Miami, Dec 15 (EFE) .- Fifty years after its release, the song “Feliz Navidad” by José Feliciano entered this Tuesday for the first time on the list compiled by the prestigious organization Billboard of the 10 most listened to songs in the United States.
The iconic bilingual song by the Puerto Rican singer-songwriter ranked 10th on the highly sought-after US music chart, after having been at number 12 last year and within the 100 most popular in the country since it was released on Christmas in 1970.
The first two places on the list, which contains a total of the 100 most successful songs in the country, are also occupied by songs by Latin artists.
In second place is “Dakiti”, the song by Puerto Ricans Bad Bunny and Jhay Cortez, which was removed from the position of honor it had reached last week for “All I Want for Christmas” by the legendary Mariah Carey, who is from Venezuelan father.
According to Billboard, the achievement of “Merry Christmas” was fueled by celebrations half a century since its launch, which included featuring Feliciano on popular television shows such as “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” on NBC, and “ CBS Sunday Morning “.
In addition, in association with Amazon Music LAT! N, the Latin music service of the internet sales giant, Feliciano released a new version of the song, accompanied by 30 artists.
In 2020’s “Merry Christmas”, the iconic voice of the Puerto Rican artist is accompanied by those of CNCO members, Shaggy, Jon Secada, Jason Mraz, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Rachael Ray, Gloria Gaynor, Big & Rich, Michael Bolton, Jencarlos Canela, Patricia Manterola, La India and Julio Iglesias Jr., among others.
However, it was the classic version that managed to place Feliciano for the second time in the top 10.
This is the second time that José Feliciano has a song in the Top 10 of Billboard’s HOT 100 songs list. The artist had achieved it in the week of August 3, 1968, when his version of The Doors song “Light My Fire” placed in third place.
Data from Nielsen Music / MRC Data indicate that “Merry Christmas” this week registered a 6% advance in radio, reaching 23 million transmissions. In streaming it grew 15% with 18.5 million listeners, while it had a 34% increase in sales to reach 3,000 units.
The song was also recognized in 2020 as one of the best Christmas songs by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Editors (ASCAP). EFE
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