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 ? Non, je ne regrette rein ?
Rock 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
La Bamba and 99 Luftballons were on my list, others should have been.
Du hast
Du hast nicht
Du hast - Rammstein
Gold - Sigur Rós
Du hast was also my first thought
Oye Como Va by Santana.
Now that's great music taste!
Mi ritmo!
Dragostea din tei
For those who don’t recognize the title it’s also known as the Numa Numa song.
Dragostea Din Tei for sure. Such a fundamental part of my fourth grade experience, only rediscovered almost a decade later during Zoom school.
Tunak Tunak Tun
Gotta represent with my man Daler Mehndi.
Isn't he in jail now?
Yuve Yuve Yu by Mongolian band The Hu
I wasn't expecting a Mongolian answer to show up here, so this is great.
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).
Caramelldansen
Plastic Bertrand - Ça plane pour moi
Ha! Came here to say this. Ya beat me to it.
Èdith Piaf stuff paably
Schnappi, das kleine krokodil was quite popular in Australia in the early 00's.
Does Auld Lang Syne count?
I think so. Some Scottish words are co-intelligible with English, but the song as a whole isn't.
Prisencolinensinainciusol makes me laugh.
I 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.
Almost anything by Pink Martini
Sympathique
Donde Estas, Yolanda
Amando Mio
DESPACITO.
90s kid so Mocedades - Eres Tú will always have a sweet spot in my heart!
This is very recent, but the production slaps
Coco - Elena Rose
Ue o Muite Arukou - Kyu Sakamoto
whistles a melancholic tune
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