The fact that Bad Bunny debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 list for the third consecutive time with Nobody Knows What’s Going To Happen Tomorrow It was no surprise to anyone. At this point, the Puerto Rican star is firmly anchored in popular culture, and has entered that super-exclusive club of artists who (at least at this moment) can do no wrong, and whose music demands immediate consumption.
But, unlike any other artist who has reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200—well, at least until earlier this year—Bad Bunny’s achievement brings with it an unprecedented fact: he only sings in Spanish, and he managed their triple crown of No. 1 with albums completely in Spanish, something that no one had achieved until now.
That alone is notable. But seeing Bad Bunny (or Benito, his real name and the name he uses increasingly publicly, including on the cover of his new album) hosting Saturday Night Live (SNL), speaking mostly in Spanish, took things to a completely different level. Thanks to a rapper from Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, the Latin presence in popular culture in the United States has a place of massive recognition perhaps never seen since I Love Lucy in the 50s. The big difference is, I Love Lucy used comedy as a vehicle to “translate” Desi Arnaz’s Cuban-accented English, accompanied by boogaloo.
In contrast, Bad Bunny makes no attempt to translate or compromise when speaking Spanish as if it were the most normal thing in the world. Last Saturday (October 21), during his opening monologue in SNLnot only did he constantly speak in English and Spanish, but he also constantly referred to the language as a bridge (“I am very excited to be here in Giant Saturday”he said jokingly) and as a barrier (“People were wondering if I could host this show because English is my second language.”)
It is an important point. While Benito has clearly improved his English, and was perfectly capable of carrying the night, the fact is that Latin artists were long excluded from important events and programs because they spoke and sang only in Spanish, because they did not speak English well enough. , and because their Latin accents were not as accepted as British or French accents, for example.
This feeling of strange beings is problematic. For example, in 2013, when Marc Anthony – born and raised in New York – sang “God Bless America” at the MLB All-Star game, he was harshly criticized on Twitter, where many said he was not American, despite his Bronx accent.
Then we come to August 2017, just six years ago, when “Despacito” was at the peak of its popularity after spending 16 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Despite having the most viewed video in YouTube history , failed to earn a single MTV Video Music Awards nomination, a fact that the VMAs attributed to a lack of communication and technical details.
Whatever it was, it was normal for the time. That same year, the Annenberg School of Communications at the University of Southern California (USC) published a report that found that, although Latinos comprised 18% of the population, the largest minority in the country, they only represented 5.8%. % of roles with dialogue in film and television. Two years later, that number dropped to 5%.
As for the Grammys, by 2017 only three musical numbers had been seen in Spanish since Ricky Martin made history with “The Cup of Life” in 1999, singing in English.
Even the Billboard Hot 100 witnesses the exclusion of Latin music. Between 2010 and 2016, only 14 songs predominantly in Spanish entered the chart. In 2017, the year of “Despacito,” the number rose to 19. Without a doubt, the success of the song by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee opened doors to the opportunities that existed for bilingual or Spanish songs.
Since then, the rise has been steady, with Latin artists, and by extension Latin music, achieving more and more prominent moments at big events, from late-night TV shows to the Grammys (with Bad Bunny opening the ceremony singing entirely in Spanish). and the VMAs in September, where Shakira received the Video Vanguard Award and sang a bilingual medley of hits that lasted 10 minutes. So far this year, nearly 100 Spanish-language songs have entered the Hot 100, including all the songs from Bad Bunny’s new album.
It seems that Spanish, at least, has been normalized in American culture, and that Latino faces are finally visible, and that the culture, finally, is not only seen as picturesque and foreign, but as part of the fiber from this country. It is a turning point that I dreamed of as an observer of Latin culture for more than two decades.
Years ago, when Bad Bunny debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in December 2020 with The Last Tour of the Worldmarked the first time in history that a Spanish-only album had reached the top of the chart. chart, which includes all genres. At that time, it was very possible that this event was only of the moment and that it would not set any trend.
In 2017, when I interviewed Nicky Jam and J Balvin for a cover of Billboard, I asked them specifically about the way they used language in their songs. His answers reflected the reality of the moment.
“If you’re targeting the American market, it has to be in English,” said Nicky Jam. “I can’t imagine an African-American rap fan sitting in his car saying, ‘I love Nicky Jam’s rap!’ [en español]. “I’m being realistic.”
I agreed. In my years in the industry, nothing had shown me that the market was ready to receive Spanish as a dominant language in music.
However, Balvin did not agree.
“I think it’s possible to have a No. 1 in Spanish, but we’re not there yet,” he said. “It may take a few years, but as the new generations grow up and realize that the United States is not the only place on the planet and English is not the only language that is worth [puede suceder]”.
His words were prophetic. A few months after that interview, “Despacito,” in its bilingual version with Justin Beiber, reached No. 1 on the Hot 100, opening the doors to investment and A&R possibilities in Spanish-language music. Along with the global growth of music consumption in Spanish, Latin music began to enter all audiences. charts. Last week, 70 songs had entered the Hot 100 in 2023; This week, the 22 songs from Bad Bunny’s new album were added.
With good reason, Bad Bunny not only sings in SNL, but was also the guest host. In that role, he asked that as he spoke, they change the on-screen translation to read “Speaking in a language other than English,” the words that sparked a furor after the Grammys in January. This time, the phrase: “Speaking in a sexier language” was used.
I don’t know if it’s sexier or not. But I can say that he is no longer viewed with disdain. It is Spanish. It is a wonder. And it’s part of us, even if you don’t understand a single word.
2023-10-27 05:09:43
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