This week on the Hot 100, Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber’s mega-smash “Despacito” is in charge for the fifteenth time in a row, officially making it the second-longest-running No. 1 song of all time in the U.S. The week prior, it was also in second place, but it had to borrow the spotlight from a handful of other tracks (seven, to be exact), but now it is entirely alone in the runner-up position. This week, the Latin track has made history in another way on another one of Billboard’s many listings, and it doesn’t need to share this space in the annals of the charts with any other tune.
In addition to ruling the Hot 100 for 15 consecutive weeks, “Despacito” has also been in charge of the Streaming Songs ranking, according to Billboard itself. That chart lists the 50 most popular songs on streaming services here in the United States every week, taking into account numbers from outlets like Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and a handful of others. That sets a new record for the most weeks atop that specific list, and it gives yet another accolade to Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber, who simply cannot be beaten right now.
Before this week, “Despacito” was tied with rapper Desiigner's “Panda,” which managed 14 frames at the peak of the Streaming Songs chart last week. The tune became not only his first charting hit, but also his first (and to date, only) No. 1 on the Hot 100, last year, but now it will have to settle for second behind the powerful trio's successful composition.
Streaming numbers are a big part of the reason “Despacito” has been in charge of the Hot 100 for as long as it has. On Spotify alone, the original version and the Justin Bieber-remixed cut have almost 1.4 billion plays between them, and the official music video recently became the first track to blow past three billion views on YouTube and remains the most-watched ever—and those are only two of the most used services included in the charting methodology. It wouldn’t be outrageous to estimate that “Despacito” has been streamed five billion times or more at this point, and while not all of those plays are based in the U.S., and thus don’t count towards American charts, it’s clear that those using streaming platforms love the song.
It may already have stolen the crown, but it’s unlikely that “Despacito” is done ruling the Streaming Songs chart. In fact, it could collect a few more frames before it is finally done being in charge, so it may soon put some real distance between it and those that came before it, and it could be a while before any single is powerful enough to challenge "Despacito."
