Daddy Yankee, who now goes by DY, is back and all smiles as he climbs to the top of Billboard‘s Latin Airplay chart with “Sonríele,” as the song soars from No. 7 to No. 1 on the chart dated October 25. This milestone marks his official return following a brief hiatus, now fueled by a spiritual transformation.
“‘Sonríele’ is a song that came from a very real place, of faith and hope,” DY tells Billboard. “The mission of this song is to become medicine for those who listen to it. Seeing it reach No. 1 fills me with gratitude to God, to my audience, and to the entire team that believed in this message. Thank you for continuing to connect with my music, even in this new stage of my life.”
“Sonríele,” released July 10 as the first single of DY’s ninth studio album, Lamento en Baile, flies to No. 1 on the overall Latin Airplay chart after a 46% boost in audience impressions, to 9.1 million, earned on the Oct. 10-16 tracking week, according to Luminate.
The song becomes DY’s 29th ruler on Latin Airplay and first since 2023. The singer-songwriter previously ruled through “Ulala,” with Myke Towers in 2023. In between, he notched two top 10s, “Panties y Brasieres” with Rauw Alejandro (No. 8, 2023) and “Bonita” (No. 5, 2024).
“Sonríele” marks DY’s first solo chart-topper since “Remix” in 2022. Overall, this adds to his total of nine unaccompanied No. 1 hits, a streak that began with the 15-week reign of “Rompe” in 2005. Plus, with the new win, Yankee ties Bad Bunny with 29 rulers, the fourth-most following J Balvin (39), Ozuna (36) and Enrique Iglesias (32).
Beyond its Latin Airplay coronation, “Sonríele” remains strong atop the Tropical Airplay chart for a fourth week. Further, DY secures his first top 10 on the Hot Latin Rhythm Songs chart where the song rallies 24-8.
