16 Feb 2005

Speedy feat. Lumidee
Sientelo

(Mach 1 (Germany)

WE SAY

Reggaeton - if you don't know what it is yet, you will soon. There are some clues here and here. It still sounds alien to many UK ears, including our own. Wolfgang Boss, German club owner and record executive extraordinaire, was on it very early and flew to Puerto Rico to pick up the international records and publishing rights for Sientelo from Speedy, the Puerto Rican writer and performer. He then added a guest spot from Lumidee and it became the first crossover reggaeton hit (unless you count the Papi Chulo smash - Puerto Ricans don't, so we won't either - besides, we understand Papi Chulo so it can't be reggaeton). Sientelo sold 200,000 for Virgin in France, reaching no 2 in the airplay chart there. It's currently no 3 in Holland, top ten in Belgium and Switzerland, will shortly be released in Germany, yet it's still available for the UK and Australia. Meanwhile, the rest of the industry has caught on to reggaeton - Universal in New York have just signed Daddy Yankee, the scene's biggest star, for a rumoured $6 million.

CONTACTS

Wolfgang Boss, Mach 1 - +49 30 20 94 57 55

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