" Despacito " was made available for digital download on January 13 , 2017 by Universal Music Latin . It was released physically on April 30 , 2017 in Europe as a 2-track single including the original and pop version . Some music publications believed the single 's success was influenced by a trend of combining Latin pop and urban music after the release of singles by Nicky Jam , Thalia , Enrique Iglesias , Carlos Vives , Ricky Martin and Shakira . Fonsi considered the trend to be " the new pop " , and Ender said of it , " everyone is making this type of fusions . " Luis Fonsi also stated that two weeks after the release of the song and its music video he started receiving calls from " people who normally do n't call , people who only call when something different is going on . " He got calls from Ricky Martin , Juan Luis Guerra , Marc Anthony and other artists telling him that the track was a " home run . " The song was well received from music critics . Doris Irizarry of '' AXS '' praised the fusion between " Latin sensual rhythms " and urban music , describing it as " masterful . " Sebastian Wernke-Schmiesing of '' Dance-Charts '' electronic journal stated that " a simple 4/4 time , Spanish guitar sounds , a crisp bass , and the excellent vocals by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee were enough to get a hit single from the start . " He added that " ' Despacito ' has the magic it takes to reach the world " and that " works both on the dancefloors and on the radio . " Buddy Iahn of '' The Music Universe '' described it as an " infectious tune " and expressed that its music video became very popular because it is " great music performed by two of the biggest stars in the Latin music business . " Diana Marti of '' E! News '' said that " it is almost impossible not to dance to it . " Caroline Soriano of '' Enstars '' magazine described the song 's beat as " quite sexy and catchy " and defined the lyrics as " captivating . " Brittany Spanos of '' Rolling Stone '' magazine described it as alluring , sexy and catchy . Leila Cobo of '' Billboard '' expressed that " Despacito " is " a great pop song " , highlighting the " undeniable immediate catchiness " of the pre-chorus and the chorus . Cobo also stated that it " is a clever blend of romantic Latin pop with a reggaeton beat , subtly naughty lyrics , a rapper 's contemporary edge and an irresistible chorus that can be applied to so many situations . " Robert Joffred of Medium 's culture blog That Good You Need stated in his review that the song has " something very interesting happening " and that it can be classified as a Latin-American song because of its composition and characteristics . He highlighted the use of a steel-string guitar to play flamenco-style melodies instead of a nylon-string guitar , on which flamenco is usually played , representing " a modern take on a historical musical style . " Joffred also stated that what makes " Despacito " a " great song " is that it " throws decades of tradition to the wind in a very subtle way " because of the presence of " swung rhythms " when the word " Despacito " is sung at the beginning of the chorus . He referred to the text painting as " pretty genius . " Petra Rivera-Rideau , author of '' Remixing Reggaetón : The Cultural Politics of Race in Puerto Rico '' ( 2015 ) , said that " what 's great about ' Despacito ' is that it shows reggaeton never really went away " and that the song 's success " makes her really excited to see what 's going to happen next . " Raisa Bruner of '' Time '' magazine described the single as " an infectious Latin melody amped up with reggaeton grooves and an irresistible dance tune . " Spanish record producer Nahúm García stated that " the way the rhythm breaks before the chorus is genius , " referring to the first time Luis Fonsi performs the word " Despacito " . He explained that " the brain realizes that there has been a rare breakdown and it catches its eye " , and claimed that this " trick " in particular is not very common " and much less in pop music . " García concluded stating that the song " is very well made . " James Kellaris , composer and professor at the University of Cincinnati 's business school , expressed that " ' Despacito ' contains earworm elements " for being " cheerful , simple , repetitive and having a sticky rhythm . " Joshua Barrie of '' Irish Mirror '' gave a negative opinion about the lyrics after being translated to English , referring to them as " quite rude and a bit creepy " and stating that " some people might find them offensive . " Christian Koch of '' The Culture Trip '' also referred to the lyrics as " creepy . " On the other hand , an editor of Spanish music website Jenesaispop stated that " the melody is very good , the lyrics are sexy without being vulgar and above all its structure is interesting . " Felix Contreras of National Public Radio praised the writing , arrangement and performances , describing them as " one of a kind . " Derrick Rossignol of Uproxx described it as " the perfect mix of everything pop fans want : it 's acoustic and sexy , but with a fun beat , and it gives the feeling that you are listening to something new . " The remix version featuring Justin Bieber was released on April 17 , 2017 by Universal Music Latin , Republic Records , Def Jam Recordings , RBMG and School Boy Records . It is the first collaboration between Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee with Bieber . The remix 's official audio video garnered 20 million views on YouTube on its first 24 hours , making it the third-highest debut for a music-related video in 2017 as of September . Hilton Dresden of '' Out '' magazine described it as " unexpected and delightful " and that " Justin Bieber singing in Spanish is a highly sexual experience , " defining the results of the collaboration as legendary . Caroline Soriano of '' Ernstars '' magazine stated that Bieber 's voice " sounds appealing with the song , " whose remix version make it sound " a little bit better . " '' Latina '' s Daniela Galvez described Bieber singing in Spanish as " amazing . " Mike Senior of '' Sound on Sound '' gave a negative review of the remix 's mixing by wondering the reasons of its polarity inversion regarding the original version , in which " the kick sound feels appreciably punchier and the bass feels much warmer , while the stereo image is wider and more open-sounding . " He also noted that Daddy Yankee 's " melodic rapping seems appreciably quieter in the remix , " while Justin Bieber 's voice sounds louder . As to the original version , Senior wrote that the producers did not waste the potential of the hook line " Despacito " and referred to its first appearance as a " masterstroke " because " it puts the brakes on just enough to heighten the anticipation of the downbeat , but not so much that you totally lose the sense of rhythmic momentum during the hiatus . " " Despacito " has received various awards and nominations following its commercial success . In 2017 , the original version won three awards at the 18th Latin Grammy Awards including Record of the Year , Song of the Year and Best Short Form Music Video , while the remix version won Best Urban Fusion/Performance . It won Collaboration of the Year and Favorite Pop/Rock Song and was nominated for Video of the Year at the 45th American Music Awards . The Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame recognized it as the Song of the Year at its 5th La Musa Awards . The song has also won two Teen Choice Awards , two Premios Juventud , and an NRJ Music Award , and was nominated for three Latin American Music Awards , an MTV Europe Music Award , and an MTV Video Music Award during that year
Teen Choice Awards
2017 Teen Choice Awards
Despacito