
Colombian superstar Shakira is closing the year as the No. 1 artist on YouTube’s Music Global Top 100 (chart dated Dec. 15), largely thanks to the popularity of her music video “Chantaje” featuring Maluma. The sultry clip also leads as top video with more than 268 million views (and counting).
While Shak may be the hottest Latin artist on YouTube as of now, other acts like Romeo Santos and Carlos Vives reached milestones on the music platform throughout the year.
Below, Billboard breaks down the top Latin artists on YouTube during 2016.
Romeo Santos: The “King of Bachata” became the second Latin artist to hit 1 billion views on YouTube with the video “Propuesta Indecente.” The Bronx-native reached the milestone back in June when the clip, featuring Mexican singer and actress Eiza González, was watched over 1 million times per day, and peaked at over 1.7 million views daily, according to YouTube.
In 2014, Enrique Iglesias was the first Latin artist to surpass the billion views, with “Bailando,” featuring Gente de Zona and Descemer Bueno.
Nicky Jam: Over the summer, the “El perdón” singer became the Latin urban artist with the most subscribers on YouTube. The chart-topping artist’s Nicky Jam TV channel logged more than 6 million followers, beating out other urban stars like Maluma, J Balvin and Farruko.
Carlos Vives: The Colombian singer made his first appearance on YouTube’s Music Global Top 100 thanks to his smash hit “La Bicicleta” with Shakira. The music video shot in the Caribbean coast of Colombia debuted at No. 8 on the chart and collected more than 20 million views during its first week. It is currently No. 11 on the chart.
Juan Gabriel: Following the Mexican icon’s death in Aug., the “Hasta que te conocí” singer dethroned Justin Bieber as the most-played artist on YouTube, taking the No. 1 spot on YouTube’s Music Global Top 100. According to YouTube, Gabriel’s views increased by nearly 600 percent and got a total viewership of 316 million.
J Balvin: Back in Oct., the Colombian singer became the first Latin urban/reggaetón artist to reach 1 billion views on YouTube with his music video “Ay vamos.” The achievement also made him the third Latin act to reach a billion views on YouTube.