted singer and composer at a special star-studded gala the evening prior. 

Read More: 2023 Latin GRAMMYs: See The Complete Nominations List

The 2024 Latin GRAMMYs mark the 25th anniversary of the Latin GRAMMY Awards, and will air live Thursday, Nov. 14, from Miami. The three-hour telecast, produced by TelevisaUnivision, will air live on Univision, Galavisión and ViX beginning at 8 p.m. ET/PT (7 p.m. CT).

Preceding the telecast will be the Latin GRAMMY Premiere Ceremony, a long-established evening full of unforgettable performances and heartfelt acceptance speeches, where the winners in most categories will be announced.

Once a marginalized genre associated with lewdness and criminality — much like the genres from which it draws so much influence, dancehall and hip-hop —  reggaeton is now firmly in the mainstream. While dominant across Latin America in the new millennium, reggaeton has made huge inroads with English-speaking audiences in the past decade, particularly with crossover hits like "Bailando," "Despacito," and numerous Bad Bunny songs from the past three years.

Although many associate reggaeton with Puerto Rico, the roots of the genre can be found in Panama, with artists like El General and Nando Boom taking Jamaican dancehall riddims — like dembow, first introduced in the Shabba Ranks song of the same name — and rapping in Spanish over them in the early 1990s. In Puerto Rico, early reggaeton was called "underground," and gained popularity in the mid-1990s through mixtapes put out by DJs like Playero and Negro, who utilized hip-hop techniques to alter the dancehall riddims as an instrumental track for local rappers and singers like Daddy Yankee.

Reggaeton has long been a male-dominated genre (with Ivy Queen being the main exception to the rule), but in recent years female singers have become more prominent. Colombian singer Karol G, for example, is currently one of the genre’s biggest stars, and Spanish singer Rosalía pivoted to reggaeton for her 2022 album Motomami, which won a Latin GRAMMY for Album Of The Year. 

Colombian artists have also been making their way to the top of the reggaeton charts in recent years — alongside Karol G, there’s J Balvin and Maluma — although Puerto Rican artists still dominate the genre, with current stars like Rauw Alejandro and Anuel AA.

Reggaeton will only continue to evolve and develop; read on for 10 songs that represent the sonic and cultural evolution of the genre in the past three decades.

El General - "Tu Pum Pum" (1990)

Years before the term reggaeton was invented, Panamanian rapper El General (Edgardo Franco) was the first artist to gain recognition recording reggae en español. Given the history of West Indian immigration to Panama to build the Canal, it’s not surprising that the story of reggaeton begins there. This proto-reggaeton style emulated Jamaican dancehall much more closely than later styles would. El General and his friends got started by taking Jamaican riddims like the genre-defining dembow and rapping in Spanish over them; they used to board buses in Panama City and perform for fellow riders. El General was known as a skilled improvisor.

He moved to New York to study in the late 1980s, and hooked up with fellow Panamanian and producer Michael Ellis, who is said to have invented the term "reggaeton." El General’s first hit, "Tu Pun Pun" is a Spanish-language version of Jamaican dancehall artist Little Lenny’s 1990 song "Punnany Tegereg" that’s quite faithful musically to the original. 

The title of the song is slang for female genitals, and the lyrics chronicle El General’s sexual prowess in graphic detail. Its chorus chants, "Your pum pum, baby baby, won’t kill (tame) me." The song became a hit in the U.S. and El General went on to have a successful, albeit brief, career. 

Tego Calderón - "Pa’ Que Retozen" (2003)

One of the biggest tracks on Tego Calderón’s debut album, El Abayarde, "Pa’ Que Retozen" was a party anthem and one of the first reggaeton hits in the U.S. It represents the culmination of many musical shifts that took place during the 1990s in Puerto Rico. By the mid-1990s, the dembow riddim began to dominate the Puerto Rican underground scene. As the millennium approached, DJs and producers began to incorporate elements of Latin popular music genres as well.

"Pa’ Que Retozen" is a good example of this trend, as bachata-style guitar riffs play underneath Calderón’s rapping. The background track switches up several times in this song, including an incredibly catchy, high-pitched synth riff heard in the second verse. Other tracks on El Abayarde also incorporate Latin genres and instruments — like bongó drums on "Abayarde," Afro-Puerto Rican bomba percussion on "Loíza," and a full salsa orchestra and vocals on "Planté Bandera."

Ivy Queen - "Quiero Bailar" (2002)

Known as the "Queen of Reggaeton," Ivy Queen was the only prominent female reggaeton artist for nearly two decades. She released two albums in the late 1990s, but it was her third album, Diva, in 2003, that really broke through. Ivy Queen intentionally wrote from a female perspective, as she had come up in a male-dominated scene in San Juan where women were constantly being objectified.

With her deep, throaty vocal tone, Ivy Queen proclaims on "Quiero Bailar" that although she wants to dance — even in the sexualized perreo style that had become synonymous with reggaeton — that doesn’t necessarily mean she wants to have sex with her dance partner. The song is still an important anthem for women who want to feel free to bump and grind and express themselves on the dancefloor without men expecting a sexual encounter. 

Don Omar - "Dile" (2003)

Three of the genre’s most influential artists exploded on the scene at roughly the same time: Calderón, Daddy Yankee and Don Omar, with the latter two involved in a rivalry for the title of "King of Reggaeton." However, Don Omar always stood out among the three for the lyricism of his voice — he was a more gifted singer than many of his peers.

His debut album, The Last Don, is considered to be a classic, utilizing a similar approach as Calderón of injecting more melodic Latin styles, like bachata and salsa, into his music. The Dominican production team Luny Tunes, who was instrumental in expanding the sound of reggaeton and distinguishing it further from its Jamaican roots,  produced about half the album’s tracks.

Like "Pa’ Que Retozen," Don Omar’s first major single, "Dile" relies heavily on a bachata guitar line, but his vocal style is quite different from the deep, resonant rapping of Calderón. The combination of Don Omar’s tenor voice with the melodic instrumentals of "Dile" makes for a very aesthetically pleasing, yet danceable song. In addition, he interpolates a salsa song, Joe Arroyo’s "La Noche," into a bridge-like section in the middle of "Dile." 

The subject matter is also more emotional than many reggaeton songs had been up to this point, as he’s pleading with a woman to tell her boyfriend that she wants to be with someone else (Don Omar).  

 Daddy Yankee - "Gasolina" (2004)

The first reggaeton song to be nominated for Record Of The Year at the Latin GRAMMYs, "Gasolina" still stands as the genre’s most iconic and recognizable song. The song catapulted not only Daddy Yankee into the mainstream, but also the genre itself. It appeared on Daddy Yankee’s third studio album, Barrio Fino, which broke numerous records and won many awards.

Barrio Fino took a broad approach, which proved incredibly successful. Many of the album’s tracks were produced by Luny Tunes, including its two biggest hits, "Gasolina" and "Lo Que Pasó, Pasó." The album also features a salsa-reggaeton fusion and an R&B-inflected rap song that sounds like it could have been recorded by Big Pun.

As for the concept behind "Gasolina," Daddy Yankee was living in a San Juan housing project with his family, where he often heard people on the street shouting, "iComo le gusta las gasolina!" ("How she likes gasoline!"), referring to women who accept rides from men with nice cars. He took that phrase and ran with it, creating the famous hook "A mí me gusta la gasolina, dame más gasolina" ("I like gasoline, give me more gasoline"). A decade later he laughed at the idea that the term "gasolina" referred to drugs — as many people assumed — claiming that he used it literally, to refer to cars. 

"Oye Mi Canto" - N.O.R.E., feat. Nina Sky, Gem Star, Daddy Yankee, and Big Mato

Reggaeton exploded in popularity in the mid-aughts, which explains why there are so many classic songs from that time period. "Oye Mi Canto" was the first collaboration between an American rapper (N.O.R.E.) and reggaeton artists, and included verses in English and Spanish.

The song originally featured Tego Calderón but Daddy Yankee replaced him in the video. It also signaled an acceptance of reggaeton by New York hip hop artists — Fat Joe also appears in the video. It peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Top 100, a first for a reggaeton song.

The song utilizes a common feature of commercial hip hop at the time, a catchy R&B hook sung by a female vocalist, Nina Sky. The hook borrows from and adapts the recognizable chorus "Boricua, morena, Boricua, morena," which was heard on Big Pun’s massive 1998 hit "Still Not A Player," but extends it to include other Latino ethnicities beyond "Boricua" (Puerto Rican).

Calle 13 -"Atrévete-te-te" (2005)

Hardly a traditional reggaeton group, Calle 13 nonetheless created one of the genre’s most popular, beloved songs in 2005 with their irreverent hit "Atrévete-te-te." Rapper Residente and instrumentalist/producer Visitante, step-brothers, founded the group in 2004, and gained fame with a song about the FBI killing of Puerto Rican independence leader Filiberto Ojeda Ríos called "Querido FBI."

Residente is the most politically outspoken rapper within reggaeton, a genre the two musicians have tended to distance themselves from, preferring not to be labeled. The group’s music has always been eclectic, using live instrumentation and unusual timbres. These elements undoubtedly relate to the fact that Visitante plays dozens of instruments. The brothers still hold the record for most Latin GRAMMY Awards in history, a whopping 27 each!

"Atrévete-te-te" is an infectious cumbia-reggaeton hybrid featuring an unforgettable high-register clarinet. Residente’s lyrics are raunchy, witty, and replete with American pop culture references and anglicisms. He dares a "Miss Intellectual" to get down off her culturally elitist high horse and let loose: "I know you like Latin pop rock, but reggaeton gets into your intestines, under your skirt like a submarine, and brings out your ‘Taino’ (indigenous people native to Puerto Rico)." He reinforces his point later, singing, "Who cares if you like Green Day? Who cares if you like Coldplay?"

"Bailando" - Enrique Iglesias feat.Descemer Bueno and Gente de Zona (2014)

In the 2010s reggaeton’s popularity continued to grow, and "Bailando" was one of the songs that significantly raised the genre’s visibility among English-language audiences. Nonetheless, Spanish pop singer Enrique Iglesias originally didn’t like the song.

"Bailando" was written and recorded by Cuban singer/songwriter Descemer Bueno and Cuban reggaeton duo Gente de Zona, who had become one of the island’s biggest musical groups. When Iglesias heard Bueno’s recording, he changed his mind and they added his vocals. 

Garnering many awards, and winning Song of the Year at the 2014 Latin GRAMMYs, "Bailando" was flamenco-infused reggaeton designed for mass appeal. It follows a traditional pop song format, with Iglesias singing the verses and trading off with Gente de Zona and Bueno in the extended chorus sections. The lyrics are standard love song fare, and don’t include any of the rapped vocals or Cuban slang that had made Gente de Zona so popular in Cuba. Nonetheless, it peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent a record-breaking 41 weeks at the top of the U.S. Latin charts. 

"Despacito" - Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee, with a remix feat. Justin Bieber (2017)

Love it or hate it, it’s impossible to ignore the cultural impact of "Despacito." It was already a huge hit in its original version, by Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee. But when Justin Bieber called Fonsi up to inquire about doing a remix, it became 2017’s song of the summer.

Like "Bailando," the original version was already as much Latin pop as it was reggaeton, and although Daddy Yankee has some rapped vocals in the second verse, he’s mainly singing as well. The producers decided to use a Puerto Rican cuatro, which opens the song, in addition to an acoustic guitar in order to give the song a more local feel. One unique element was the insertion of a rhythmic break right before the chorus "Despacito" (which translates to "slowly") comes in. The way Fonsi breaks up the three syllables in the title word, taking his time with them, is a nice touch.

The Justin Bieber remix was released three months later, and maintained the song’s original rhythms and Daddy Yankee’s verses. An English verse was added for Bieber at the beginning of the song, and he sang the "Despacito" choruses in Spanish — the first time he’d ever sung in Spanish. It quickly rose to No. 1 on the Hot 100 charts, which gave Fonsi and Daddy Yankee their first No. 1 hit. It stayed at the top of the charts for 16 weeks, tying with "One Sweet Day," by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men, and remained the longest-leading No. 1 single until 2019. "Despacito" also won Song and Record Of The Year at the Latin GRAMMYs.  

"Titi Me Preguntó" - Bad Bunny (2022)

Bad Bunny is not only the most prominent artist in contemporary reggaeton — he was the biggest artist in the world in 2022. It’s impossible to list all of the accolades Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio has attained in his short career, but here are a few: His latest, Un Verano Sin Tí, was the first Spanish-language one to be nominated for Album Of The Year at the 2023 GRAMMYs, he's been Spotify's most streamed artist in the world for three straight years.

Un Verano Sin Tí was a masterful achievement, showcasing a wide variety of contemporary Latin music beyond reggaeton, including Dominican dembow and mambo, bachata, electro-cumbia, and even indie rock — all anchored by Bad Bunny’s emo vocal style. The album is a celebration of Spanish Caribbean identity, paying homage as much to Dominican as to Puerto Rican music.

"Titi Me Preguntó" is not only one of the album’s biggest hits, but also one of its most complex tracks, featuring several discrete sections. It begins with a bachata guitar intro, followed by Bad Bunny’s rapped vocals accompanied by a sparse backbeat. His aunt is asking why he goes out with so many girls and won’t settle down. The body of the song speeds way up, keeping a sparse accompaniment, as Bad Bunny lists the names and cities of different girlfriends. 

But there’s an interesting shift at the 2:15 mark, where the bachata guitar returns and we hear a woman’s voice admonishing him for being an f-boi. It’s followed by anguished Bad Bunny vocals singing, "I’d like to fall in love but I can’t." The music changes back to the sparse backbeat accompaniment when he sings: "I don’t even trust myself," and notes how many women say they want to have his first-born child. The singing returns, as a spooky electronica melody is added into the background mix: "Listen to your friend, I’ll only break your heart…I don’t know why I’m like this." 

This is a man struggling with interpersonal demons, and this vulnerable masculinity (and his past refusal to conform to rigid gender norms) is precisely why Bad Bunny is so beloved by his female fans.  

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