Los Campeones del Pueblo

After a five-year hiatus that began in 2013, during which Wisin and Yandel developed solo careers, they confirmed the recording of new music in February 2018.[1] During the 14th Premios Juventud on July 6, 2017, Wisin told Billboard that "something big [was] going to happen with Wisin & Yandel."[2] Between September 2017 and February 2018, they released the singles "Como Antes" for Yandel's album Update, "Todo Comienza En La Disco" with Daddy Yankee for Wisin's Victory, and Ricky Martin's "Fiebre".[3][4][5] All three reached number one on the US Latin Airplay charts.[6][7][8]

On August 6, 2018, Wisin & Yandel announced that their upcoming album would be released during the late 2018, and added that Puerto Rican singer Ozuna and American singer Romeo Santos were among the featured acts.[9] Between November 30 and December 9, 2018, the duo performed a record-breaking eight consecutive concerts at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in Puerto Rico, which were part of their Como Antes Tour, with a total attendance of more than 100,000 spectators.[10] They also broke the records for most sold-out shows at the venue, with 25, as well as the highest number of tickets sold, with 312,000.[11]

Yandel said in December 2018 that he suggested Wisin to make a record with a similar style to their 2005 release Pa'l Mundo, which has been described as their breakthrough work and is the 20th best-selling Latin album in the United States as of October 2017.[12][13][14] He stated that he wanted to "make an album with a lot of reggaeton like [they] used to do before."[14] Wisin expressed that "there is a great need for that sound by Daddy Yankee, Luny Tunes' Más Flow, and DJ Blass" and added that that was the "flavour" they wanted to bring with the album.[15]

Los Campeones del Pueblo was conceived as the original title, but Yandel suggested to add The Big Leagues because none of their previous works contained English-language titles, explaining that he did not count their 2003 album Mi Vida... My Life due to being a "different project" that included a few unpublished songs in a 25-track list.[16][17] Ozuna's single "Quiero Más", released on his album Aura in August 2018, was originally recorded for Los Campeones del Pueblo: The Big Leagues.[17] In an interview with Puerto Rican-based news website Rapetón.com in September 2018, Wisin told that Ozuna liked "Quiero Más" after listening to it during a recording session and they gave it to him.[18] At the time of that interview, Wisin & Yandel had finished 12 of the album's 14 tracks.[19] The album's track list was confirmed by Wisin through an Instagram post on November 10, 2018, while the release date was announced on November 30, 2018.[20][21]

It was recorded in Wisin & Yandel's native Cayey in Puerto Rico and Miami in the United States.[22] The earliest known recording from the album is a 15-second preview of the sixth track "Tú Tienes", published on September 15, 2016 on Wisin's official Instagram account.[23][24][25] According to Instagram posts by both Wisin and Yandel, the tracks "La Luz" featuring Maluma and "Deseo" featuring Zion & Lennox were recorded on July 17 and July 19, 2018, respectively.[26][27][28][29]

Los Campeones del Pueblo: The Big Leagues was released on December 14, 2018, six years after the duo's last studio album, Líderes.[30] In order to promote the album in the United States, radio operator Spanish Broadcasting System premiered it in its entirety on five tropical and urban stations, including Mega 97.9 in New York and El Zol 106.7 in Miami, with Wisin & Yandel as DJs.[30] In the week ending on December 29, the record debuted at number two on the US Top Latin Albums chart and at number 190 on the Billboard 200.[31][32] It ranked within the top 10 of Top Latin Albums for seven weeks and remained on the Billboard 200 for one week.[33][34] Los Campeones del Pueblo: The Big Leagues topped the Latin Albums Sales chart for one week and left the list after five weeks.[35] On February 8, 2019, the record received a gold (Latin) certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for units of over 30,000 sales plus album-equivalent units in the United States.[36] Internationally, the album peaked at number seven on the Spanish Streaming Albums chart on its debut on December 20, 2018.[37]

Thom Jurek of AllMusic stated that the release of the album is "great news for fans of one of reggaeton's longest reigning outfits," and described it as a "club-friendly groove and beat orgy."[22] Apple Music's editors have stated that the album "finds [Wisin & Yandel] knee-deep in the kind of classic, big-synth anthems that took them to the forefront of reggaeton's first explosion."[68] They also added that "there is no shortage of heavy-hitting dembow riddims and anthemic vocals," and concluded by writing that "it is a fully formed perreo function from beginning to end."[68] Billboard's critics ranked it the 18th best Latin album of 2018, and Leila Cobo described it as "old-school reggaeton, hard hitting club bangers that make no apologies," and referred to the guest acts as "a Hall of Fame museum of reggaeton."[69]

Los Campeones del Pueblo: The Big Leagues has a pending nomination for a Tu Música Urbana Award for Album of the Year for the 1st Tu Música Urbana Awards, while the lead single, "Reggaeton En Lo Oscuro", has a pending nomination for Song of the Year – Duo or Group.[70]

Credits adapted from Tidal.[71]