See Luis Fonsi’s Exuberant ‘Despacito’ on ‘Fallon’
Luis Fonsi delivered a triumphant rendition of his worldwide smash “Despacito” on The Tonight Show on Wednesday.
The singer harmonized coolly with his backing track and occasionally synchronized his movements with two dancing couples, flirtatiously shimmying behind him. The Roots served as Fonsi’s band with guitarist “Captain” Kirk Douglas handling the song’s delicate acoustic filigree.
Fonsi released “Despacito,” his collaboration with the rapper Daddy Yankee, in January. By April, it had reached Number 48 on the Hot 100 and accumulated 980 million views on Youtube. Justin Bieber reached out to Fonsi asking to add a verse to the remix. The new Bieber version of the single climbed to Number One on the Hot 100.
Fonsi’s video has now amassed more than three billion views, and the single spent 16 weeks as a Hot 100 Number One, tying Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men’s “One Sweet Day” for the most weeks spent at the top of the chart. “Despacito” was dethroned this week by Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do.”
Fonsi is currently at work on a new album, the follow-up to 2014’s 8.