Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s ‘Despacito’ snubbed at Grammys but certified Diamond for 10 million US equivalent sales

Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s ‘Despacito’ (the original and the Justin Bieber featuring remix) has been certified Diamond for 10 million US equivalent sales – although you could be forgiven for thinking the song did not exist if you’d followed the Grammys broadcast.

The track has had one of the longest running stays at #1 of all time, with a sweeping penthouse view for 16 weeks.

Only 18 singles have been accorded diamond status by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

They include Elton John’s ‘Candle In The Wind 1997’, Ed Sheeran’s ‘Thinking Out Loud’, Eminem’s ‘Love The Way You Lie’ and ‘Not Afraid’, Lorde’s ‘Royals’, Lady Gaga’s ‘Bad Romance’ and ‘Poker Face’, Katy Perry’s ‘Firework’ and ‘Dark Horse’, Mark Ronson’s ‘Uptown Funk’, Meghan Trainor’s ‘All About That Bass’ and Carly Rae Jepsen’s ‘Call Me Maybe’

It becomes the first Latin language single to reach that status, the RIAA stated.

While no one can begrudge Bruno Mars’ sweep of the Song and Record categories (‘Despacito’ was nominated for both), the 2018 Grammys will be remembered as one where past claims of irrelevance (as the likes of Drake and Bieber have done) against Grammy voters.

They might not be ready for a Spanish-language Song or Record of the Year but consumers in the 50 countries where it topped the sales and airplay charts had already decided what they considered the year’s best record and song.

‘Despacito’s video (which doesn’t feature Bieber) had already outsprinted every other video last year and reached milestones in the way people consume music.

It set Vevo records for most views of a Spanish-language video in 24 hours with 5.4 million hits, as well as for the fastest such video to reach 200 million views, 2 billion views and 3 billion views.

It quickly became the most watched on YouTube, and in quick succession, the first to reach 3 billion views and then 4 billion views.

It was the most-watched video in more than 50 other countries.