From ‘Ritmo’ to ‘Despacito’: The 21 Greatest Summer Songs of the Last Decade

With his blend of avant-garde pop, flamenco, and cubaton, Enrique Iglesias paved the way for the future of Latin pop with “Bailando.” The Spanish star, with the help of Descemer Bueno and Gente de Zona, created a new breed of Latin pop music that fused Latin-rooted acoustic instruments and electronic dance music — and in a way, it’s the predecessor to “Despacito,” released before the rise of digital streaming. A year after its debut in April 2014, the video for “Bailando” became the first video for a Spanish-language song to surpass one billion views on YouTube. Peaking on May 17, 2014, it then held the record as the longest-running No. 1 on Hot Latin Songs, with 41 weeks at the top.

“El Perdón” was the first successful collaboration between a pop artist and a reggaetón artist, and its unprecedented success inspired future similar collaborations in the industry. “It was the most important song of my career, and the one that brought me international recognition in places I never dreamed I would go,” Nicky Jam previously told Billboard about the song, which marked his triumphant return to the charts after a 10-year absence. It consolidated Iglesias’ success fusing with the urban genre after “Bailando” and spent 30 weeks at No. 1.

Enrique Iglesias knows how to deliver summer hits and with “Duele el corazón,” in collaboration with Wisin, he reached No. 1 on the list for the third consecutive year. “If you go, I’m leaving too/ If you give me, I’ll give you my love too/ We dance until ten o’clock/ Until my feet hurt,” sings Iglesias in the catchy reggaeton chorus in which Wisin intervenes with energetic rap verses. Released in 2016, it spent 14 weeks at the top of the list.

This Nicky Jam hit reached No. 1 on March 26, and it stayed in the top spot for 18 weeks, extending his hot streak into the summer. In the catchy urban track, the singer tells a woman he’s just met that even though he doesn’t know anything about her, he’d like them to spend the night together… until dawn.

With “He is a b-o-b-o, I only see, I see,” J Balvin makes a fun play on words in this fresh reggaeton in which the singer transforms into the “dumb” character that gives the song its title. “Again, we dared to step out of our comfort zone and take a chance on a concept,” Balvin told Billboard at the time the single dropped, which topped the chart for a week in the summer of 2016.

The sultry reggaetón and Latin pop song, written by Luis Fonsi, Erika Ender and Daddy Yankee, quickly became a global phenomenon, with success in the United States prompted by a remix version with Canadian superstar Justin Bieber. “Despacito” made history by spending 56 weeks at No. 1 on the Hot Latin Songs chart, and 16 on top of the Billboard Hot 100. Its music video also became the most-viewed in YouTube history, and to date It has more than eight billion views.

The single “Te Boté,” which has several versions, was a good song when the late producer Flow La Movie first released it with Casper Mágico, Darell and Nio García in 2017. But the seven-minute remix with Nicky Jam, Ozuna and Bad Bunny in 2018 catapulted the track to summer success, managing to stay at the top of the list for 14 weeks.

“X” is the innovative result of two powerful icons of Latin music uniting. Fueled by the catchy sound of a looping synth trumpet and an infectious beat, this fusion of dancehall and reggae became one of the biggest hits of summer 2018, spending two weeks at No. 1.

“Con Calma,” which spent 14 weeks at No. 1 on Hot Latin Songs, received an unexpectedly successful remix (produced by duo Play-N-Skillz) that paired reggaetón legend Daddy Yankee with pop singer Katy Perry and Canadian rapper Snow. The result: an explosive reggaetón-dancehall fusion with bilingual lyrics that, upon debuting on the 2019 American Idol finale, became an immediate hit.

With urban fusion melodies and rhythms landing between R&B and reggaetón, “Otro trago” — which combines the calming voice of Panamanian Sech with the grittier voice of Puerto Rican Darell — talks about a woman who drowns her sorrows by drinking and dancing in the club. He reached No. 1 on Hot Latin Songs in the summer of 2019 with this remix version, along with Nicky Jam, Ozuna and Anuel AA, and stayed at the top for three weeks.

“China” unites the Puerto Rican and Colombian cultures in one Caribbean-inspired dance song. Urban music forces Anuel AA, Daddy Yankee, Karol G, Ozuna and J Balvin assemble here to reimagine Jamaican star Shaggy’s dancehall-pop fusion “It Wasn’t Me,” which spent two weeks at No. 1 on the chart Hot 100 in 2001. “China” was right up there as well, spending 12 weeks atop Hot Latin Songs beginning August 17, 2019.

One billion Youtube views confirm the impact of this powerful bilingual EDM collaboration that we didn’t know we needed between the Black Eyed Peas and J Balvin, part of the Bad Boys for Life movie soundtrack. The song, which held the No. 1 spot on Hot Latin Songs in 2020 for 24 weeks, uses a repeat sample of Corona’s ’90s dance-pop smash “The Rhythm of the Night,” making it sound familiar from the start. 

Released in 2020, “Mamacita” is another creative Black Eyed Peas fusion between a retro track and a contemporary EDM sound, which spent three weeks at No. 1. This time, they interpolated “La Isla Bonita” by Madonna which, in combination with genres like electro-house, dancehall and reggaetón (and Ozuna’s distinctive voice and playful Spanglish lyrics), gave birth to another great summer hit. 

“Un Día (One Day)” unites the voices of J Blavin and Bad Bunny with the powerful voice of British-Albanian superstar Dua Lipa in a melancholy heartbreak song that fuses dancehall, Latin pop and mid-tempo reggaetón. “One day you will love me again/ One day you’ll love me for sure/ One day you will wake up feelin’ how I’ve been feelin’ baby/ You’ll knock on my door,” goes the chorus of the song produced by Tainy, which conquered the listing in the summer of 2020 and stayed there for five weeks. 

Kali Uchis was already an established star singing in the English-language market. But when the Virginia-born R&B artist decided to honor her roots and sing in the language of her Colombian parents, the rejection was real, as she said during a 2021 interview. Yet “Telepatía” went on to soar — with its evocative bolero twists and mix of trip-hop and R&B — becoming her first No. 1 on the Hot Latin Songs chart dated May 22, 2021, and staying at the top for eight weeks. 

In June 2021, Bad Bunny put aside his Latin trap foundation to hone a different, more sensual perreo sound. Mixing downtempo with chill reggaetón — courtesy of Tainy, Smash David, BYRD and Finesse — the song sees Benito in a vulnerable light, and singing in Japanese towards the end. “Yonaguni” debuted at No. 1 on Hot Latin Songs and stayed there for five weeks. 

Aventura and Bad Bunny joined forces to create a sensual and uplifting song with bachata guitars and subtle touches of reggaetón. The romantic duet between the bachata group from New York and El Conejo Malo from Puerto Rico sounds so good that “Volví” rocketed to No. 1 on Hot Latin Songs on August 21, 2021, spending a week at the top spot. It also entered the Hot 100 at No. 22. 

Before taking a religious turn in his life and apologizing for some of his lyrics — including those of “Pepas” — urban star Farruko rose to the top of Hot Latin Songs with this electronic dance song whose chorus repeats “Pepas y agua pa ‘la seca/ To’ el mundo en pastilla’ en la discoteca.” With captivating trumpets and powerful drums that invite non-stop dancing, the track debuted in the summer of 2021 and spent 25 weeks at the top of Hot Latin Songs. 

“Me Porto Bonito” quickly became a summer favorite for its viral lyrics about feeling confident and beautiful. “Tu no eres bebecita, eres bebesota,” says part of the chorus. The contagious beat of perreo, fused with old-school rhythms typical of “marquesina” parties — which could not better combine the essences of Bad Bunny and Corleone — propelled the song to No. 1 on Hot Latin Songs in May 2022, ultimately spending 20 weeks at the top.

Unlike all the summer hits that had reached No. 1 on the Hot Latin Songs chart in the prior decade, Mexican music prevails as the reigning genre so far in 2023. An unprecedented feat for the traditional Mexican genre, “Ella Baila Sola” by Eslabon Armado and Peso Pluma is a flirtatious romantic sierreño fueled by a melodic set of brass and 12-string guitar. The hit of the year reached No. 1 on April 15, where it has stayed for 13 weeks. It also topped the Billboard Global 200 chart the same month, becoming the first No. 1 on that chart for the group and artist, as well as the first for the regional Mexican genre. 

Newcomers FloyyMenor and Cris MJ are behind “Gata Only,” a TikTok phenomenon that became a viral hit, spending 14 weeks at No. 1 on Hot Latin Songs as of April 14. The catchy reggaetón song, in which the duo from La Serena, Chile, sing about going after an attractive girl, was the first song by a Chilean artist in 25 years to enter the Hot Latin Songs top 10 since “Tú Sabes Bien” by La Ley and Ednita Nazario reached No. 8 in 1999. Before that, Myriam Hernandez’s “Huele a Peligro” reached No. 5 in 1998.