Entertainmentgrammyslatin musicDomenico Modugno

'Despacito' May Soon Make Grammy History

If it wins song of the year, it'd be the first Spanish-language song to take the honor.
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By 

Reporter, HuffPost

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Whether you like the song or not, you’ve inevitably jammed out to “Despacito” at some point in the last year.

The song has been everywhere. It broke a global streaming record in July, set the Vevo record for most views of a Spanish-language video in 24 hours with 5.4 million hits, and marked the first time in more than 20 years that a mostly Spanish-language song ranked in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 (the previous top 10 hit was in 1996 with Los Del Rio’s “Macarena”).

Adding to all of that success, “Despacito,” sung by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, featuring Justin Bieber, was nominated on Tuesday morning for three Grammys: Record of the Year, Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, and song of the year.

The latter of those three is the most significant for what it could mean for Latin music. Should “Despacito” win the Grammy for song of the year, it’d be the first time a Spanish-language song took that award. 

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Luis Fonsi performs "Despacito"
NBC via Getty Images

As the Los Angeles Times notes, the last time a non-English-language song won that award, it was the very first Grammys in 1959. Domenico Modugno and Franco Migliacci won for “Volare,” which was sung in Italian by Modugno.

The 2018 Grammy Awards will air Jan. 28 at 8 p.m. EST on CBS, so tune in if you want to see if “Despacito” is the favorito, baby.

Before You Go

This Is Why Spanish Isn't A 'Foreign Language'
Because lots of Americans speak Spanish(01 of09)
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As of 2012, approximately 38.3 million people in the U.S. spoke Spanish at home, according to the U.S. Census. That's 13 percent of U.S. residents ages 5 and older. (credit:Getty)
Because a bunch of our states, cities and streets have Spanish names(02 of09)
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Nevada, Colorado, Los Angeles, Florida, Montana, San Antonio, California and Sacramento are all Spanish words or names. The list goes on and on. (credit:Getty)
Because Spanish was spoken in what is today the United States before English(03 of09)
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Spanish colonizers first set foot in the area that would become the United States in the 16th century, founding a permanent colony in St. Augustine, Florida, in 1565 -- well before the English set up Jamestown. All European languages, on the other hand, are more foreign to North America than Karuk, Cherokee, Natchez or the scores of other languages of the indigenous peoples of the continent. (credit:Getty Images)
Because the U.S. has more Spanish speakers than Spain(04 of09)
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In 2013, the U.S. had the 5th largest Spanish-speaking population in the world. However, in 2015 it moved up to the number two spot behind Mexico. (credit:Getty Images)
Because it’s the most-spoken language on the island of Puerto Rico(05 of09)
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And Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory whose inhabitants are U.S. citizens. (credit:Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Because the U.S. does not have an official language(06 of09)
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English is not the official language of the United States. Though several states across the nation have adopted legislation establishing English as their official language, no such legislation has been adopted on a federal level. (credit:Getty Images)
Because even English-speaking people use Spanish words on a daily basis(07 of09)
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Words like "cafeteria," "vanilla," and even "ranch" are derived from Spanish. (credit:Creatas via Getty Images)
Because this Spanish-language network is a ratings beast(08 of09)
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Spanish broadcast network Univision regularly outperforms English-language networks, especially on a local level. Univision stations in Los Angeles, New York, Houston and Sacramento closed out the May 2016 sweeps period as the most-watched early and late local newscasts among Adults ages 18-49, regardless of language. (credit:Photo by Alexander Tamargo/WireImage)
Because Spanish is becoming the second-most important language in politics(09 of09)
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Even candidates vying for political office recognize the fact that many of the nation's citizens speak Spanish, many releasing Spanish-language ads in an effort to connect with voters. (credit:Getty)
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