There’s a new male/female pairing atop Billboard’s Tropical Airplay chart, and both artists score their first No. 1 in almost five years.
Victor Manuelle and La India crown the list as “Víctimas Las Dos” rises 3-1 on the May 29-dated survey. It’s the first duet between a female and male soloist at No. 1 since March 2020, when Natti Natasha and Romeo Santos’ “La Mejor Versíon de Mi” had its final week atop the list.
“Víctimas Las Dos” lands atop the tally boosted by a 35% increase in audience impressions, to 4.8 million, earned in the week ending May 23, according to MRC Data. It ascends to No. 1 after spending 15 weeks in the chart’s top 10 (the song debuted at No. 15 on chart dated Feb. 27 and rose to No. 6 in its second week).
The song is the first collaborative effort by the Puerto Ricans. “’Víctimas’ was inspired by all those manipulative and lying men women come across daily and I thought La India was the perfect interpreter to give drama to the story. We are aware it’s a common issue,” Victor Manuelle tells Billboard.
As mentioned, the pair are the first male/female duo to lead Tropical Airplay in over a year. Natti Natasha and Romeo Santos last ruled with the 15-week champ “La Mejor Versión De Mi” (starting Oct. 26, 2019-March 21, 2020).
“It’s definitely an honor to reach No. 1 on Tropical Airplay,” La India tells Billboard. “Grateful to all radio stations and Billboard for its continuous support with our tropical genre.”
Thanks to the new champ, Manuelle collects his 29th No. 1, dating back to “Hay Que Poner El Alma” (six weeks, 1996), and extends his second-most No. 1 standing just behind Marc Anthony with 34. Between his trips to the summit, Manuelle has only ruled with one other female collaborative effort: “Por Ese Hombre,” with Brenda K. Starr and Tito Nieves.
“I have collaborated with various female singers throughout my career,” Victor remembers. “I have never measured the time between collaborations. They occur spontaneously and organically; I am not measuring the years or the time thinking that it is necessary at that moment. I knew that collaborating with La India, however, was very important for our genre.”
La India, meanwhile, secures her 11th leader, three of which have been via male collaborations. “It’s a privilege to work with Víctor Manuelle, our great youth sonero,” she adds. “To be part of his team was incredible. This powerful song was written by Víctor and was recorded with a lot of love. This divine encounter conveys a lot of feeling and passion and the video is like a musical soap-opera.”
Both salseros claim their best showing since 2016: Victor Manuelle previously achieved a No. 1 with “Imaginar,” with Yandel (July 2016). La India clocked her 10th leader just a month later with “Me Voy a Acostumbrar,” with Juan Gabriel, (August 2016).
“Víctimas” bursts 40-23 on the all-Latin genre Latin Airplay chart. Both acts rewrite their personal bests in over years there.
About the production of the song, Victor Manuelle muses: “It had to be a story that welcomed La India’s great strength and interpretation; a controversial theme females could identify themselves with. It was impressive to have her face to face in a recording studio and to hear how the idea that was in my mind was greatly exceeded. Due to the pandemic, we have only been able to sing it live together once. I hope we can perform it on various stages.”
