The music video for the 4x Platinum Latin hit song Bailando has surpassed 600 million views on YouTube. The song by Enrique Iglesias featuring Sean Paul, Descemer Bueno and Gente de Zona is from Iglesias’ tenth studio album Sex and Love released April 11, 2014.
Sean Paul said this was one of the songs he did to get into a bigger music market and get airplay in the US and elsewhere after it became harder for him ten years into the business.
“That’s the nail on the head right there. The music blew up and I had 10 successful years of being played on the radio in America. After that, it became harder and harder. I thought “Oh, I’ve got to blend my music with this dance music now just to get heard?” He told The Daily Beast in 2021.
He laments that although he had success with dancehall in the past, now labels and radio stations are more inclined to support non-Jamaican artist doing dancehall and climbing the charts than Jamaican artist who do the same music.
“And then “Bailando” was a huge song, and I was involved in that, so I’m thinking “Why are these executives telling me ‘We’re not having fun trying to run your record in these places because people are saying dancehall is over with?’” So, I tried to do records with these other [pop artists], a lot of collabs. Then, I’m hearing Ed Sheeran, Rihanna, Drake, and Swae Lee on the radio, and I’m thinking, “This is all dancehall to me. Why are you categorizing me like that?” It’s been feeling that people are taking it away from us, because if you’re getting on the radio and you’re telling me dancehall’s not getting on the radio anymore…don’t tell me our stuff don’t work.”
Cuban producer Alejandro Perez directed the music video, with Yasha Malekzad as the creative director and Kasra Pezeshki as the executive producer, all longtime collaborators of Enrique Iglesias. Artist Preserve in London produced the video, and dancers from Havana’s Ballet Lizt Alfonso, particularly lead female dancer Ana Karla Suarez, were featured. Aquiles Jimenez oversaw the video production in the Dominican Republic.
As of November 26, 2023, the Spanish version of the video has garnered over 3.4billion views on YouTube, making rank 21 on the most viewed YouTube videos of all time and it is Iglesias’ most-viewed video, surpassing his 2010 hit “I Like It.”
The video is Sean Paul’s fourth most streamed music video across all credits on YouTube and the most commercially successful single from the “Sex and Love” album, achieving chart success in over 50 countries worldwide. It peaked at No. 1 on Spanish and Portuguese-speaking regions, such as Colombia, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Portugal, Spain, and the Latin charts in the US.
Initially debuting at number 81 on the US Billboard Hot 100, the song’s Spanish version reached a peak of number 12, marking Iglesias’ highest-charting Spanish song to date, surpassing the success of “Loco” and earning him his first top 20 hit on the chart since 2011’s “Dirty Dancer.” The track also secured Enrique’s 13th number-one position on the Hot Dance Club Songs chart. By October 2014, it had surpassed one million digital downloads.
Billboard recognized “Bailando” as the 38th best song of 2014 and on the Hot Latin Songs chart, the song debuted at number 6, quickly reaching number one in its third week. It maintained an impressive 41 consecutive weeks at the top, breaking the previous record set by Shakira’s “La Tortura” in 2005.
The record “Bailando” set was later surpassed in 2017 by “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber, which spent 56 weeks at number one on the Hot Latin Songs chart. The single also made notable entries on the Latin Pop Songs chart at number 34 and the Tropical Songs chart at number 39.
Beyond the Americas, “Bailando” achieved success across Europe, securing top ten positions in various countries and reaching number one in Portugal, Romania, Italy, Finland, Poland, Serbia, and Slovakia. In the UK and Ireland, the song faced limited success, peaking at number 75 on the UK Singles Chart and only spending a week on the chart. Conversely, in Italy, it claimed the top spot, marking Iglesias’ highest-charting single since 2010’s “I Like It.” In Latin America, the track reached number one in Mexico and Colombia and entered the top 20 in Brazil.
On the Canadian Hot 100, the Spanish version entered at number 52, eventually peaking at number 13. This marked Iglesias’ first Spanish single to break into the top 20 on the Canadian Hot 100 and stood as his highest-charting single from the “Sex and Love” album in Canada.
