EARLIER this summer, Luis Fonsi’s “Despacito” became the most-streamed song of all time — an incredible feat for a record that’s predominantly in Spanish.

But it increasingly looks like it won’t be a one-off.

Another Latin American song, “Mi Gente,” has replaced “Despacito” at the top of Spotify’s Global Top 50. In the U.K., it’s just broken into the top 20.

“It’s amazing. It’s such a blessing,” says singer J Balvin, the Colombian artist who’s behind the song.

Already a huge star in South America, Balvin has been credited with revitalizing reggaeton — a hip-hop-infused blend of reggae and rap that originated in Puerto Rico in the late 1990s.

Over the course of four albums, he’s taken the genre once called “reggae en Espanol” and infused it with African, electronic and Caribbean flavors.

More importantly, his lyrics trade reggaeton’s gritty, underground roots for a more universal, romantic narrative.

“Mi música no discrimina a nadie,” he sings in “Mi Gente,” meaning “my music doesn’t discriminate against anybody.”

“Exactly!” says the star, when he talks about the lyric. “I’m Latino but I don’t do music for Latinos. My music is for everybody in the world.

“Music has to be a tool to unite people, to get people together. It doesn’t matter the race, the language and the culture. So that’s what I’m saying when I sing that line.”

The global perspective is evident on “Mi Gente,” which has its roots in a French track — “Voodoo Song,” by Willy William. That song, with its chopped-up vocals samples and hopscotch drumbeats, provides a bonkers backbone to Balvin’s hit (which William also produced and sings on).

“We took a risk to make new music, new colors, new ways,” says Balvin. “It’s crazy what we created.”

So what lies behind this sudden explosion in music from Latin America? Aside from Luis Fonsi and J Balvin’s megahits, there are five other Spanish-language songs in the Spotify Top 50.

Lucian Grainge, head of Universal Records, says streaming is the key — giving Latin American artists a platform they would never have received on U.S. (and U.K.) linguistically conservative radio stations.

“Streaming has changed the face of music discovery and music consumption,” he told the BBC last month.

“We’re at the forefront of a new creative era [where] anyone who is good can find an audience.

“The beautiful thing about streaming is that people are looking for this stuff,” stresses Balvin. “It’s like, they really want to play this music. They’re looking for it especially. It’s the people talking.”

Spotify itself has been actively promoting Latin American music in regions outside South America — not least because Mexico and Brazil are two of the streaming service’s biggest markets.

“We’re proactively trying to push its consumption in countries like Germany, Italy, Switzerland, the U.K [and] obviously the U.S.,” said Rocio Guerra, Spotify’s head of Latin culture.

“There has been a domino effect,” she recently told Billboard magazine. “The more songs that we put on the global chart, people are getting more used to listening to songs in a different language.”

Balvin has his own take on the phenomenon: “Well, I think right now kids and the whole world is more open-minded,” he tells the BBC on the phone from Uruguay.

“People are just more open to listening to good vibes, even though they don’t understand the words.

“That’s beautiful. That’s amazing. It’s like we’re showing the world this is not luck... This is really down to good faith and hard work.”

(SD-Agencies)