Jhayco powers to No. 1 on Billboard’s Latin Airplay chart as “Sensual Bebe” lands at the summit on the Aug. 13-dated ranking. The song marks his fifth champ on the all-Latin genre list, and first as a soloist, unaccompanied by another act.
“Hitting No. 1 with a solo song was an overdue milestone for my career,” Jhayco tells Billboard. “We’ve been working towards that for quite some time and there are more to come. I don’t doubt it.”
“Sensual Bebe” climbs from No. 7 to lead Latin Airplay after a 29% surge in audience impressions, to 9.3 million, earned in the U.S. in the July 1-7 tracking week, according to Luminate. The track simultaneously takes the Greatest Gainer honors of the week on two charts, as it advances 5-1 on Latin Rhythm Airplay.
“Sensual” gives the Puerto Rican — who formerly performed as Jhay Cortez — his fifth leader on both lists, and first unaccompanied by any other collaborator. Jhayco’s first Latin Airplay No. 1 arrived through “Dakiti,” a co-billed collab with Bad Bunny, which spent two weeks at No. 1 (December 2020-January 2021). It also earned him three Billboard Latin Music Awards in 2021. The song concurrently won him the fourth-longest command in the history of the all-metric Hot Latin Songs, ruling for 27 weeks, behind only Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito,” featuring Justin Bieber (56 weeks); Enrique Iglesias’ “Bailando” (41 weeks); and Nicky Jam and Iglesias’ “El Perdón” (30 weeks).
Back on Latin Airplay, Jhayco leads for the first time as a soloist, unassisted by any other act. Here’s a recap of his wins:
Peak Date, Title, Artist (if other than Jhayco):
Dec. 26, 2020, “Dakiti,” with Bad Bunny
June 12, 2021, “Fiel,” Los Legendarios, Wisin & Jhay Cortez
Feb. 5, 2022, “Ley Seca,” with Anuel AA
Jan. 8, 2022, “Emojis De Corazones,” with Wisin & Ozuna featuring Los Legendarios
August 13, 2022, “Sensual Bebe”
While a now-established radio champ, “Sensual” debuted at No. 44 on the Latin Airplay chart dated March 26 and snatches the No. 1 spot in its 21st week (following three weeks in the top 10); it’s the longest climb to No. 1 in 2022 thus far. Let’s take a look at the tracks with the most weeks to No. 1:
Weeks to No. 1, Song Title, Artist, Date Reached No. 1
21 weeks, “Sensual Bebe,” Jhayco, August 13
19, “Buenos Días,” Wisin & Camilo, July 23
19, “Ley Seca,” Jhay Cortez & Anuel AA, Feb. 5
18, “Remix,” Daddy Yankee, August 6
“Sensual’s” Latin Airplay domination arrives days after the Puerto Rican performed in Las Vegas on Aug. 3 as part of his Timelezz world tour — which kicked off May 7 in the same city — in support of his sophomore effort Timelezz, the No. 2-peaking set on Top Latin Albums (Sept. 18, 2021).
“Sensual” is the first single from Jhayco’s next studio album.
