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'Despacito' wins big at 2017 Latin Grammy Awards

By Ray Downs
Luis Fonsi performs onstage during the Latin Grammy Awards Thursday. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI
1 of 6 | Luis Fonsi performs onstage during the Latin Grammy Awards Thursday. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

Nov. 17 (UPI) -- Luis Fonsi's and Daddy Yankee's mega-hit Despacito cleaned up at the 2017 Latin Grammy Awards Thursday night, winning awards in several categories, including record of the year and song of the year.

The song also won for best short-form music video and best urban fusion performance for the partial English version of the song featuring Justin Bieber. The Grammy haul capped off what has been an incredible year for Despacito, which broke the record for most streams on Youtube with more than 4.3 billion.

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Fonsi, who is from Puerto Rico, said Despacito is a "hymn" to the island, which was ravaged by Hurricane Maria in September and is still struggling to recover.

"Everything I do, and everything I will do, now more than ever, is to continue celebrating my island, my culture, my homeland and my music, and to make sure the public knows that Puerto Rico needs help," Fonsi said.

Residente, who is also from Puerto Rico and opened the awards show with a dedication to the island, was nominated in nine categories and won in two, including best urban album for Residente, his self-titled solo record and best urban song for Somos Anormales.

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Panama-born Ruben Blades won the coveted album of the year for his Salsa Big Band.

Colombian superstar Shakira took home best contemporary pop album honors for her El Dorado, her 11th studio album.

Spaniard Alejandro Sanz was honored with the person of the year award which he dedicated to recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. He was later joined on stage with 30 DACA recipients, who sang as a choir during one of his performances of the night.

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