Erika Ender helped create Despacito in 2015, when she co-wrote the song with Luis Fonsi at his home. She contributed to its lyrics and melody well before the recording with Daddy Yankee was released in January 2017 and Justin Bieber joined the April remix. Bieber contributed to a later version, not to the original songwriting session.
What did Erika Ender and Luis Fonsi write in 2015?
Fonsi provided the starting point: the word despacito, a chorus idea and a melodic direction. In Ender's account published by the Recording Academy in 2018, the two exchanged ideas with a guitar in Fonsi's home studio. She responded to his initial proposal with a continuation of the lyrics, and they developed the song together. Ender's role was creative, rather than simply revising words after a finished song had been handed to her.
In Mikael Wood's report for the Los Angeles Times, Ender placed the meeting in 2015 and described an afternoon of songwriting following a conversation between friends. She estimated that they had a complete song in roughly three hours. That account dates the composition, not the recording or release of the single listeners would encounter two years later.
How did the 2015 composition become the January 2017 single?
After the songwriting stage came arrangement and production decisions. According to the Los Angeles Times, Fonsi wanted to combine his melodic pop background with a more urban sound. Daddy Yankee joined the recording and contributed his rap section. Credits for the original version recognize Luis Fonsi, Erika Ender and Daddy Yankee, also known as Ramón Ayala, as songwriters.
The Fonsi and Daddy Yankee recording came out in January 2017, before Bieber was involved. Andrés Torres and Mauricio Rengifo are listed as producers of the original recording in MusicBrainz's release record. An EFE report published by the Spanish-language Los Angeles Times dates the original music video's premiere to January 13 of that year. The release had already attracted a large Latin American audience before the remix was planned.
What changed when Justin Bieber joined the remix?
The new recording arrived on April 17, 2017, with Bieber as a guest performer. Mikael Wood reported that the Canadian singer heard the track while visiting Colombia and wanted to participate. His manager, Scooter Braun, contacted Jason Boyd, known as Poo Bear, to develop a new English-language section. Bieber also recorded the chorus in Spanish.
One distinction matters here. Ender told the Los Angeles Times that she, Fonsi and Daddy Yankee had already prepared an English translation with a possible collaboration in mind. The section used for Bieber's remix, however, was developed for him with Poo Bear's involvement, according to the same report. Working on an earlier adaptation and co-writing the original song does not mean every stage has identical credits.
The 2018 Grammy Song of the Year nomination for the remix names six songwriters: Ramón Ayala (Daddy Yankee), Justin Bieber, Jason Boyd (Poo Bear), Erika Ender, Luis Fonsi and Marty James Garton. The expanded list reflects contributions to the later version; it does not establish that all six wrote the song together in 2015.
Songwriting, original recording and remix: how the credits differ
| Stage | Period | Documented contributors and roles |
|---|---|---|
| Songwriting | 2015 | Luis Fonsi and Erika Ender developed lyrics and melody together at Fonsi's home. |
| Original recording | January 2017 | Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee perform; songwriting credits recognize Fonsi, Ender and Daddy Yankee. Produced by Andrés Torres and Mauricio Rengifo. |
| Bieber remix | April 17, 2017 | Justin Bieber joins as a singer. The version's songwriter credits also include Jason Boyd and Marty James Garton alongside the writers already associated with the song. |
The awards records make the distinction visible. The Latin Recording Academy awarded the 2017 Latin Grammy for Song of the Year to Despacito, naming Daddy Yankee, Erika Ender and Luis Fonsi as songwriters. The Recording Academy's 2018 Grammy Song of the Year list refers to the remix and names six writers. Those are credits for different versions, not conflicting accounts of who started the song.
Why doesn't the Bieber hit erase Erika Ender's contribution?
Because the songwriting predates the later collaboration. Ender helped create the melody and lyrics underpinning both the Spanish-language recording and the international remix. Bieber's participation added a performance and newly credited songwriting material to the 2017 version, but it did not turn the 2015 composition into a song originally written by him.
This distinction prevents another common confusion: performing, producing a recording and writing a song are different roles, even when one person does more than one. Ender's involvement is documented in the creation story and the original song's credits, regardless of how much attention the remix later received.
Sources and references
- Recording Academy, Renée Fabian: Erika Ender interview for the Required Listening podcast
- Los Angeles Times, Mikael Wood: the songwriting and remix story (2017)
- Los Angeles Times / EFE: Erika Ender interview and April 2017 timeline
- Latin Recording Academy: 2017 Latin Grammy winners
- Recording Academy: 2018 Grammy Song of the Year songwriter nominees
- MusicBrainz: original recording and remix credits
- Apple Music: April 17, 2017 Justin Bieber remix listing
