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.
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Domenico Modugno, “Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)”
Peak date: Aug. 18, 1958
Peak position: No. 1 (five weeks)
Language: ItalianListen here.
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Lolita, “Sailor (Your Home Is the Sea)”
Peak date: Dec. 19, 1960
Peak position: No. 5
Language: GermanListen here.
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Emilio Pericoli, “Al Di La’”
Peak date: July 7, 1962
Peak position: No. 6
Language: ItalianListen here.
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Kyu Sakamoto, “Sukiyaki”
Peak date: June 15, 1963
Peak position: No. 1 (three weeks)
Language: JapaneseListen here.
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The Singing Nun (Soeur Sourire), “Dominique”
Peak date: Dec. 7, 1963
Peak position: No. 1 (four weeks)
Language: FrenchListen here.
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The Sandpipers, “Guantanamera”
Peak date: Sept. 17, 1966
Peak position: No. 9
Language: SpanishListen here.
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Mocedades, “Eres Tu (Touch the Wind)”
Peak date: March 23, 1974
Peak position: No. 9
Language: SpanishListen here.
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Nena, “99 Luftballons”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Peak date: March 3, 1984
Peak position: No. 2
Language: German -
Falco, “Rock Me Amadeus”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Peak date: March 29, 1986
Peak position: No. 1 (three weeks)
Language: German -
Los Lobos, “La Bamba”
Peak date: Aug. 29, 1987
Peak position: No. 1 (three weeks)
Language: SpanishListen here.
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Enigma, “Sadeness (Part 1)”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Peak date: April 6, 1991
Peak position: No. 5
Language: Latin/French -
Los Del Rio, “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Peak date: Aug. 3, 1996
Peak position: No. 1 (14 weeks)
Language: Spanish -
PSY, “Gangnam Style”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Peak date: Oct. 6, 2012
Peak position: No. 2
Language: Korean -
PSY, “Gentleman”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Peak date: May 4, 2013
Peak position: No. 5
Language: KoreanListen here.
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Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee feat. Justin Bieber, “Despacito”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Peak date: May 27, 2017
Peak position: No. 1 (16 weeks)
Language: SpanishListen here.
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J Balvin & Willy William feat. Beyoncé, “Mi Gente”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Peak date: Oct. 21, 2017
Peak position: No. 3
Language: Spanish -
BTS, “Fake Love”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Peak date: June 2, 2018
Peak position: No. 10
Language: Korean -
Bad Bunny feat. Drake, “MIA”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Peak date: Oct. 27, 2018
Peak position: No. 5
Language: Spanish -
BTS feat. Halsey, “Boy With Luv”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Peak date: April 27, 2019
Peak position: No. 8
Language: Korean -
BTS, “On”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Peak date: March 7, 2020
Peak position: No. 4
Language: Korean -
BTS, “Life Goes On”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Peak date: Dec. 5, 2020
Peak position: No. 1 (one week)
Language: Korean -
Bad Bunny & Jhay Cortez, “Dakiti”
Peak date: Dec. 12, 2020
Peak position: No. 5
Language: Spanish -
Jose Feliciano, “Feliz Navidad”
Peak date: Jan. 2, 2021
Peak position: No. 6
Language: SpanishListen here.
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Bad Bunny, “Yonaguni”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Peak date: June 19, 2021
Peak position: No. 10
Language: Spanish -
Coldplay x BTS, “My Universe”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Peak date: Oct. 9, 2021
Peak position: No. 1 (one week)
Language: Korean -
Bad Bunny, “Moscow Mule”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Peak date: May 21, 2022
Peak position: No. 4
Language: Spanish -
Bad Bunny, “Tití Me Preguntó”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Peak date: May 21, 2022
Peak position: No. 5
Language: Spanish -
Bad Bunny, “Despues de La Playa”
Peak date: May 21, 2022
Peak position: No. 6
Language: SpanishListen here.
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Bad Bunny & Chencho Corleone, “Me Porto Bonito”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Peak date: July 23, 2022
Peak position: No. 6
Language: Spanish -
Bizarrap & Shakira, “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Peak date: Jan. 28, 2023
Peak position: No. 9
Language: Spanish -
Karol G & Shakira, “TQG”
Image Credit: Jaume De Laiguana Peak date: March 11, 2023
Peak position: No. 7
Language: Spanish -
Jimin, “Like Crazy”
Peak date: April 8, 2023
Peak position: No. 1 (one week)
Language: Korean -
Eslabon Armado X Peso Pluma, “Ella Baila Sola”
Image Credit: DEL Studios/ Prajin Music Group Peak date: May 6, 2023
Peak position: No. 4
Language: Spanish -
Grupo Frontera X Bad Bunny, “Un x100to”
Image Credit: Eric Rojas Peak date: May 6, 2023
Peak position: No. 5
Language: Spanish -
Bad Bunny, “Where She Goes”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Peak date: June 3, 2023
Peak position: No. 8
Language: Spanish -
Bad Bunny, “Monaco”
Image Credit: Eric Rojas Peak date: Oct. 28, 2023
Peak position: No. 5
Language: Spanish -
Bad Bunny, “DtMF”
Image Credit: Eric Rojas Peak date: Feb. 21, 2021
Peak position: No. 1
Language: Spanish -
Bad Bunny, “BAILE INoLVIDABLE”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Peak date: Feb. 21, 2026
Peak position: No. 2
Language: Spanish -
Bad Bunny, “NUEVAYoL”
Image Credit: Eric Rojas Peak date: Feb. 21, 2026
Peak position: No. 5
Language: Spanish
