Non-English-language music has a long history on Billboard’s charts.
While the U.S.-based Billboard Hot 100 chart naturally been dominated by English-language recordings, international hits have periodically broken through to become inescapable global sensations — taking over streaming platforms, radio airwaves and pop culture at large. Think Los Del Rio’s 14-week No. 1 smash “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)” in 1996 (recorded in Spanish) or PSY’s viral Korean-language phenomenon “Gangnam Style” in 2012.
In total, 39 songs recorded either entirely or primarily in a language other than English have reached the top 10 of the Hot 100 in the chart’s 68-year history (through the chart dated Feb. 21, 2026). The first was Domenico Modugno’s Italian classic “Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)” in the chart’s inaugural year, 1958. The song spent five weeks at No. 1 and went on to win both record of the year and song of the year at the first annual Grammy Awards in 1959.
Of those 39 non-English-language top 10 hits, 23 are in Spanish — by far the most of any language. Korean ranks second, with eight, followed by German (three), French and Italian (two each) and Japanese (one).
Bad Bunny has earned the most non-English-language Hot 100 top 10s, with 13. (He has also logged two additional top 10s in his career, with “I Like It” with Cardi B and J Balvin, and “K-Pop” with Travis Scott and The Weeknd, but those are primarily in English.) Four of those 13 Spanish songs are from his 2022 album Un Verano Sin Ti, which spent 13 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 — the longest run atop the chart for a primarily non-English-language album. BTS ranks second with five non-English Hot 100 top 10s, followed by PSY with two.
Eleven of the 39 songs have reached No. 1 on the Hot 100, including Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito” featuring Justin Bieber, which spent a then-record-tying 16 weeks at No. 1 in 2017. The most recent No. 1 is Bad Bunny’s “DtMF,” which is in Spanish and surged to No. 1 in February 2026 after his Super Bowl Halftime Show performance.
International hits have become much more common on the Hot 100 in recent years. Twenty-seven of the 39 top 10s have reached the tier since 2012, following a 16-year gap between “Macarena” and “Gangnam Style.” The influx coincides with music’s increased globalization, fueled by streaming and social media, and amplified by superstars such as Bad Bunny and BTS.
Seven non-English-language songs reached the top 10 in the 2023 alone, the most ever in a calendar year. 2022 previously had the most, with four, after three reached the region in both 2019 and 2020.
Regional Mexican music, in particular, reached new milestones during this recent wave. After Gera MX and Christian Nodal’s “Botella Tras Botella” became the first song in the genre to debut on the Hot 100 in 2021, the genre claimed its first top 10 in April 2023 with Eslabon Armado and Peso Pluma’s “Ella Baila Sola.” The track later climbed to No. 4, becoming the genre’s first top five hit.
2023 also delivered a historic moment for female artists. Shakira became the first solo woman ever to earn a Spanish-language top 10 on the Hot 100 with her Bizarrap collaboration “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” in January. She returned to the top 10 two months later with another Spanish-language collaboration, “TQG,” alongside Karol G (No. 7 peak). Shakira had reached the top 10 on four previous occasions — including her 2006 No. 1 “Hips Don’t Lie,” with Wyclef Jean — but those were with English recordings.
Below, in chronological order by peak date, are all 39 non-English-language songs to reach the Hot 100’s top 10. (The list excludes songs that feature only minimal non-English lyrics, such as Enrique Iglesias’ “Bailamos” or Cardi B, Bad Bunny and J Balvin’s “I Like It.”)
Paul Haney from Joel Whitburn’s Record Research contributed research assistance to this report.
Domenico Modugno, “Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)”
Peak date: Aug. 18, 1958Peak position: No. 1 (five weeks)Language: Italian
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Lolita, “Sailor (Your Home Is the Sea)”
Peak date: Dec. 19, 1960Peak position: No. 5Language: German
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Emilio Pericoli, “Al Di La’”
Peak date: July 7, 1962Peak position: No. 6Language: Italian
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Kyu Sakamoto, “Sukiyaki”
Peak date: June 15, 1963Peak position: No. 1 (three weeks)Language: Japanese
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The Singing Nun (Soeur Sourire), “Dominique”
Peak date: Dec. 7, 1963Peak position: No. 1 (four weeks)Language: French
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The Sandpipers, “Guantanamera”
Peak date: Sept. 17, 1966Peak position: No. 9Language: Spanish
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Mocedades, “Eres Tu (Touch the Wind)”
Peak date: March 23, 1974Peak position: No. 9Language: Spanish
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Nena, “99 Luftballons”
Peak date: March 3, 1984Peak position: No. 2Language: German
Falco, “Rock Me Amadeus”
Peak date: March 29, 1986Peak position: No. 1 (three weeks)Language: German
Los Lobos, “La Bamba”
Peak date: Aug. 29, 1987Peak position: No. 1 (three weeks)Language: Spanish
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Enigma, “Sadeness (Part 1)”
Peak date: April 6, 1991Peak position: No. 5Language: Latin/French
Los Del Rio, “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)”
Peak date: Aug. 3, 1996Peak position: No. 1 (14 weeks)Language: Spanish
PSY, “Gangnam Style”
Peak date: Oct. 6, 2012Peak position: No. 2Language: Korean
PSY, “Gentleman”
Peak date: May 4, 2013Peak position: No. 5Language: Korean
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Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee feat. Justin Bieber, “Despacito”
Peak date: May 27, 2017Peak position: No. 1 (16 weeks)Language: Spanish
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J Balvin & Willy William feat. Beyoncé, “Mi Gente”
Peak date: Oct. 21, 2017Peak position: No. 3Language: Spanish
BTS, “Fake Love”
Peak date: June 2, 2018Peak position: No. 10Language: Korean
Bad Bunny feat. Drake, “MIA”
Peak date: Oct. 27, 2018Peak position: No. 5Language: Spanish
BTS feat. Halsey, “Boy With Luv”
Peak date: April 27, 2019Peak position: No. 8Language: Korean
BTS, “On”
Peak date: March 7, 2020Peak position: No. 4Language: Korean
BTS, “Life Goes On”
Peak date: Dec. 5, 2020Peak position: No. 1 (one week)Language: Korean
Bad Bunny & Jhay Cortez, “Dakiti”
Peak date: Dec. 12, 2020Peak position: No. 5Language: Spanish
Jose Feliciano, “Feliz Navidad”
Peak date: Jan. 2, 2021Peak position: No. 6Language: Spanish
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Bad Bunny, “Yonaguni”
Peak date: June 19, 2021Peak position: No. 10Language: Spanish
Coldplay x BTS, “My Universe”
Peak date: Oct. 9, 2021Peak position: No. 1 (one week)Language: Korean
Bad Bunny, “Moscow Mule”
Peak date: May 21, 2022Peak position: No. 4Language: Spanish
Bad Bunny, “Tití Me Preguntó”
Peak date: May 21, 2022Peak position: No. 5Language: Spanish
Bad Bunny, “Despues de La Playa”
Peak date: May 21, 2022Peak position: No. 6Language: Spanish
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Bad Bunny & Chencho Corleone, “Me Porto Bonito”
Peak date: July 23, 2022Peak position: No. 6Language: Spanish
Bizarrap & Shakira, “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53”
Peak date: Jan. 28, 2023Peak position: No. 9Language: Spanish
Karol G & Shakira, “TQG”
Peak date: March 11, 2023Peak position: No. 7Language: Spanish
Jimin, “Like Crazy”
Peak date: April 8, 2023Peak position: No. 1 (one week)Language: Korean
Eslabon Armado X Peso Pluma, “Ella Baila Sola”
Peak date: May 6, 2023Peak position: No. 4Language: Spanish
Grupo Frontera X Bad Bunny, “Un x100to”
Peak date: May 6, 2023Peak position: No. 5Language: Spanish
Bad Bunny, “Where She Goes”
Peak date: June 3, 2023Peak position: No. 8Language: Spanish
Bad Bunny, “Monaco”
Peak date: Oct. 28, 2023Peak position: No. 5Language: Spanish
Bad Bunny, “DtMF”
Peak date: Feb. 21, 2021Peak position: No. 1Language: Spanish
Bad Bunny, “BAILE INoLVIDABLE”
Peak date: Feb. 21, 2026Peak position: No. 2Language: Spanish
Bad Bunny, “NUEVAYoL”
Peak date: Feb. 21, 2026Peak position: No. 5Language: Spanish
