\n<\/p>\n
\n\tAfter placing eight career No. 1s across the Billboard<\/em> charts over his long career, Ricardo Montaner<\/a> achieves his first champ on the overall Latin Airplay<\/a> chart, as \u201cPara Que Seas Feliz\u201d jumps 3-1 on the list dated Oct. 3. The new milestone arrives nearly three decades after the singer debuted on the ranking in 1996, marking the longest wait for a first No. 1 in the history of the 32-year-old chart. (Montaner\u2019s overall history on Billboard<\/em>\u2018s charts dates back to the late 1980s.)<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cMy story with Billboard<\/em> is fascinating,\u201d Montaner tells Billboard<\/em>. \u201cHonestly, it gives me immense pleasure to know that we have crossed generations throughout this career. I say it with humility and great pride.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cPara Que Seas Feliz\u201d rises to No. 1 on Latin Airplay<\/a> with a 39% surge in audience impressions, reaching 8.9 million in the United States during the Sept. 18-24 tracking week, according to Luminate. It edges past Romeo Santos and Prince Royce\u2019s \u201cAy San Miguel,\u201d which slips to No. 2 after one week at the summit.<\/p>\n \n\tThe coronation marks Montaner\u2019s 21st Latin Airplay entry, dating back to \u201cSoy Tuyo\u201d in 1996. With nine top 10s on Latin Airplay\u2014including his first, \u201cEs As\u00ed,\u201d in 1997\u2014he finally claims the crown after going as high as No. 2 twice: with \u201cEl Poder de Tu Amor\u201d in 1999<\/a> and \u201cYo Puedo Hacer\u201d in 2002<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tThe 30-year wait to No. 1 marks the longest to summit Latin Airplay since the chart\u2019s inception in 1994\u2014surpassing Los \u00c1ngeles Azules\u2019 27-year journey from their 1997 debut to their first chart-topper in July 2024.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cMy story with Billboard<\/em> began in the late \u201980s, when my music began playing in the United States with \u2018Tan Enamorados\u2019,\u201d Montaner says of the song that earned him a first top 10 on the charts, reaching No. 9 on Hot Latin Songs in 1988<\/a>. \u201cBillboard <\/em>was perhaps the only representation we Latinos had in the music industry. We came to conquer the United States and knock on doors, earning the support of all the programmers and DJs of the time.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cTan Enamorados\u201d was the launchpad of a successful five-decade Billboard<\/em> song career. \u201cWe broke through and made a huge impact,\u201d says the singer who placed four No. 1s on the multimetric Hot Latin Songs chart, including \u201cCastillo Azul,\u201d which topped the list for nine consecutive weeks in 1992<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n