Jay Wheeler Scores Fourth Latin Airplay No. 1 With 'De Lejitos'; Banda El Recodo Notches 21st on Regional Mexican Airplay

Jay Wheeler's 'De Lejitos' climbed from No. 2 to No. 1 on Billboard's Latin Airplay chart dated 29 August, giving the Puerto Rican singer his fourth chart-topper on the overall Latin radio ranking. The track reached the summit with 6.7 million U.S. audience impressions in the 14–20 August tracking week, a 4% gain from the prior week, per Luminate, the data firm that supplies Billboard's charts (Billboard).

'De Lejitos' has been a slow build. Released as a single on 10 April, it entered the Latin Airplay chart at No. 46 on the chart dated 27 June and took ten weeks to reach No. 1. Along the way it debuted in the top 20 on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart — a multi-metric ranking that blends streaming, radio airplay and sales — and held in that chart's top 10 for nearly 11 consecutive weeks. Billboard staff described the track as a romantic reggaetón number that puts Wheeler's soft side on display (Billboard).

The No. 1 is Wheeler's fourth on Latin Airplay, following 'Viendo El Techo,' 'Dos Tragos,' and 'Si Te Vas,' his collaboration with J Balvin. He previously led the chart in March, five months before 'De Lejitos' claimed the top spot. In a Rolling Stone interview in May, Wheeler said of the song: 'This one is out already and I don't know how it got so big. I'm not taking credit from it' (Rolling Stone).

On the same chart week, Banda El Recodo de Cruz de Lizárraga picked up its 21st No. 1 on Billboard's Regional Mexican Airplay chart with 'La Cama de Piedra.' The track rose to the top after a 10% gain in impressions to 5.9 million, trading places with Xavi's 'Dosis,' which slipped after a 10% decline to 5.6 million (Billboard).

'La Cama de Piedra' is a reworked version of Antonio Aguilar's 1958 recording, produced by Pepe Aguilar — the late singer's son — and Alfonso 'Poncho' Lizárraga. The song was written by Cuco Sánchez, and Banda El Recodo described it on Instagram as one of Antonio Aguilar's most representative works (Instagram).

The No. 1 extends a remarkable decade for Banda El Recodo on the Regional Mexican Airplay chart, which launched in 1994. The group has earned seven chart-toppers in the 2020s alone — more than in any previous decade, surpassing the two it posted in the 1990s and six each in the 2000s and 2010s. With 21 total No. 1s, Banda El Recodo now ties Intocable for the fourth-most in the chart's history. The all-time leaderboard is headed by Calibre 50 at 29, followed by Banda MS de Sergio Lizárraga and La Arrolladora Banda el Limón de René Camacho at 22 each, with Los Tigres del Norte at 18 and Christian Nodal and Grupo Frontera at 17 apiece (Billboard).

For Wheeler, a ten-week climb from No. 46 to No. 1 reflects how radio airplay still rewards a record that gains slowly rather than peaking on impact. For Banda El Recodo, a 21st chart-topper — built on a song from 1958 — confirms that a decades-old catalogue can still compete at the top of a current airplay chart.