Music Odds: Will Despacito Make Billboard Hot 100 History?

Remember “One Sweet Day,” the 1995 collaboration between Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men?

At the time, it was a huge hit, dominating the Billboard Hot 100 for a record 16 weeks. Carey almost topped her record ten years later with “We Belong Together,” which fell just short at 14 weeks on top. More recently, Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk” held the number one spot for 14 weeks, while Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” was the top song for 12.

But it was this year’s smash hit “Despacito,” by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee (featuring Justin Bieber), that finally equalled the 16-week record. The original latin hit (without the Biebs) became the first song to ever reach three billion views on Youtube and is currently the most-watched video of all time. Now, they just need one more week atop the Hot 100 in order to break a new barrier.

That won’t be so easy, though. Taylor Swift is preparing to drop her new album later in the year, and her first single, “Look What You Made Me Do,” is already skyrocketing to the top.

“DESPACITO” ODDS

Over/Under weeks “Despacito” is no. 1 on Billboard Hot 100: 16.5 weeks

Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do,” released August 25th, debuted at no. 77 on the Billboard Hot 100 but is currently gunning for the top spot. The music video raked in 43.2 million Youtube views on its first day, surpassing Adele’s record for music-video views in the first 24 hours.

“Despacito,” released in April of this year (though the original came out in January), still has a lot of momentum behind it, but it may not be enough to hold pace with Tay-Tay.

Odds Luis Fonsi or Daddy Yankee has another Billboard no. 1 hit by 2020: 3/1

If another Latin song hit finds its way to the top of the charts, it’ll probably be from either Daddy Yankee or Luis Fonsi. Remember “Gasolina”? Yep, that was Daddy Yankee.

But it’s rare for a Spanish-language song to top the Billboard 100. “Despacito” is the first since “Macarena” in 1996, and it’s likely we’ll have to wait a while before another comes along.

Over/Under Billboard Hot 200 peak for Boyz II Men’s Under the Streetlight: 40.5

That’s right, Boyz II Men are still around and doing their thing. R&B vocal groups may not be in vogue anymore, but the Boyz (who are now much more Men than Boyz) are still sticking to their guns.

Their most recent album, Collide, was released back in 2014 and peaked at no. 37 on the Billboard 200. Before that, 2011’s Twenty debuted at no. 20. After 11 studio albums, the group is well past their popularity prime, and Under the Streetlight could underperform quite dramatically.

Odds Mariah Carey trashes “Despacito”: 6/1

Mariah Carey has had her fair share of diva moments over the years, but it seems the R&B megastar is starting to mellow out. Still, she’s held this record for over two decades and it’s on the verge of being snatched away. Are we in store for another meltdown?