I mean charted at all, not just the hits. The one-hit wonders thread got me thinking about this. Since there probably aren’t a ton of songs that were completely in another language, let’s include songs that were only partially in, say, French, or even only included a line or two in another language. Include a link, if you think it’s appropriate.
A few obvious ones completely in another language:
La Bamba, both by Richie Valens and Los Lobos (#1 for both) Oye Como Va, Santana (#13)
One that I mentioned in that other thread:
Sukiyaki, Kyu Sakamoto (a megahit all over the world)
An example of one that is mostly in another language (Portuguese) would be The Girl From Ipanema, Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto (hit #5 on the US pop charts)
An example of a song that only had a couple of lines (French):
The English version of 99 Luftballoons charted in the US as 99 Red balloons. However, the original German version seems to have become way more popular ever since.
Rammstein’s Du Hast hit #2 in Canada, #20 in the US, and cracked the top-100 in Australia. (There is a (mostly) English-language version - You Hate Me - but it’s the original German version that charted. You Hate Me was never released as a single, AFAIK.)
Jose Feliciano’s Feliz Navidad (no link, I’m not evil) charted in several English-speaking countries. (Managed to make #44 in the US last year, for some reason.)
PSY’s Gangnam Style hit number 1 in New Zealand, Australia, the UK, and Canada, and #2 in the US.
Je t’aime Jane Birkin
Volare Domenico Modugno
Plaisir D’Amour, can’t remember who by, it’s a french version of that song that Elvis did, Can’t help falling in love with you.
If we’re just including a line or two, then we have stuff like Abba’s “Voulez-vous,” and “Voulez-vous coucher avec moi” in a number of places, but, perhaps most famously in Labelle’s “Lady Marmalade” (or one of the covers.)
I remember Una Plamoma Blanca getting radio play on English radio when I was a kid. And this version. In Spanish. But after very little research, I have found out that the original song is in English, sung by a Dutch group.
Bamboleo made it to 6 in the urban charts, I think.
Many, many of the songs I remember as charting in Spanish are actually Spanglish. If you are looking for songs that mix English with a foreign language, the list is endless.
Yeah, there was a period there of about a summer or so where you just couldn’t get away from Gangnam Style here in the US (especially if you went to weddings.) Can’t believe how quickly I forgot about it. PSY’s “Gentleman” also charted here (looks like it hit #5), but didn’t have the cultural impact of “Gangnam Style.”
