This star is arguably one of the most influential Canadian pop and R&B music artists in the world. Does this singer and songwriter know how to speak Spanish?
Justin Bieber is not fluent in Spanish, but he has learned some Spanish verses and phrases to use in songs he’s recorded in Spanish. While he is unable to have conversations in the language, he can sing in Spanish if he has learned the words.
Read more below to find out about the process of Justin Bieber’s collaboration on Spanish songs, as well as other artists who sing in Spanish without knowing the language and how they prepared.
Despacito
While Bieber may not speak Spanish, he can definitely sing it. In collaborating with the Puerto Rican singer and songwriter Luis Fonsi on his single featuring the rapper Daddy Yankee, Despacito, Bieber did just that.
On the remix that they made, Bieber surprised fans by singing some of his verses in Spanish, despite not speaking the language. He learned the Spanish lyrics to perform the song, which impressed Fonsi, the creator of the song.
As the story goes, Bieber was in a club when Despacito came on, and he immediately fell in love with it and knew he wanted to work with Fonsi on the song.
As Fonsi described in this interview posted by CBC Toronto on Twitter, “We actually had an English version for the song. That’s what I thought he was going to do. Just kind of replay some of the English chorus and do his thing.”
“So, literally 24 hours later, I got the first cut from him singing it. And then I play it, and I hear him sing the song in Spanish. He just replaced half of the chorus in Spanish. So I was like, ‘The Biebs is singing in Spanish!’,” he began, using one of Bieber’s nicknames.
“I thought it was really cool that he took the time to get it, the pronunciation. He did an amazing job,” Fonsi said. Many fans have complimented Bieber’s Spanish on the recorded remix, noting as Fonsi did that he worked hard to get the Spanish pronunciation right.
How did he prepare for the Spanish track? Juan Felipe Samper, a Colombian singer and songwriter, was hired as Bieber’s Spanish vocal coach.
Samper decided to write out the verses phonetically for him to read and sing as if he were singing English, without having to worry about the intricacies of the pronunciation of certain words. According to Samper, Bieber had only taken half an hour of coaching before he felt ready to go into the recording booth.
“The guy is an amazing singer. It’s as if Michael Jackson had invited me to record Thriller. I honestly never worked with someone with that vocal level,” Samper said.
While Bieber did have some trouble with some of the more difficult to pronounce phrases, Samper’s phonetically written lyrics allowed him to get the hang of the song.
Watch the YouTube video below to see the official music video of Despacito featuring Justin Bieber and Daddy Yankee.
Spanish-Language Songs
Bieber isn’t the only artist who has recorded a song in Spanish without speaking the language. Other artists who sang in Spanish without fully knowing the language include Demi Lovato, Beyoncé, and Drake.
Demi Lovato recorded “Échame La Culpa” also with Luis Fonsi, which translates to “Put the Blame on Me,” released in 2017. While Lovato is of Mexican descent, she does not speak Spanish fluently, though she does have some conversational skills.
Also in 2017, a remixed version of “Mi Gente,” which translates to “My People,” by J Balvin and Willy William was released featuring Beyoncé singing in Spanish.
“Mia,” a song by Bad Bunny and featuring Drake, was released in 2018 and highlights Drake’s vocals entirely in Spanish. The title of the song translates to “Mine” in English.
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