There’s no business like ‘Slow’ business: Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee’s ‘Despacito’ hit 5b views on YouTube

Puerto Rican rappers Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee’s phenomenally successful ‘Despacito’ has hit 5 billion views on YouTube.

It already hit the 5 million mark on all platforms in August 2017.

The video for the Spanish language-only version leads its closest contender on YouTube – Wiz Khalifa & Charlie Puth’s ‘See You Again’ – by 1.5 billion clicks.

The video already became YouTube’s most viewed of all time by mid-2017.

The last billion views on YouTube took place in the last six months.

Although the English version with Justin Bieber helped it internationally, the original Spanish rendition remains the most popular.

The video, shot in December 2016 by Puerto Rican director Carlos Pérez, was one of the reasons for the track’s global break through with its imagery of the city and its symbols of Latin culture.

It was shot in the neighbourhood of La Perla, at the popular bar La Factoría in San Juan and picturesque beaches, seasonal costumes, nightlife and catches every day action as old men playing dominoes a couple dancing in the street, and a young boy getting his hair cut.

It also features model Zuleyka Rivera, the 2006 winner of Miss Universe.

Fonsi told her, “You normally don’t do music videos, but just hear the song.

“Listen and imagine us doing something really historic in the streets of Puerto Rico, with Daddy Yankee, myself and you representing the Latina powerful woman, and please listen and tell me if you want to be a part of this.”

She called him back 10 minutes later and told him that it was “the best song she’d ever heard.”

It achieved its first billion views in 97 days, and hit 2 billion in 154 days.

Fonsi knew during the video shoot that it was going to cast long shadows.

He recounted to Billboard earlier:  “The day we shot the video, and I don’t know how many videos I’ve done, you could see the crew and the dancers and everybody enjoying the song.

“It was like no other video.

“People were dancing on the streets when nobody was filming.

“Normally you would get somebody saying, ‘Can you please shut it off until we go back to filming again?’

“But here, people were asking to leave it on. That was the first sign, right there.”