Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee are heating up the 2018 Winter Olympics. Their viral hot song "Despacito" made a surprise appearance in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
In a medley, South Korean ice skaters Yura Min and Alexander Gamelin performed their routine to the slowed-down version of the Spanish-language track. Their performance also included Mariah Carey's "My All" and Thalia's "Mujer Latina."
'Despacito' On Ice
Billboard reported that Chinese skaters Shiyue Wang and Xinyu Liu also used a cover of "Despacito" by Leroy Sanchez and Madilyn Bailey.
@LuisFonsi @daddy_yankee First I hear Aguanile song, then Despacito song! PR music on fire! Latin flavor on the Winter Olympics! Boom! pic.twitter.com/1g5BWk3QLg — Christine Abreu (@AbreuChristine6) February 11, 2018
"Despacito" is, without a doubt, the biggest song of 2017. It broke the record for the most stream video ever on YouTube, taking the crown from South Korea's own PSY. The song, together with its singers, were honored with nominations at the 2018 Annual Grammy Awards.
The bilingual track also shifted over 6.6 million equivalent copies from traditional album sales and on-demand streaming last year. The song has overtaken Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You" and Kendrick Lamar's "Humble."
While "Despacito" was popular in every Spanish-language country, it was not until the involvement of Canadian pop superstar Justin Bieber that brought the song to the mainstream all over the world. The song entered and dominated the charts in the United States and many other countries.
Contemporary Music At The Olympics
Since the 2014 Olympics, ice skaters were allowed to choose and perform a song with lyrics. The Pyeongchang competitions are the first to be under the new ruling. This led to performances to the tune of contemporary music artists such as Beyoncé, U2, Sheeran, and Fonsi.
And the viewers are tuning in.
French Olympian skating to Beyonce! #Olympics pic.twitter.com/qIUheImswE — Rachel Rose Gold (@RachelRoseGold1) February 11, 2018
*taps mic* We didn't talk enough about the ice dancers performing to Despacito at the Olympics — Ella Cerón (@ellaceron) February 11, 2018
Hate when they edit songs in ice skating. If you wanna do "Rhapsody in Blue," DO ALL 12 MINUTES honey #Olympics — Matt (@mbrulefrite) February 12, 2018
MY SPORTS MUSIC
- Ice skating routine: "This Is How We Do It"
- Walk to plate: "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon"
- Coming in from bullpen: "Meat Is Murder" — Philip Bump (@pbump) February 12, 2018
According to Nielsen, the NBC coverage of the 2018 Winter Olympics garnered 23.9 million viewers in the United States on Saturday night, Feb. 10. In comparison, that is 4 percent lower than the number recorded by the coverage of the 2014 games in Sochi, Russia.
The Winter Olympics this year is a bit more popular than the Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, reported TV Line.
The ratings peaked during Red Gerard's performance for Team USA at around 9:45 p.m. Eastern Time. He won a gold medal.
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