Latin Pop Airplay is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks the top-performing songs (regardless of genre or language) on Latin pop radio stations in the United States, 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 1997, 17 songs topped the chart, in 52 issues of the magazine.
The first number one of the year was "Lloviendo Flores" by Ednita Nazario, which moved into the top spot in the issue dated January 4. It remained in place for only a single week before being replaced by "Las Cosas Que Vives" by Laura Pausini which had previously topped the chart in the week ending December 28, 1996,[3] and spent four further weeks at number one in 1997 for a total of five. Enrique Iglesias was the artist with the most number-one songs in 1997 with "Enamorado Por Primera Vez", "Sólo en Ti" (a Spanish-language adaptation of Yazoo's "Only You"),[4] and "Miente". The former track held this position for the longest with ten weeks. Alejandro Fernández and Luis Miguel were the only other acts to have more than one chart-topper in 1997.[5][6] Fernández achieved his first number one with "Si Tú Supieras" and had the final number one of the year with "En El Jardín", a duet with Gloria Estefan.[5] Estefan herself obtained her second number one with "No Pretendo".[7]
^Lannert, John (November 12, 1994). "Latin Notas". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 46. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 37. ISSN0006-2510. Archived from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
^"1997: The Year in Music". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 52. Nielsen Business Media. December 27, 1997. p. YE-59. ISSN0006-2510. Archived from the original on May 23, 2021. Retrieved August 9, 2012.