Critical Reading Review 5

Marshal, Wayne. "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About 'Despacito,'" Vulture, August 22, 2017. http://www.vulture.com/2017/08/everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-despacito.html.

Summary:
This article talks about the various elements that made Despacito the most popular Spanish language song in the United States for years. First off, Marshal describes the ways in which Despacito is a legitimately well written song. Luis Fonsi, Erika Ender (the co-writer), and Daddy Yankee all had years of experience working with music going into the song and their choice of chord progression (vi-IV-I-V) was one of its major "hooks." Next he explains how "tropical music" has grown popular in the US and UK pop scenes, which set up Despacito for major success. He finally talks about how new methods of measuring music popularity in the US incorporates global views on YouTube videos, giving people from other cultures a say in the music scene.

Discussion Question:
Do you believe that the clear popularity of Despacito will lead to a change in the US pop music genre?

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