These chord progressions helped reggaeton breakthrough — could they do the same for other genres?

It’s hard to identify what makes a song fit for universal appeal, or what is the perfect marketing strategy to break a new artist, song, or even a whole niche or music genre.

But some patterns offer at least a clue.

When asked by Stephen Colbert what makes a song such as “Hey Jude” transcend cultural and geographical barriers, Paul McCartney said: “Easy lyrics”. His answer sparked laughs from the audience — and certainly that had more to do with Paul’s quick, charismatic, and unexpected response than to any lack of truth in his words.

Who am I to dare add something to Sir Paul McCartney’s words, but I’d say that there’s more to a song that can make it so appealing. It can be even more simple than lyrics: chord progressions.

There’s a reason why some chord progressions are extensively repeated across decades and various genres. It’s because they work. Good chord progressions lay the perfect foundation for a catchy song by making it easy to the ears, even without great melodies or easy lyrics.

Proof that a good chord progression can make all the difference is when they turn an unfamiliar thing into something so addictive to the point that it reaches worldwide popularity. And to prove my thesis, I bring a study case: the boom of reggaeton in 2017.

The big break of reggaeton through “Despacito”

The essence of reggaeton is less about catchy chord progressions and more about bouncy beats. But when we look at the reggaeton song that changed the game for the genre, we see that its composition is way more similar to mainstream pop music than to the original sound of reggaeton crafted in the streets of Puerto Rico.

Luis Fonsi’s “Despacito” is the perfect balance of reggaeton and the pop music that the world is used to.

“We were trying to do reggaeton without doing reggaeton”, producer Mauricio Rengifo told Genius. “The risky move was to make the song reggaeton, but not *too* respectful with the genre. Not to do a classic reggaeton track but to do a pop thing.”

The production of the track features many organic elements such as a cumbia guiros, but the composition structure was very pop-ish — and, here’s my point: the chord progression played a huge role in that.

“Despacito”’s chord progression (“Bm — G — D — A”) is a variation of the widely famous “D — A — Bm — G” which is among the most common progressions used in pop music. (It is a rotation of the famous “I–V–vi–IV progression” pattern).

It’s cliché and it’s popular because it works. It sounds good. And of course that’s not the only factor that makes “Despacito” so good, but it sure helps. It keeps you interested right from the beginning before Fonsi even hums “Oh oh”.

Chord progressions in reggaeton

In the book Decoding Despacito, music journalist Leila Cobo unravels how the creation of “Despacito” was influenced by Enrique Inglesias’ “Bailando”. And just like “Despacito”, “Bailando” is a reggaeton song built upon pop songwriting foundations, including its chord progression: “Em — C — G — D”.

The “Despacito” chord progression is just a transposed version of the “Bailando” chords.

If you’re having a hard time hearing it, here’s an unofficial mashup that showcases the connections between the two songs:

“Bailando” and “Despacito” are not the only reggaeton songs that benefit from this chord progression pattern. Variations or slight adaptations of it boosted several other reggaeton hits:

• Karol G and Nicki Minaj’s “Tusa”: G — Bm — D — A;
• Wisin y Ozuna’s “Escapate conmigo”: Bm — D — A — E;
• Piso 21 & Manuel Turizo’s “Los Cachos”: Dm — F — C — G;
• Lunay, Anuel AA & Ozuna’s “Aventura”: Cm — Gm — Bb — F;
• Tini & Lalo Ebratt’s “Fresa”: Cm — Gm — Bb — F too;
• CNCO’s “De Cero”: C#m — E — B — F#;
• Ozuna & Manuel Turizo’s “Vaina Loca”: G#m — B — F# — C#.

Some of these chord progressions are basically the same, just played in different keys.

I’m not saying the chord progression is the only secret behind reggaeton’s appeal and success. Some of its hugest names like Bad Bunny and Rosalía barely use these popular progressions (but boy, when they do…). The first big reggaetón hit post-“Despacito”, “Mi Gente” does not use any of them either.

But yes, I’m saying that the choice of chord progession might have been a reason why so many people connected with “Despacito”, and why so many other pop/reggaeton-pop songs work.

Could these chords make other genres appeal to wider audiences too?

I’m going to do an imagination exercise based on two genres that come from an urban background just like reggaetón and which may also be on the verge of a breakthrough: afrobeats and Brazilian funk.

Afrobeat is having a big moment right now through artists like Rema and Tyla. Their hits “Calm Down” and “Water” do not use the type of progressions I’m talking about, respectively.

But I will give you an example of an afrobeat* song that does, and was a huge hit:

*It’s worth pointing that Ir-Sais is Caribbean, even though the beats of “Dream Girl” are reminiscent of afrobeat. The track was also considered afrobeat by many fans, even entering afrobeat playlists.

And to be fair, the chords for “Dream Girl” are: “Dm — Am — C — Bb”, which slightly variate from the pattern we’re analysing — but not much!

I wouldn’t be surprised if afrobeat songs using similar chords blew up.

As for Brazilian funk, its “purest” versions do not care much for a sense of harmony as much as they care about the beats, raw vocals and lyrics. But the “pop” version of Brazilian funk (which no wonder is known as funk melody) does use chord progressions heard in mainstream pop. That’s the case of this underrated Babi song (composed under “F — C — Gm — Bb” chords).

In her pursuit of making Brazilian funk acknowledge global recognition, Anitta also released a funk melody track with Spanish lyrics and “A — B — C#m — E” chords-built chorus, “Mil veces”.

Other than that, you will barely hear pop chords in Brazilian funk, except maybe when it samples international pop song — such as in “Trava na pose, chama no zoom e dá um close” (chords: “Am — C — G — Dm”):

So yeah, pop chord progressions are not very popular in Brazilian funk. Should they become? Maybe yes, since it works so well.

I also want to highlight this remix that got super popular in TikTok and is a perfect example of how catchy funk can sound when it uses these chords (in this case, it’s “C#m — A — E — B”).

One super interesting example of a Brazilian funk song that balances the essence of the genre with pop songwriting formulas is “Malandramente”. It uses “Dm — Am — G” chords — that is, it deviates from the pop chord progression formula by having only 3 chords instead of 4, and they hold the central chord for longer before turning to the 3rd chord, thus sustaining the tension. And of course, there’s more to it: there are catchy synth-based hooks, different beats merging, and a hi-low combination of high and low-pitched vocals.

If importing pop chord progressions is too much for genres that originally did not care for hitting the mainstream, then maybe some baby steps to break them into such is doing what Dennis DJ, MC Nandinho, and Nego Bam did in “Malandramente”.

Why chord progressions can make the difference to break a song or genre

So much has to work for a record to work: it needs a strong hook, minimally decent lyrics, vocals, and production, and preferably it has to echo a current trend or be innovative enough to start a new one. It’s also a matter of being released at the right time and aligning with the zeitgeist.

A nice chord progression will barely do *all* the work alone, but you’d be surprised at how much it can boost all the other elements of a song. And if these other elements are not yet perfectly cut to resonate with unfamiliar audiences, then the chord progression can do a big push.

The chord progression works subtly in the background of a song. It is seductive but it’s not too much in your face. It can be the one thing that’ll grab the listener subconsciously and set the mood for all the other things to fall right into place.

All I’m saying is some chord progressions can be a shortcut to make a song appeal to a wider audience. It worked for Motown, it works for pop, dance music, it worked for reggaeton, and it can work for other genres as well.

More on the role of chord progressions in songwriting and shaping artistic identity:

• 7 super interesting chord progressions in BTS’ songs, self-published here on my Medium blog;

More of my wild takes on setting music genres for success in challenging markets, and the latin music market:

• 9 ideas to break Spanish-language music in Brazil, self-published here too;
• 5 Signs Brazilian Funk Is Verging on Global Breakthrough, published on PopMatters.

I’m an independent music writer, critic, and cool hunter with articles and reviews published in PopMatters, Rolling Stone Korea, The Line of Best Fit, Remezcla, Sounds and Colours, Tenho Mais Discos Que Amigos, Consequence of Sound, and more.

I’m also a consultant for 3Três Creative & Consultancy.

This blog is not monetized, though.

The reviews and articles posted in this blog are original and have not been published on any of the websites I write for.