Romeo Santos’ ‘Héroe Favorito’ Debuts at No. 1 on Latin Airplay Chart
Romeo Santos bows atop the Latin Airplay chart with "Héroe Favorito," the lead single from his forthcoming album Golden, earning his 12th No. 1 (on the chart dated March 4).
Romeo Santos bows atop the Latin Airplay chart with “Héroe Favorito,” the lead single from his forthcoming album Golden, earning his 12th No. 1 (on the chart dated March 4). The track (which translates to “favorite hero” in English) enters with 17 million audience impressions in the week ending Feb. 19, according to Nielsen Music. Santos now ties for the third-most No. 1s on the 23-year-old chart, matching Carlos Vives’ and Shakira’s 12 chart-toppers.
Elsewhere, the song takes the No. 1 spot on the Tropical Songs chart, notching the singer’s ninth No. 1 at the format.
The new song previews his third solo studio set, due in May. His first two solo efforts, Formula, Vol. 1 (in 2011) and Formula, Vol. 2 (in 2014) each debuted at No. 1 on Top Latin Albums and in the top 10 on the Billboard 200.
Santos last topped the Latin Airplay chart in 2015 when “Hilito,” from Formula, Vol. 2, crowned the list for one week. In all, five tunes from his most recent album made it to No. 1.
Romeo Santos’ 12 No. 1s on Latin Airplay
Title, peak date (weeks at No. 1)
“You,” May 28, 2011 (seven weeks)
“Promise,” featuring Usher, Oct. 29, 2011 (10 weeks)
“Mi Santa,” featuring Tomatito, March 3, 2012 (one week)
“La Diabla,” Aug. 4, 2012 (one week)
“Llevame Contigo,” March 23, 2013 (one week)
“Propuesta Indecente,” Oct. 5, 2013 (two weeks)
“Loco” (Enrique Iglesias featuring Romeo Santos), Sept. 14, 2013 (nine weeks)
“Odio,” featuring Drake, Feb. 15, 2014 (seven weeks)
“Eres Mia,” Oct. 18, 2014 (one week)
“Yo Tambien,” featuring Marc Anthony, Dec. 27, 2014 (one week)
“Hilito,” May 9, 2015 (one week)
“Héroe Favorito,” March 4, 2016 (one week, so far)
The superhero-themed single was the top selling Latin digital song in the week ending Feb. 16, with 20,000 downloads sold (it also leads the Latin Digital Song Sales chart). It’s the biggest sales week for a predominantly Spanish-language track in three years, since Santos’ “Odio,” featuring Drake, shifted 55,000 downloads in the Feb. 15, 2014 chart week.
“Héroe” additionally arrives at No. 2 on the Hot Latin Songs chart, which blends airplay, digital sales, and streams. It’s his second-best entrance, of his 24 career chart hits, following his debut song as a solo act, “You,” which began at No. 1 on the May 28, 2011 chart (at the time the chart was based on airplay, it switched to its current hybrid methodology in Oct. 2012).
“Héroe” was originally slated to come out on Feb. 13, leaked on Feb. 10, and became widely available by Sunday, Feb. 12. Its first full tracking week of sales and streams will be reflected on the March 11-dated charts.
Santos simultaneously scores his sixth Billboard Hot 100 hit as “Héroe” comes in at No. 77 on the all-genre chart.
The Hot Latin Songs and Hot 100 debuts are aided in part by 2.1 million streams in the week ending Feb. 16, of which 54 percent stem from YouTube views. A music video, which sees Santos pursuing a love interest while using super powers in his quest, was released on Tuesday, Feb. 14.