What songs from foreign languages are most successful among English speakers?
What songs from foreign languages are most successful among English speakers?
I thought of a few examples, but want some more. Don't count songs with nonsense lyrics or instrumentals without lyrics. Don't count bilingual songs (unless neither of them is English, or if the English portions are commonly omitted). Don't count songs primarily popular among immigrant populations or others fluent in that language.
Basically, songs an American monoglot could sing along with, but couldn't translate.
Gangnam style ?
52 0 ReplyRock Me Amadeus - Falco
La Bamba - Los Lobos
Macarena - Los Del Rio
Despacito - Luis Fonsi / Daddy Yankee
99 Luftballons - Nena
Sadeness, part 1 - Enigma
Volaré - Domenico Modungo
48 0 ReplyLa Bamba and 99 Luftballons were on my list, others should have been.
13 0 ReplyDu hast
14 0 Reply
Du hast - Rammstein
Gold - Sigur Rós
28 0 ReplyDu hast was also my first thought
4 0 Reply
Dragostea din tei
25 0 ReplyFor those who don’t recognize the title it’s also known as the Numa Numa song.
8 0 ReplyDragostea Din Tei for sure. Such a fundamental part of my fourth grade experience, only rediscovered almost a decade later during Zoom school.
1 0 Reply
Oye Como Va by Santana.
25 0 ReplyMi ritmo!
1 0 ReplyNow that's great music taste!
1 0 Reply
Tunak Tunak Tun
18 0 ReplyGotta represent with my man Daler Mehndi.
3 0 ReplyIsn't he in jail now?
2 0 Reply
Caramelldansen
11 0 ReplyYuve Yuve Yu by Mongolian band The Hu
10 0 ReplyThe Hu
Anyone who has played Jedi: Fallen Order or Jedi: Survivor will recognize The Hu from the intro song in Fallen Order. In Survivor they have 3 songs on the jukebox as the band The Agasar (one of which is Sugaan Essena, the song from Fallen Order).
2 0 ReplyI wasn't expecting a Mongolian answer to show up here, so this is great.
2 0 Reply
Plastic Bertrand - Ça plane pour moi
9 0 ReplyHa! Came here to say this. Ya beat me to it.
2 0 Reply
Èdith Piaf stuff paably
8 0 ReplyDoes Auld Lang Syne count?
7 0 ReplyI think so. Some Scottish words are co-intelligible with English, but the song as a whole isn't.
2 0 Reply
Schnappi, das kleine krokodil was quite popular in Australia in the early 00's.
6 0 ReplyDESPACITO.
3 0 Reply90s kid so Mocedades - Eres Tú will always have a sweet spot in my heart!
3 0 ReplyUe o Muite Arukou - Kyu Sakamoto
3 0 Replywhistles a melancholic tune
1 0 Reply
This is very recent, but the production slaps
Coco - Elena Rose
3 0 ReplyAlmost anything by Pink Martini
Sympathique
Donde Estas, Yolanda
Amando Mio3 0 Reply- O Fortuna by Carl Orff. Actually, the entire Carmina Burana has some real bangers
- Lots of stuff by Enya
3 0 ReplyPrisencolinensinainciusol makes me laugh.
3 0 ReplyI mean it was a song by an Italian that at the time didn't speak English trying to make a song that to Italians would sound like it was in english.
3 0 Reply
IN-GRID - Tu Es Foutu and also by her In Tango Alizée - J'en ai marre or J'ai pas vingt ans or Moi Lolita
2 0 Reply