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There are fans of important reggaeton "artists" who have made claims like, "Shakira would be nothing without her English music," ignoring the fact that she sang in English BECAUSE her Spanish albums were THAT successful.
Is this true after all? Let's look at the numbers!
Is this true after all? Let's look at the numbers!
It took Shakira TWO albums (pre-crossover) to sell 12 MILLION albums.
5M copies of Pies Descalzos (acc. to BMI) plus 7M copies of Dónde Están Los Ladrones (acc. to La Vanguardia).
Let's see how these 5 reggaeton artists match with their TOTAL charting albums to these two alone.
5M copies of Pies Descalzos (acc. to BMI) plus 7M copies of Dónde Están Los Ladrones (acc. to La Vanguardia).
Let's see how these 5 reggaeton artists match with their TOTAL charting albums to these two alone.
To be fair to streaming age sales, we're going to account for not just pure sales, but album-equivalent sales (AES) made from premium and ad-supported streams from YouTube (YT) and Spotify to give us their total albums SPS (sales plus streaming).
1. #DaddyYankee
With 5 charting albums, he's sold 6,1M from pure sales, 5,6M from 10,8B Spotify plays and 3,9M from 14,6B views on YT.
That's a total of 15,6M albums SPS
With 5 charting albums, he's sold 6,1M from pure sales, 5,6M from 10,8B Spotify plays and 3,9M from 14,6B views on YT.
That's a total of 15,6M albums SPS
2. #JBalvin
With 5 charting albums, Balvin has sold 137 000 pure copies (USA only, WW sales undisclosed).
From 12,4B plays on Spotify he's sold made 6,4M, and from 14B views on YouTube he has made 3,7M sales.
That brings his total to 10,2M albums SPS, excluding WW pure sales.
With 5 charting albums, Balvin has sold 137 000 pure copies (USA only, WW sales undisclosed).
From 12,4B plays on Spotify he's sold made 6,4M, and from 14B views on YouTube he has made 3,7M sales.
That brings his total to 10,2M albums SPS, excluding WW pure sales.
3. #Maluma
Google trends (left) and YT trends (right) show Shakira's vs. Maluma's popularity during the El Dorado Era. So how on Earth did Maluma give Shakira a hit (Chantaje) when most of it's SPS certifications come from Europe and the USA, where he is not as popular?
Google trends (left) and YT trends (right) show Shakira's vs. Maluma's popularity during the El Dorado Era. So how on Earth did Maluma give Shakira a hit (Chantaje) when most of it's SPS certifications come from Europe and the USA, where he is not as popular?
It's worth a mention that S gave M his first taste of the Hot 100 with Chantaje.
As for his sales:
He's sold +37K pure copies with 3 charting albums (USA only).
With 6,9B streams on Spotify he's made 2,5M sales, plus 3,6M from 13,3B views on YT.
His total is 6,1M albums SPS.
As for his sales:
He's sold +37K pure copies with 3 charting albums (USA only).
With 6,9B streams on Spotify he's made 2,5M sales, plus 3,6M from 13,3B views on YT.
His total is 6,1M albums SPS.
4. #NickyJam
Same story regarding the success of Perro Fiel, different name. Most certifications are from EU and MX and if we observe YT trends from the El Dorado Era, we realise he wasn't as popular.
Same story regarding the success of Perro Fiel, different name. Most certifications are from EU and MX and if we observe YT trends from the El Dorado Era, we realise he wasn't as popular.
His pure sales for any/all of his albums are undisclosed.
With 12,9B views on YT, he has made the equivalent of 3,4M albums and from Spotify he has sold the equivalent of 3,5M from 6,9B plays on Spotify...
That makes his total of AES 6,9M.
With 12,9B views on YT, he has made the equivalent of 3,4M albums and from Spotify he has sold the equivalent of 3,5M from 6,9B plays on Spotify...
That makes his total of AES 6,9M.
5. #BadBunny
They compared #YHLQMDLG to Fijación Oral because it charted two steps higher in the USA (which doesn't mean much on the full scale of things).
They compared #YHLQMDLG to Fijación Oral because it charted two steps higher in the USA (which doesn't mean much on the full scale of things).
That album only charted higher in the USA because it has 19 songs and more than 25 videos/audio on YouTube. Something #Forbes warned about.
Fijación Oral is considered a Latin Rock masterpiece (album by a WOMAN), that Shakira didn't need as much help as Bad Bunny needed to put together HIS album.
His album is yet to match in SPS albums or acclaim.
His album is yet to match in SPS albums or acclaim.
On to Bad Bunny's sales:
From 3 charting album, he has sold over 45K pure copies (USA only). His 10,7B YouTube views translate to 2,9M AES, plus 7,4M AES from 14,4B plays on Spotify.
His total is 10,3M albums SPS.
From 3 charting album, he has sold over 45K pure copies (USA only). His 10,7B YouTube views translate to 2,9M AES, plus 7,4M AES from 14,4B plays on Spotify.
His total is 10,3M albums SPS.
Despite big feats and collabs, cheating the charts, the advantage of a 654M Latin American population, which was 483M in 1995, your fave STILL couldn't beat Pies Descalzos and Dónde Están Los Ladrones with the 3-5 albums they've released.
And you think Shakira can be compared?
And you think Shakira can be compared?
Talent WAS on top, and it STAYS on TOP.
But we all know this boils down to sexism, envy. Because people hate to see a talented woman STILL at the top, 30 YEARS into her career.
Where will YOUR fave be by THEN?
But we all know this boils down to sexism, envy. Because people hate to see a talented woman STILL at the top, 30 YEARS into her career.
Where will YOUR fave be by THEN?
