List of Billboard Latin Pop Airplay number ones of 1996

A man wearing a cap and a dark green shirt is holding a microphone on his left hand
Enrique Iglesias's debut single "Si Tú Te Vas" became his first song to reach number one on the Latin Pop Airplay chart in 1996. He also had the best-performing song of the year with "Por Amarte".

Latin Pop Airplay is a chart that ranks the top-performing songs (regardless of genre or language) on Latin pop radio stations in the United States, published by Billboard magazine based on weekly airplay data compiled by Nielsen's Broadcast Data Systems.[1] It is a subchart of Hot Latin Songs, which lists the best-performing Spanish-language songs in the country.[2] In 1996, 16 songs topped the chart, in 52 issues of the magazine.

The first number one of the year was "Más Allá" by Gloria Estefan, which had been in the top spot since the issue dated December 30, 1995, and spent a total of three weeks at this position.[3] Enrique Iglesias,[4] Cristian Castro,[5] Luis Miguel,[6] and Soraya were the only acts to have more than one chart-topper in 1996.[7] Iglesias's debut single,[8] "Si Tú Te Vas", became his first chart-topper and spent two weeks at number one. He also had the best-performing Latin pop song of the year with "Por Amarte" despite it only spending one week at number one.[9] Castro's self-penned track,[10] "Amor", held the top spot for the longest in 1996 with 10 weeks. "Sueña", which spent four weeks at number one, is the Spanish-language adaptation of "Someday" from Disney's 1996 film The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which Miguel recorded for the Latin American edition of the movie's soundtrack.[11] Soraya achieved her only number ones with "De Repente" and "Amor en Tus Ojos".[7][12]

Other artists to top the chart for the first time in 1996 were Shakira with "Estoy Aquí"[13] and Chayanne with "Solamente Tu Amor",[14] while Olga Tañón,[15] Amanda Miguel,[16] and Eros Ramazzotti obtained their first and only chart-toppers in the year.[17] Both "Estoy Aquí" and Ramazzotti's "La Cosa Más Bella" (originally recorded in Italian as "Più bella cosa")[18] held the top spot for four weeks. "Ámame una Vez Más" by Amanda Miguel was number one song for the longest, at eight weeks, by a female act. It also won the Billboard Latin Music Award for Latin Pop Song of the Year in 1997.[19] The final number one of the year was "Las Cosas Que Vives" by Laura Pausini, the Spanish-language version of her song "Le cose che vivi".[20]

  1. ^ Bustios, Pamela (August 11, 2020). "Billboard Introduces Revamped Latin Pop Airplay Chart". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 12, 2020. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  2. ^ Lannert, John (November 12, 1994). "Latin Notas". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 46. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 37. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  3. ^ "Latin Pop Airplay: Week of December 30, 1995". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 8, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  4. ^ "Enrique Iglesias Chart History (Latin Pop Airplay)". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  5. ^ "Cristian Castro Chart History (Latin Pop Airplay)". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 14, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  6. ^ "Luis Miguel Chart History (Latin Pop Airplay)". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 19, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  7. ^ a b "Soraya Chart History (Latin Pop Airplay)". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  8. ^ Villa, Lucas (October 19, 2020). "Enrique Iglesias, Luis Miguel & Selena Lead Billboard's Greatest Latin Artists of All-Time List". Remezcla. Archived from the original on January 4, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  9. ^ "1996: The Year in Music". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 52. Nielsen Business Media. December 28, 1996. p. YE-68. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved September 26, 2016.
  10. ^ Aguila, Justino (October 12, 2016). "30 Years of Hot Latin Songs: Cristian Castro Talks 'Amor'". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on August 3, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  11. ^ "Luis Miguel interpretará el tema "Sueña" en una película de Disney". El Siglo del Torreón (in Spanish). May 18, 1996. p. 33. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  12. ^ "Falleció la cantante colombiana Soraya". La Nación (in Spanish). May 10, 2006. Archived from the original on January 4, 2021. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  13. ^ "Shakira Chart History (Latin Pop Airplay)". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  14. ^ "Chayanne Chart History (Latin Pop Airplay)". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 1, 2020. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  15. ^ "Olga Tañón Chart History (Latin Pop Airplay)". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 12, 2020. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  16. ^ "Amanda Miguel Chart History (Latin Pop Airplay)". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 4, 2021. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  17. ^ "Eros Ramazzotti Chart History (Latin Pop Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved December 23, 2020.[dead link]
  18. ^ Zahinos, Álex (February 16, 2016). "¿Quién hace cantar en castellano a Ramazzotti?". Levante-EMV (in Spanish). Archived from the original on January 4, 2021. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  19. ^ Lannert, John (May 3, 1997). "The Winners Are... Billboard Latin Music Awardees Represent The Best Of The Industry". Billboard. p. LMQ-12. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  20. ^ "Laura Pausini asesorará a nuevos talentos de "La Voz México"". Yahoo (in European Spanish). July 22, 2014. Archived from the original on January 4, 2021. Retrieved January 3, 2021.