There are many words that could be used to describe 2017 but the year in music can only be defined by one: 'Despacito'.

The unprecedented domination of Latin pop was ushered in by the breakthrough of Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee's humble collaboration about slow loving, which quickly topped the Latin charts around the worldbefore a certain A-list remix made it an omniprescent force worldwide.

In April, three months after the original's release, Justin Bieber dropped theremix of 'Despacito' that he had recorded just four days earlier. Nowwith a translatedverse from Fonsi and Spanglish performance by one of the world's biggest artists, it became the must-hear song in every country that would otherwise have ignored the Spanish-language track and from then on was unstoppable.

After topping the charts in over 40 countries, the industry - read: the UK and US - started to pay more attention to the brilliance of Latin pop and our playlists, radio stations and charts have been all the better for it ever since.

With 'Despacito' now the most streamed song of all time (4 billion streams and counting) and most watched YouTubevideo of all time (again, 4 billion), it's clear that reggaeton is back and here to stay.

Daddy Yankee first helped the genre cross over into the mainstream over a decade ago with the still-incredible 'Gasolina', however its return is a phenomenon that's franklyincomparable to its success before. 'Despacito' spent 11 weeks at Number 1 in the UK and an astonishing 16 weeks at the top of the US Billboard Hot 100, tying Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men's record for the longest-running chart-topper with 'One Sweet Day'.

With its success lasting well into the colder months, it was clear that the UK's love for reggaeton was not a summer fluke as 'The Despacito Effect' introduced usto a new wave of Latin superstars, including J Balvin and Maluma, and added some much-needed rhythm to the radio. Everyone from Beyoncé to Matt Terry hopped on board the reggaeton train to flex their Spanish and get our bodies moving with major collaborations.

J Balvin,the prince of the Latin pop scene, made his international debut with hisirresistible club banger 'Mi Gente', which remixed Willy William's 'The Voodoo Song'. It infiltrated the charts thanks to his catchy flow and the track'smanic beat drop, climbing to Number 5 on the UK charts. Following the series of hurricanes inMexico, Puerto Ricoand other Caribbean islands, Beyoncé surprised the world with a special remix to raise money for several relief charities, and elevatedthe song to even greater heights at the same time.

She gave 'Mi Gente' a dose of Yoncé cockiness, rapping in both English and Spanish, and even got daughter Blue Ivy to make a guest appearance. The remix is all kinds of iconic and boosted the hit to a new peak of Number 3 in on the US Billboard Hot 100, giving Queen Bey her highest-charting single there since 'Drunk In Love' was released four years ago in 2013.

Another crossover collaboration that dominated the UK Singles Chart this year was Little Mix's party-starting duet with Latin boy band CNCO. Thisremix of'Reggaetón Lento' gave the Latin group their first UK Top 10 hit and is Little Mix's twelfth, peaking at Number 5. It spent an incredible 11 weeks in the Top 10, making it one of the longest runs in Little Mix's mega-successful discography.

Complete with a flirty club-based video that saw the supergroup battling it out for each other's affection, it has become one of Little Mix's signature hits as the girls effortlessly slayed their first foray into the Latin pop world without it seeming forced or something done simply to be trendy. When both bands finally performed the track together at The X Factor live finale earlier this month, the crowd's reaction proved how much us Brits have embraced the joy of reggaeton into our daily soundtracks.

Another girl group that added their flavour to Latin pop was Fifth Harmony, who released an amazing collaboration with Pitbull in 'Por Favor'. Mr. Worldwide is one of the most legendary male artists in the Latin pop world, alongsideEnrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin, and we all know he's capable of making bangers, and we were not let down by this hook-up. Lauren, Normani, Ally and Dinah brought their A game to the sultry, salsa-ready bop, which really deserved more as it didn't light up the charts quite the same as the others.

Still, charts aren't the ultimate benchmarkof success in 2017 and it still goes off just as much as the other songs mentioned here.

One song that did dominate the charts à la 'Despacito' was Camila Cabello's Latin-fused debut single 'Havana'. Inspired by her native Cuba, the flirtatious bop stormed up the charts around the world to become of the defining songs of 2017. It reached Number 1 in over 10 countries, including the UK where it spent five consecutive weeks at the top (!), and peaked at Number 2 in the States.

With its telenovela-inspired music video and a show-stopping performance at the 2017 MTV EMA, the song took on a life of its own and is still riding high as it stays in the Top 5 as we head towards Christmas. Last month Camila gave the song a Spanish overhaul as she released a remix with Daddy Yankee, changing all-but-the-chorus to sing in Spanish and essentially making a brand new song out of it.

'Despacito' inarguably changed the course of pop music in 2017 and we certainly haven't looked back since, as its influence has injected some much-needed life into the charts that had become somewhat stale and predictable.

We'd like to give a special mention to Shakira, who released the absolutely incredible single 'Chantaje' with Maluma last October just a few months before Bieber brought Latin pop to the forefront of the UK's minds and playlists. With over two billion views on YouTube and just under 450 million streams on Spotify alone, it is one of the biggest hits of her career regardless but certainly deserved its moment in the UK and US too. If you somehow haven't already heard it since letting Latin pop into your life then let us help you, you won't regret it:

The predominantly Spanish album that followed,'El Dorado', has plenty more bangers that also deserved to climb up the charts but sadly got lost in the masses.

With Maluma, Anitta,Pabllo Vittar and many more breaking through to international audiences, we cannot wait to hear what 2018 has in store as Latin pop is definitely here to stay.

Words: Ross McNeilage

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