Gasolina

The most famous voice on "Gasolina" is not Daddy Yankee's. The line asking for more gasoline is sung by the singer Glory, who was not credited on the record. Daddy Yankee wrote the song in 2003 with Eddie Dee, helped by the production duo Luny Tunes, and it appeared on his album Barrio Fino in July 2004. A month later he shot the video in Santo Domingo, at a motor racing track and in the old colonial quarter. What followed was a steady climb into the mainstream. The single came out in the United States in October 2004, and on 4 November Daddy Yankee introduced the video on MTV's Total Request Live. It went on to become the first reggaeton song to reach the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 and the first nominated for the Latin Grammy for Record of the Year. Its spread was so fast that cover versions reached parts of Europe before the original did, which caused some friction. It later turned up at a campaign stop for John McCain, where a New York Times blogger wondered whether the campaign understood its double meanings. "Gasolina" is widely credited with opening the door for reggaeton and clearing a path for the stars who followed. Rolling Stone ranked it first among the greatest reggaeton songs in 2022, and in 2023 the Library of Congress added it to the National Recording Registry. Two decades on, it still marks the moment a San Juan street sound reached the whole world.