Prince Royce received a Guinness World Record today (Dec. 21) for the historic 29 consecutive weeks he spent at No. 1 on Billboard’s Tropical Airplay chart. In an exclusive interview with Remezcla, the Dominican-American pop star talked about his record-breaking song “Carita de Inocente” and his eventful 2020 that included performing at the Democratic National Convention and recovering from COVID-19.
The news of Prince Royce’s Guinness World Record came 10 years after the release of his debut self-titled album. “This is my 10-year anniversary this year,” he says. “Things like [this award] still motivate me and drive me to do more. Among all the things that have happened this year, this is a light at the end of the tunnel.”
The remix of “Carita De Inocente” with Puerto Rican rapper Myke Towers helped the song maintain its 29-week streak atop the Tropical Airplay chart. “It was great to see the bachata and tropical world invite someone like Myke Towers with his hip-hop and rap flow,” Royce says.
“People like seeing those two worlds combine. Getting this award excites me to do new things and represent my culture, my community, and my genre, which comes from the Dominican Republic.”
Another highlight of Prince Royce’s 2020 was performing his Spanglish cover of “Stand By Me” at the 2020 Democratic National Convention. “‘Stand By Me’ was the song that started my career,” he says. “A lot of things have come full circle for me. This was doing something positive to bring us together and to get people to vote and have a voice. This year I did a lot of things that filled up my heart.”
There was a bump on the road mid year. Back in July, Prince Royce revealed that he tested positive for COVID-19. He took a few weeks off to recover from the virus. “There’s a lot of people who didn’t get through COVID,” Royce says. “Young people, 40-years-old, that didn’t get through COVID. People that still wound up in the hospital very close to me. It made me realize that we have to get our priorities together and see the things that are really important like family, health, and love because you don’t know when those things can be gone.”
Prince Royce closed out the year with another full-circle moment: his new “Una Aventura” music video featuring Boricua OGs Wisin y Yandel. “I started imitating Wisin y Yandel on Don Francisco’s show in like 2008,” he says. “Doing this song with the both of them is really special to me.” Royce is currently at No. 1 on the Tropical Airplay chart with his other Alter Ego single “Lotería.”
As for 2021, he has high hopes. “I believe that there’s a lot of good things coming for all us,” Royce says. “I hope that we can one day get back to doing concerts and being with people and our loved ones. I think a lot of things that we took for granted, that people are going to enjoy those moments and take those opportunities. We should all go into next year with a very positive mind and a positive light.”